Im coming up on one week off of dip started when i was 13 now 36. Married have 3 kids would like to see them when there older. Most the men in my family chew and have for years, that will make it more difficult but i know i can do it. I work at the air national guard and family ranch. One of the reasons i quit was my blood pressure has been little high dock told me looks like im gonna need to be on bp meds. Thought there is one thing that i can do that could lower it some so i quit. Also was over needing it or feeling like shit. So many reasons to quit only one thing in way addiction. In my recent past had issues with anxiety learned to control it somewhat well. Nicotine helps with anxiety but can also give anxiety so the experts tell me so hoping when withdrawal gets better maybe my anxiety will also improve. That is the inly thing that really stands in my way. I have quit once for basic training and once i used patches but found my self chewing while drinking a week after i was completely off nic. I have had anxiety but have calmed and controlled myself but it does ware on person over a week.
J... glad to see you posting with July. Keep it up, first thing every morning. That's your promise to us and to yourself that you won't use nicotine that day.
You're past the point where the nic is out of your system, and into the fun days when your mind is going to play all sorts of games with you. Something that really helped me cope when I got to that point was understanding what was happening. I've sent you a PM with some links to articles on the site that talk about what you may experience, mentally and physically.
Recognize that when your body or mind does something weird in the next few months,
it's almost assuredly because you're healing. Your body is learning to live without a constant stream of nicotine, which means you'll be getting healthier. Your brain is re-wiring itself and learning how to deal with things, good and bad, without nicotine screwing everything up.
I can't promise you that your anxiety will get better as you get deeper into your quit. I will tell you that I had very serious concerns about managing my temper, and after a couple of months, I realized that I had the cause/effect loop all wrong. I thought I would get angry, and need a chew to calm down - when in reality, not having my fix is what made me irritable and prone to anger. It may be that your anxiety may be similar - that simply giving yourself some time may help dull or even eliminate it.
Reach out to the other guys in your quit group, and the other quitters on the site. I guarantee, no matter what you're going through, somebody (and probably a
lot of somebodies) has gone through it before. They may be able to give you advice, or just be there to empathize and tell you that yeah, it will get better. Reach out and ask.
