Quit Meter
$23,195.70
Amount Saved
Quit Meter
Days: 771 Hours: 20
Minutes: 0 Seconds: 51
Life Gained
Quit Meter
3834
Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter
84,348
Cigarettes Not Smoked
When many smokers quit, they go
through changes that require some unmasking. Take anger, for
instance: As nicotine addicts, we might have swallowed our anger, or
lit up/chewed rather than make a scene when something really irked
us. It might have been easier and less stressful than engaging in
confrontation about some problem. I'm confident that most smokers
and dippers who were "put in their place" can remember exhaling the smoke
slowly at some time or other to decompress. They puffed or chewed
away for dear life rather than say their piece and end up getting fired from a
much-needed job, to offer one example, or be in an in-laws bad book forever, to
name another.
In such anger, a nicotine fix became the crutch, the comforter and the savior
of sorts, and quite a coping mechanism! (Or so we thought
anyway.) Get my drift?
With the giving up (and loss from our lives) of that lifelong 'all-round
friend' the cigarette, we literally go through mourning with all its stages,
including the stage of sadness and anger. Quitting is a major loss,
both physically and psychologically, and in addiction, a quitter will naturally
mourn that loss for a little while, until they freely accept the quit and adopt
it, just letting go of smoking or chewing.
But besides that mourning, there are also things that can naturally trigger an
angry response in a quitter: For instance, typical little things
such as finding an empty roll on the toilet paper dispenser, discovering
someone's dirty laundry on the floor, coming across dirty dishes in another
part of the house, etc., all could NOW send a quitter into that angry
zone. When you smoked you might have lit up and maybe said nothing
in those situations, maybe even allowed yourself a sigh of
exasperation. Now, however, it could send you in a real
tailspin. It's demoralizing if you turn into an ogre and don't know
how to deal with it.
If so, realize that in this situation, you are resorting to anger in response
to a small trigger. You are coping with an irritant by getting
angry. Something isn't right here, correct?
Without a nicotine fix, the next irritant to come along might be added to the
mental stack of current irritants, until the quitter either learns to deal with
them in a new way, or has an outburst.
Dysfunctional anger management? Inadequate communication habits?
Quitting is a learning process. In smoking days, some of the time we lit up to
cope, and that particular coping avenue is gone now. We have to find other
ways.
The same irritants exist as before, but upon quitting, the coping mechanism of
old is not there. Some quitters will lash out for a while until they
learn what is happening to them and how to deal with it. While they
are trying desperately to stay quit and focus their attention on dealing with
cravings, they may not be aware right away of some of the other things
happening to them.
Sudden anger is unpleasant and scary for the quitter, not to mention your loved
ones, friends and co-workers. Quitters and family alike feel
helpless for a little while, amazed (and maybe fearful) at what is happening,
at how easy anger rises. It can take a couple of weeks and maybe one
memorable outburst to really alert you to stop and take an inventory of sorts. As
soon as you can, develop adequate strategies. It may take a while to
get everything right, but everyone has to begin somewhere. Do not
resort to smoking or chewing! There are ways to deal with it.
Gaining control over nicotine addiction involves recovery, which in turn
involves self-discovery and self-appreciation, and it is a process of necessary
change on many fronts, including how we deal with many things.
Some strategies:
Take regular, planned timeouts for yourself. Be realistic and
honest: How often did you take a break to light up before? 20, 30
times a day? More? For 5 or 10 minutes? That inner regular need for
a break to change your thoughts or environment and decompress at regular
intervals should not be abandoned altogether, now should it? Pay
close attention to this old existing need. Substitute a breathing
exercise or something relaxing and self-loving. Set an alarm clock
if you need reminding and keep resetting it. Listen to some music perhaps too,
or just pick a form of *regular distraction and relaxation*, and do it for a
couple of minutes each time. If you take regular 'non-smoking
decompression breaks, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Practice relaxation techniques and adopt some into your
routine. Successful people really do. Here is a simple
breathing exercise when you feel tense: With shoulders back and
tummy in, inhale deeply for a slow count of five, exhale for a slow count of
five. Do five of these at a time. (You can do this at your computer
too)
Each day, reflect on, and study your stress levels. Try to reduce
the causes of other high stress in your life if you can, by altering the cause.
Look at the cause-s. Much of it may be self-imposed.
* Consider looking for another job, in another line of work, if
necessary.
* Learn to say no to the impositions of others. You are presently
enrolled in a Quitting Course. (If you had to pay for a quitting program, would
you not find a way to prioritize it above the demands of other people?)
* Don’t waste precious energy in criticism of yourself and others. Adopt a Live
and Let Live attitude. Focus on your happiness. Anger releases bad hormones
into your body. Work on the opposite.
* Put things in perspective.
Value yourself more. Believe that you are really
something! Quitting is not for sissies. You may not have
arrived yet, but you've left the starting gate. We do appreciate
what you're going through. Start pampering and loving yourself,
now! Talk positive self-talk to yourself. Some people are too
self-critical. Ease up. No one is perfect.
The Canadian Institute of Stress believes that by doing something satisfying or
pleasurable, we can take the edge off. This is so
important! (Ahem, ever hear of making a reward plan?) The
reason is that when we are experiencing enjoyment or pleasure, our body is
pumping out less adrenalin. If you haven't made that reward plan,
better late than never, do it now! (And then when you post your
stats, share your rewards in order to inspire others to add to their plan too.)
Until you can control this anger, (what you say, the way you say it, how you
react) it's better to take a time out than lose a friend or alienate a loved
one. Isolate yourself in the bedroom or washroom until you feel you
can control yourself.
Get adequate sleep and rest. Indulge in an afternoon or evening
nap. There's nothing like fatigue to make us feel edgy to begin
with. In recovery, we need more rest, as every organ in the body is
going through some pretty serious adjusting and withdrawal over a few months.
Anger can be managed. Study up on anger management: Get a
book from the library, search the Internet, or consider getting professional
help.
Improve communication skills. Study up on this too. Get a book
from the library. They give classes in this. Lots of
fun. Really!
If you are a quitter going through this, please explain to your family and
friends that this will pass as you recover. Here's to you!
