Just wanted to check in again here and memorialize some of what I've been feeling the last few weeks. Today is day 20 and, while I know the battle is not won, I'm feeling a lot better. The first few days were as awful as everyone said they would be and I was not very pleasant to be around. I thought when I was through the first three or four days that the hardest part was behind me, but after barely thinking about dip for days 6-13, the cravings came back with a vengeance on day 14. Hopping in chat and just getting my mind off it was key for much of that week.
Anyway, as today marks 1/5 of the way to the HOF, I just wanted to say I really appreciate the support from everybody on KTC.
You are a sexy quittin Sultan is what you are!
Be prepared, and stay quit my friend.
20 days is awesome, but you're still recovering.
Quitting is like a pendulum initially. One side represents "Awesome", and the other represents "Sucks". When you make the decision to quit, you start to pull that pointer into the suck territory. It goes further and further over until all that nicotine is out of your system (3-7 days). At that point...you let it go. Things don't get immediately better.
But they get slightly better.
And then more.
The pointer moves past the middle point and travels into the "Awesome" territory. This occurs in the somewhere in the teens and twenties. It's significant as this is when most people decide "I got this" and decide to do it on their own. They're tired of the bullshit associated with quitting. They're sick of the drama. They want to relax rather than be diligent on their quit.
These people do not notice that the pointer is traveling back to the suck...
When times are good, practice for the bad. When times are bad...well, you won't have to think about what to do.
You'll know.
Eventually, your moods will be dictated not by this pendulum. It will be centered in the middle. Events can make it swing slightly for a moment, but you'll never have to worry about these big swings again.
You can do this. I know you can because I am.