I knew giving up analogs wasn’t going to be easy. I had anticipated experiencing some withdrawal symptoms, even though I was still being supplied with nicotine and the whole “simulated” smoking experience. What I didn’t expect; however, was that I would often (and almost always with no advance notice) launch into “homicidal maniac” mode. Seriously folks, there are not enough adjectives in the Miriam Webster Dictionary to describe the intensity of the emotions I have felt over the past 3 ½ weeks. At times I have wanted to just throw myself on the floor and kick and scream like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. Other times, I have wanted to throw someone else on the floor and kick them and scream at them! Some days I thought I’d give up…this just didn’t seem worth it…I just wanted a damn cigarette…who cares if it takes 7 years off my life – at least it’s the last 7 years! You get the picture; it’s been a pretty miserable journey at times.
For others out there that are in the first couple of weeks of trying to kick the analog habit, I wanted to pass along this trick that has helped pull me out of my “funk” and get me through those rough times:
VAPE THAT PV LIKE IT’S A CIGARETTE!!!!
One thing I’ve noticed about vaping is that it’s a completely different ballgame than smoking an analog. With an analog, you will typically situate yourself in your “smoking zone” (mine was a chair out on my balcony/patio), you light up, and you spend about 5 minutes or so taking a series of long, slow, relaxing drags. During this time, the rest of the world can just go to hell. On the other hand, with a PV, the general idea is “whip it out anytime/anywhere” and take a drag or two, then go on about your business. You’re missing a big part of what was so awesome about smoking – which is a nice, relaxing “break”. Your mind is still in a stressful place, and you’ve not satisfied your urge to “smoke”.
The next time that extreme, overwhelming feeling of ‘unrest’ slams into you like a speeding freight train, and you just want to rip somebody’s three-sizes-too-big head right off their scrawny little neck, try this instead: Take a five minute break, and just take some nice long, slow drags on your PV. To get that “I just had a smoke break and now I feel much better” feeling, I take about 8-9 drags, with about a 5-6 second break between drags. Note: I used to smoke 100’s, so if you smoked shorties before then maybe fewer drags will satisfy.
Try it! It works!
