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Use this thread for discussion of topics important to newcomers that won’t get lost in the ocean of page after page of daily roll call.
Mike said
Thank you all for your support. I must admit that day3 turned into day 0 today. But, I have already experienced benefits. My teeth don’t feel like chicklets ready to pop out of a pez dispenser at any moment, and this chronic cough I’ve been having has subsided. Just from two days. RWM, I’ve been chewing for 37 years and have been at a 2 can per day habit for a couple of years. Cold turkey is pretty brutal under these circumstances but I realize it’s the only way.I found this site by reading a book called “Nicotine Rage.” I started it the day before yesterday and finished it today. It was the most depressing thing I have ever read and caused me to slip. But I am nonetheless committed and appreciate you guys providing real support. Day 1 is tomorrow!
I haven’t read that book, so can you explain what about it made you depressed…and most importantly, how on earth it made you slip??
We expect you to give us your word that you will not use that crap under any circumstances, and be a man of your word. That’s what it boils down to. There’s nothing complicated about it. Can you be that person? If so, you will succeed at quitting.
You want to get to a place where nothing on this earth can compel you to take a dip again. Find that place quickly and dig in.
Cold turkey is brutal, but we’re all survivors of it. It is brutal for a few days but then it’s over. It was much easier going cold turkey for me than it was going 7 years agonizing myself by trying to quit by weaning off dip and going to cigs to nicotine gum back to dip then back to ”quitting.” It was the furthest thing from quitting. It was torture.
No matter how much weaning we’ve done, sooner or later, cold turkey day has to come. No matter how little or how much we used, our bodies and mind were addicted to and dependent on that chemical and stopping it made us feel like we we’re going insane. It’s temporary.
We ask upfront that you commit to 100 days of being here every day–committed to quitting hard, and promising not to use. You will definitely be quit at day 100. At that point, you can decide your future…but give us your first hundred days. Deal? What do you have to lose?
RWM said
I haven’t read that book, so can you explain what about it made you depressed…and most importantly, how on earth it made you slip??
We expect you to give us your word that you will not use that crap under any circumstances, and be a man of your word. That’s what it boils down to. There’s nothing complicated about it. Can you be that person? If so, you will succeed at quitting.
You want to get to a place where nothing on this earth can compel you to take a dip again. Find that place quickly and dig in.
Cold turkey is brutal, but we’re all survivors of it. It is brutal for a few days but then it’s over. It was much easier going cold turkey for me than it was going 7 years agonizing myself by trying to quit by weaning off dip and going to cigs to nicotine gum back to dip then back to ”quitting.” It was the furthest thing from quitting. It was torture.
No matter how much weaning we’ve done, sooner or later, cold turkey day has to come. No matter how little or how much we used, our bodies and mind were addicted to and dependent on that chemical and stopping it made us feel like we we’re going insane. It’s temporary.
We ask upfront that you commit to 100 days of being here every day–committed to quitting hard, and promising not to use. You will definitely be quit at day 100. At that point, you can decide your future…but give us your first hundred days. Deal? What do you have to lose?
To answer your question about the book, the title made it sound like it would address the rage that can occur when quitting tobacco. That interested me because I tried to quit eight years ago and went cold turkey for five days. On the fifth day I was in a meeting with a complete stranger and began to get furious with how long the meeting was lasting. He was wasting my time and royally pissing me off. I began to focus on his small neck in comparison to his large head and began thinking about how I could remove that head from the neck with my bare hands. I nearly attacked this man with no legitimate provocation because my blood was boiling for no reason other than my withdrawal from chew.
I left abruptly and went straight to the convenience store to buy a can of wintergreen Skoal long cut, threw a huge wad in and relaxed. So I knew that I could last a few days cold turkey, but also knew I had to do something to quell the rage. By nature I am a peaceful and non confrontational person, but I was ready to start shit with anyone and knew that wouldn’t turn out well for me.
I bought “Nicotine Rage” thinking that it would address the rage. Instead, the author dedicated the entire book to talking about anxiety, depression, IBS, nausea, vomiting, insomnia that lasted and got worse beyond six months. It sent such a negative message that it made me feel like it could be impossible. For example, I’m not able to take two months off of work as he recommends.
I had reached the point where I had resigned myself to the potential that, after so many years of intense dipping, if I quit I may still get hit with the most dire consequences. So after getting to the point where I could accept that reality, it didn’t help to read about how quitting would be a one year or more shitshow that nearly ruins your life. At my depth of addiction, I’ve been able to find any justification to keep chewing – including the resignation that I’ve likely already fucked myself, so I might as well live the remainder of my days happily.
Fortunately, this time I did experience positive physical reactions in those first couple of days. I wasn’t making a joke about the condition of my teeth or the scary cough. I speak in public on a daily basis and was hoping that my bottom front teeth wouldn’t fall out until after I spoke to 300 people in the next two days. I actually bought and used cough drops to suppress the cough because anytime I took a deep breath I would cough. It amazed me that after quitting for 3 days, the teeth tightened up and the cough subsided. That blew my mind, and is why I got back on the quit after confessing my failure.
I do have hope now, although it is tempered by my recognition of reality and the fact that I have brutalized myself for 37 years. I accept that now but am willing to do all that I can to avoid that outcome after seeing some positive results. I really appreciated how you and STS condemned what I did but also offered me encouragement. That’s what brought me back in. Yes, I failed almost immediately but I got right back up thanks to you guys and this site.
I only wish I had found this 20 years ago. Sorry for rambling on. Thank you for doing this to help new quitters like me.
See you on roll call tomorrow.
Did some one say Rage???? So some one else wrote a book on nicotine rage? Shit fellas, I wrote THE book on tobacco/nicotine/quitting related rage and anger. Yes for me there was extreme rage and anger, but fortunately for me and several of my quit brothers we learned to not only to channel that rage and anger against our addition and tobacco/nicotine, but also to laugh at ourselves about this rage at the same time.
Yea, the “Nic Bitch” thought that giving us lots of anger an irritability from quitting would have us running back to the “can-O’-cancer”. FUCK NO!!! We turned the tables on the Nic Bitch and threw all that rage and anger back in that cunt’s face. Instead of making the same mistake of running back to the can to quell the anger and rage, all that angry energy was channeled into breaking out of the prison of tobacco addiction. Instead of turning the rage on our loved ones, coworkers or strangers (mostly other drivers), we focused that rage on our addiction.
I didn’t write the rant below, this is my kind of angry quitter. As always, the rage is open for business and take all posts.
Posted November 9, 2018
On 11/8/2018 at 5:26 PM, Bam327 said:
I’d also like to say fuck you big tobacco. Tobacco is bad and addictive enough but YOU motherfuckers do whatever the fuck you can to make it more addictive. Putting fiberglass in chew to cut our lips more to get more nicotine into our bloodstream faster. Making pouches so we can chew anywhere any time. Fuck you. You don’t care about anyone’s life. You care about getting richer. How rich is enough? It’s never enough but I’ve had enough of you. Fuck you too nic bitch, you have brainwashed me for 18 years. Over half my life! I’ve never not been a slave to you in my adult life. I don’t know how to be normal without you. You programmed my brain to need you every waking moment. I feel like a child that just lost both his parents. I’ve never done this alone before and you make it so difficult to do on my own. I can never let my guard down with you. Fuck you. I’m going to find a way to go on without you. I don’t know if it will eventually get easier or not but right now I’m prepared to feel like this forever if it means never going back to you. I hate you and what you did to me for so long. My brain is struggling but my heart isn’t and ohhh buddy don’t fuck with a man who has his heart in something. You win so often by killing your victims. Every fuckin day by the thousands you fucking bitch. I will not be your victim. I’ve gone 15 days without you. I’m a fuckin mess but I’m not giving up.
That is all. Rant over.
FUCK YEA!!! That’s a Rant. Get fucking angry. This is a battle for your life. Your opponent is a fucking expert is psychological warfare, and will use every dirty trick in the book to mess with your head. Gloves off and blade out Brent, it’s gonna be a bloody battle, but I know you can win this, oh but you gotta want it so so bad. FUCK TOBACCO!!!
I can relate to that anger. We all can! I think our 1st 100 days were more about expressing and dealing with our anger more than anything else. Just writing about whatever and whoever pissed us off was cathaertic, as long as the anger was eventually pointed at the right target, as STS and BAM so eloquently describes above.
1951 days later I have so much less anger than I used to have. It used to be a default setting. I’d be pissed all the time and dip would supposedly calm it. Actually, dip created the problem and presented itself as the solution. That’s addiction in a nutshell. When you break out of the cycle, you see yourself in much different light. The reason we still quit every day is because every step away from the people we used to be is slowly but surely a better person.
