Day 73, Noon.
Here is a post that might help some of the new guys.
I have spent lots of time trying to understand how my fucked up my brain works during these 10+ weeks of quit and you guys might be able to relate. One of the most powerful aspects of this community is that you will never be the "first" to experience something related to dip or quit. Your KTC brothers, as a whole, have been where you are...and most importantly, they survived and are still quit. No matter what crave you face, others have felt it, and moved passed it without quitting. You can win the battle with nic and stay quit, it has been proven, that is why this community works for me.
My battles with craves come in these areas and they are very different from each other and require a different strategy to fight them off.
1. Anxiety. This is the most frequent. Being without dip has me on "high alert" for everything. In the beginning, this contributed to major outbursts. Definitely the girlfriend got hit with this one the hardest. I have lost friends. I no longer have tolerance for things that used to just bounce off me. If something bothers me while quit, I drop it. Quit is that important to me. My biggest contributor to anxiety was the change in my ability to multi-task when quit. With a dip in place, I used to be on a conference call, working on the computer, watching tv, and having lunch at the same time. I just can't do that anymore. If I am walking the dog and I hear my phone ring (call, email, text, etc.), I can feel the anxiety coming on. My brain immediately tells me that if I had a dip in, I would immediately calm down and be able to handle this. So, this is what I do in my quit world: I ignore it. One task at a time. Life isn't going to end if I just prioritize and do things in order. I make lists and cross things off. I used to be embarrassed about my new life process but I realized pretty early on that my quit is most important and all else be dammed. In the beginning, around day 5, I didn't know about this trigger and while I was walking the dog, my phone started blowing up. Phone calls, emails, texts, I need this now, can you do it tonight, call me back, etc. It wouldn't stop. I was freaking out! I reached out to my brothers and Taz answered the phone. I spoke with him for 90 seconds, realized that life wasn't going to end, I could do this without a dip, and moved on. Crave gone, no cave, and back to the business of quit. Keep your numbers with you. Taz didn't save my quit but he sure made my quit easier.
2. Boredom. If I have free time and I am alone, a crave is coming. Just knowing that I am going to have free time, alone, later...the thought of a crave starts to enter into my head. This one is the hardest. This is where KTC helps me and lots of others. Getting on the site, reading, posting, chat, etc. really works. Coming home and turning on the TV and surfing doesn't exist in my quit life. That is just an invitation for a crave. In short, don't do it. Make plans, exercise, call your mother, get on the site, write a long post (i.e. what I am doing now)...don't sit at home with your remote. One of my brothers suggested jerking-off. Do anything to keep active!
3. Familiarity. This one is the hardest crave to overcome but goes away first, thankfully. In the beginning, post meal dips invite the biggest crave. That actually went away quickly. Your brain starts to learn that you are not going to dip after a meal and eventually stops asking. From what I read on the site, if you cook up a monster steak, you might be thinking about a fat lip afterward. For me, this goes along with drinking. You do these things, no matter how long you are quit, you are inviting a crave.
In summary, you are not alone. Someone at KTC has felt what you are feeling on your darkest, hardest day...and they are still quit. It can be done, KTC provides proof.
PM if you need help. My time to pay it forward.