I'm not bipolar as far as I know. However, I did experience a similar situation in the early months of my new habit. When I had gotten to a number of cigarettes I could count on one hand and approaching zero without even trying, there were moments of stress that would send me outside for a real smoke.
I conquered that with higher nic juice. Even then, I finally realized that vaping does not equal smoking. It just never will, for me anyway. As a raw beginner, I tried 14-16mg and was still smoking. 24mg got me to 4-5 a day but always had an empty sensation when vaping. 36mg got me over the hill. Vaping satisfies to about 95%, but stressful moments will set off a craving. This is where the only real effort I had to exert in order to quit smoking had to be applied: just get through 15-30 minutes and vape like a maniac and the craving passes. The high nic also insured that if I did cave and light a real one, there was absolutely zero satisfaction in it. Due to the recent chain vaping it would also create an unpleasant nic overload that made it even less appealing next time.
For over a year my all day vape has been ordered at 36mg. Anything less would leave me feeling unsatisfied. Recently upgrading my equipment has produced better vapor and I've been doing fine with some 26 and 30mg juice. When I started, WTA juices weren't really available as far as I know. Even now that they are, I am avoiding it since I really don't want to introduce a solution to a problem that has already faded to nearly nothing over the course of two years.
Another side benefit that was so obvious I never noticed it was "leaving the scene." Always going outside to smoke takes me away from, or at least distracts me from a stressful situation. Your name and profile suggest an occupation where "escape" isn't always feasible. I also own two semi trucks, although I don't drive full time. I can't speak for you (or any other truck driver) but my stress when out on the road happens more often at a shipper or when processing paperwork or hustling the next load at the truck stop. In those cases there is an opportunity to walk away or go do something else for 15-30 minutes for that distraction. A few laps around the truck cussing and kicking tires usually does the job. Actually driving is not stressful for the most part. I'm one of those drivers that can sit in gridlock or get stuck behind grandpas RV for miles and not get stressed. The rare times it is stressful (crazy traffic, bad weather) I'm usually so focused on getting through it safely that I wouldn't even be thinking about vaping or smoking for that matter. When the ruckus dies down, I smooth out the crease in the seat, stretch out, and reach for my PV LOL.
