Getting pass the sadness........

[tym64]

There has got to be others, that have dealt with depression, and at the same time trying to stop smoking. Thing is, how in the world do you do it. I start to do well, depression, stress of life, whatever its called, puts a cig right back in my mouth, and its just so frustrating. Makes me feel even worse knowing I am failing once again.

I know there is no easy answer, just putting it out there in hopes that maybe the first step in dealing with the problem, is admitting there is a problem.

 

[BackDoc]

i smoked for 28 years.....when i started vaping the devices were primitive , i purposed not to say im quitting smoking but to replace some of my smoking with vaping ....in a few weeks ...maybe a month i realized one day id not had a single cigarette .give it time, dont be hard on yourself, smoking is one of the strongest addictions if not the strongest .........each cigarette you replace is a victory ( there are some here who have "dual used" for years....they are not failures,they have their own victory .....best to you!!!

 

[Rickb119]

Many (myself included) have been helped by WTA. One of the manufacturers (the best one IMO) has their own forum here. Aroma Ejuice

Read through some of the threads and see if it's something you think might help. It did (and still does) me.

 

[Izan]

When you start...it's important to count the ones you do not smoke.
One less per day this week, three less per next...It's okay to dual fuel.

Keep up the good work.
Cheers
I

 

[BackDoc]

Many (myself included) have been helped by WTA. One of the manufacturers (the best one IMO) has their own forum here. Aroma Ejuice

Read through some of the threads and see if it's something you think might help. It did (and still does) me.

funny you mentioned WTA rick, was going to suggest it to the OP but diddnt want to confuse .......after vaping for 8 some odd years i just put an order in for WTA.have been researching it..........for the past year ive tried every type of juice/delivery device/ratio/and nic level........something is missing.....im hoping the Alkaloids make the difference.my

 

[Bonskibon]

I keep a simple setup with higher nicotine (tobacco flavor) than I usually use throughout the day. I grab that and use it when I have strong cravings or triggers. If you find you give in to smoking just don't give up. It took me months of duel using before I was able to finally stop smoking altogether. We are all here to help and encourage. Your not alone.

 

[440BB]

I find that when the blues hit enough that I want a smoke, having some tobacco flavor liquid at a higher nic concentration satisfies those cravings pretty well. A couple good pulls and I'm lightheaded enough to forget about cigarettes.

I've been vaping for quite some time but still have the occasional smoke. Far better than my old pack and a half days. Vaping isn't an all or nothing proposition versus smoking, so there's no reason to beat yourself up. As long as you're smoking less, you've made that big first step.

I just had a cigarette myself - third one this year. Keep up the good fight!

 

[listopencil]

Every single cigarette that you don't smoke is a victory. Remember that. Don't beat yourself up when you don't feel like you haven't measured up to your expectations. Life isn't always a grand procession of epic wins. Sometimes it's a tough, dirty, nasty, often heart breaking fight-from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep. Give yourself some credit. You're trying to make a positive change in your life. One of my favorite sayings goes something like: It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, it only matters how many times you get back up again. So get back up. Dust yourself off. And just keep trying. Do what you can do.

 

[Rickb119]

funny you mentioned WTA rick, was going to suggest it to the OP but diddnt want to confuse .......after vaping for 8 some odd years i just put an order in for WTA.have been researching it..........for the past year ive tried every type of juice/delivery device/ratio/and nic level........something is missing.....im hoping the Alkaloids make the difference.my

I'll be hoping for you.

 

[Gratch]

Be easy on yourself, you have smoked far less cigs if you are vaping so don't look on it as a loss. Go for a walk and maybe read up on mindfulnes. It can really help. You are not failing! Maybe try meditation. I do not meditate often but it does make you better aware of where these thoughts come from. Are they really you or is your mind just coming up with them?

 

[Tonee N]

Keep yourself busy, your full attention on doing something.
I'm always cleaning tanks, rewicking, building coils, playing with the puppy(more like chasing him after he sneaks into my closet and grabs a shoe and tries running out his dogging door!)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Gratch]

Keep yourself busy, your full attention on doing something.
I'm always cleaning tanks, rewicking, building coils, playing with the puppy(more like chasing him after he sneaks into my closet and grabs a shoe and tries running out his dogging door!)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

We need pics of the puppy! that will help with the blues

 

[Tonee N]

We need pics of the puppy! that will help with the blues

[emoji6]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Tonee N]

Just kidding.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Eskie]

There has got to be others, that have dealt with depression, and at the same time trying to stop smoking. Thing is, how in the world do you do it. I start to do well, depression, stress of life, whatever its called, puts a cig right back in my mouth, and its just so frustrating. Makes me feel even worse knowing I am failing once again.

I know there is no easy answer, just putting it out there in hopes that maybe the first step in dealing with the problem, is admitting there is a problem.

If you're talking about clinical depression, not a depressed mood from not smoking, the first step is dealing with the depression. The stress of stopping smoking while being clinically depressed is exceptionally hard. If it is a clinical depression, are you seeing a doctor or therapist for help?

 

[Bunnykiller]

maybe you are trying to hard to meet the expectations of everyone elses ideas on the quitting process... I tapered off of the ciggies by dual using ( vape and analogs) for 6 or so months... when I really wanted/needed a ciggie, I had one... just one.. then vaped to finish off the urges... eventually, vaping was enuf to keep me happy...

 

[Opinionated]

There has got to be others, that have dealt with depression, and at the same time trying to stop smoking. Thing is, how in the world do you do it. I start to do well, depression, stress of life, whatever its called, puts a cig right back in my mouth, and its just so frustrating. Makes me feel even worse knowing I am failing once again.

I know there is no easy answer, just putting it out there in hopes that maybe the first step in dealing with the problem, is admitting there is a problem.

First of all, quitting smoking is your fight. It's not anyone else's, has nothing to do with others around you. The war is your own. What others think or perceive about your war is meaningless. Remember that when you think you have failed. Who did you fail? Yourself? Why do you have to feel "bad" for that? Don't let anyone outside this war into it.. not family not friends not co-workers. It's your own fight, if you win, you are the only beneficiary. If you loose, you are the only one hurt. No one else.

Second, every "set back" is NOT a failure if you learn from it. How can a learning experience be a failure? Every time you have a set back (not a failure) examine it, learn from it (what caused it, is there any way to avoid it in the future, if I can't avoid the reason what might help to avoid the set back in the same situation next time?) In this way, you begin to see even your set backs as positives not negatives because they ARE positives if you learn more about YOU. Know thyself, is key to any successful quit, and you get to know yourself best in the set backs, when your back is to the wall.

Your detoxing. This is what withdrawal symptoms are from, your body craving a substance because it doesn't have enough of it. If you can, picture your withdrawals and cravings as poison leaving your body... Picturing it as it happens can sometimes make it easier not to pick up a cigarette. Visualization techniques helped me through the withdrawals. Of the poison leaving my body, but also visualizing me as a non smoker. The positive aspects. Seeing yourself in your minds eye having conquered the poison, healthy and completely free of it because it left, is always a positive.

Do the things that make it easier not to have a set back, and plan them right after you have a set back. Eventually you will get there, in your own time, in this war of yours. But what you CAN'T do is beat yourself up. When you see yourself as a failure you become what you see. You BECOME however you see yourself.. by seeing yourself the way you desire to become is how you overcome.

When we teach a child math, we give them a means to visualize the problem. Two apples plus two apples makes four apples, five apples take away two apples makes three apples left.

In the case of quitting smoking YOUR the child who is learning, your learning HOW to have new behaviors, your learning what works best for you to replace old behaviors.

We don't tell a child they are a failure because they don't understand why five take away three makes two, NO.. we work with them patiently until they understand why..

Your not a failure when you have a set back, you are having a learning experience. In this learning experience you need to work with yourself patiently..And sometimes, you need to visualize the problem to understand and overcome it. And you definitely need to visualize yourself in a positive light.

 

[stols001]

tym, I'm sorry you are feeling depressed after trying to switch. It's quite normal to have some depression (which may be exacerbated if you have ongoing depression, anyway) when stopping smoking. That is because many ingredients in cigarettes actually provide MAOI action to the brain. MAOIs are older anti-depressants, but among the most powerful class of antidepressants. If you experience severe depression, you do have some options, such as getting it treated PRIOR to quitting (I might try Wellbutrin for this since it's a SLIGHT help as far as decreasing nic cravings, or even an MAOI (though, they do have rough side effects for some, I'd probably suggest Emsam, it's a transdermal patch that avoids some of the worst of the side effects and dietary restrictions. Or, you may need something else.

I use(d) (nearing end of my stash) ever increasingly smaller amounts of WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids) as I transitioned. I did this as no matter how much I vaped, I would reach a point at about 3 p.m. where I would just get SO antsy and felt like ants were crawling under my skin. Doing this was a huge help, and I'm glad I did use it to ease my transition, it is more expensive but may be worth the purchase of a bottle or two, I used Aroma ejuice and they were great as far as customer service and rapid shipping. Starting, I'd put a small squirt in my tank on refilling, now I keep a separate tank with a bit of WTA in it for times when I want to chew through steel. It's been really useful, some people do keep using WTA as they like the effect, and there's really nothing to say that you shouldn't.

You could try nic salts also, which more closely mimic the nicotine in tobacco, I bought all my stash of nicotine as nic salts because I enjoy the vape so much and find I don't smoke any more than I did with regular e-juice.

But mainly, don't stop vaping! Don't give up, keep coming here for support and suggestions, and no matter if/when you smoke, vape before and afterward! I did that while dual using for a week and it really helped me get on board with just vaping. Cigarettes became harder to smoke the longer I vaped.

I too have tried quitting before, even with a vape, though never as seriously as this time. I had to stop beating myself up, even over vaping in the past, and accept that I COULD succeed. I had to literally ignore every past quitting attempt, and this one has been successful so far. You CAN do it too, absolutely you can. You may need a few tools along the way to get there, but that doesn't matter. What matters is you are starting vaping.

Maybe start with your PCP about the depression, they can always refer you to a psychiatrist if need be, but WTA juice while transitioning may well be your magic answer, not just anti-depressants, so keep trying things

All the best of luck to you this time, every quit is different.

Anna

 

[Robino1]

There is a saying we like to tell people:

Count the ones you don't have, not the ones you do.

Say you normally would smoke 20 a day. If you don't smoke 15, that is HUGE.

I know a few members that still smoke that morning cig. So what? Harm reduction. Another member smokes in the morning and 1-2 at night. Harm reduction. That's all we are trying to do.

Beats smoking 1-2 packs.

 

[CMD-Ky]

I sort of tapered down but would really give in when with friends. After a couple years of this I got to where I smoked two every morning for months. One day I realized that I hadn't smoked for days and I still don't know my actual quit date.

There is a saying we like to tell people:

Count the ones you don't have, not the ones you do.

Say you normally would smoke 20 a day. If you don't smoke 15, that is HUGE.

I know a few members that still smoke that morning cig. So what? Harm reduction. Another member smokes in the morning and 1-2 at night. Harm reduction. That's all we are trying to do.

Beats smoking 1-2 packs.