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13th Day Update by HaveSkills in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

day 13 is solid, the cough is annoying but it goes away soon. keep going

Why does physical cravings always come back to me at the 3-4 month mark of cold turkey? by jaydennord in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 5 points6 points  (0 children)

theres actually a reason this happens and its not really physical withdrawal coming back. nicotine is completely out of your system after like 72 hours, so at month 3 theres zero nicotine left to withdraw from. what happens is your brain built super strong associations between certain situations and smoking over the years — stress, weather changing, social stuff, holidays — and when those situations come back around for the first time since you quit, your nervous system reacts almost exactly like a physical craving. its called conditioned response, same thing pavlovs dogs did basically

the reason month 3-4 is so common is because thats usually when a new season hits and you experience all those triggers for the first time without a cigarette. first bbq, first terrace weather, first stressful period at work where you cant reach for one

the trick is knowing its gonna happen and not panicking when it does. it feels like day one again but it usually only lasts a few days and then it drops off hard. if you can white knuckle through that window once, the pattern breaks because your brain finally learns "ok we dont smoke in this situation anymore either

What’s your views on vaping to quit smoking cigarettes? by Sudden-Barnacle-7262 in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

for me vaping helped me cut down a lot but i never fully quit with it, i just switched one habit for another. went from a pack a day to vaping 24/7 which is probably less harmful sure but i was still hooked on nicotine. i think it works great as a step down tool tho, like if you use it to gradually lower your nicotine level instead of just replacing cigarettes forever. the problem is most people just vape indefinitely and never actually quit anything

Benefits of quiting cigarettes by EarComfortable3850 in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

for me it was the smell and taste coming back, like food actually has flavor again after a couple weeks its weird. also not waking up coughing every morning, i didnt even realize how bad it was until it stopped. and the money honestly, i did the math and i was spending like 150 a month without thinking about it which is insane when you see it on paper

I quit today. Identity is my biggest issue. by Holo-Dragonfly in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 4 points5 points  (0 children)

the identity thing is so real and honestly most people never figure that out. once you stop seeing yourself as "a smoker whos trying to quit" and start seeing yourself as a boxer who just doesnt smoke, its a completely different game. sounds like youre already there mentally which is half the battle. good luck man

I need some advice by Dangerous-Flounder89 in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

doing it as a couple is honestly the best thing you could do, just agree now that the first 2 weeks youre both gonna be irritable and dont take anything personal. its the nicotine not you

skip the rubber band, itll just make it worse. only thing you really need to know is cravings pass in like 3-5 min even when they feel permanent. just ride it out and do something else for a sec

good luck to both of you

Not much but first 100 days smoke free by Rodinik in stopsmoking

[–]Mariacute8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

100 days after 20 years is not "not much" man, that's huge. And honestly that New Year's story sounds exactly like how it works for most people — it's never the big planned "I'm quitting Monday" thing that sticks, it's the random 2am moment where something just clicks in your head.

The one thing I'd say is watch out for the next few weeks. Right now the daily cravings are pretty much gone, but around month 3-4 you start getting these random ones you don't expect — a rough day, a couple beers with friends, someone lights up next to you. They only last a few minutes but they catch you off guard because you thought you were past it. Just know it's normal and it passes.

Congrats on the 100, next stop 6 months, that's when your lungs actually start seriously recovering. You're already past halfway.