CAMH

Home
Main Forum
Quit Smoking
Coping with Withdrawal Symptoms
Loss the ability to read & anxiety

Advanced Search Form

Loss the ability to read & anxiety

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

mmanard:

Cessation does tend to uncover things in us that previously went unnoticed. Smoking is a rather complicated chemical, emotional and physical conundrum. It does not surprise me that symptoms arise once the smoking swamp has been drained. Take time for yourself to understand what you are feeling and try to understand if this anxiety is a result of a real situation that you are facing or is a learned reaction to which you have become accustomed.

I think sometimes, we react to things in a way that is not always helpful to our sense of well being, but we continue to do so simply because we have trained ourselves in that way of being. It is difficult to look at ourselves with such an objective slant, but sometimes we can find patterns of behavior in ourselves that can be changed or altered...

stay well

nonic

Quit Meter

$71,116.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1557 Hours: 0

Minutes: 58 Seconds: 37

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6773

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

203,190

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 3

Thank You all for taking time to answer me back, it's greatly appreciated!

Regardless of my on-going "symptoms" if I may say, I would & will never go back to smoking, I will most definitely take a deeper look inside of me and try to figure out what might be the trigger for my "symptoms" and will have a talk with my doctor during my next consultation.

Yes it's a hard, very hard thing to stop smoking but it's priceless, my whole life has changed for the better: no more excusing yourself because you need to step away to go smoke, food taste better, my cologne is not hidden by the ashtray smell, etc, and ... that $500+/month I used to spend on smokes, I got myself my "achievable dream car", the Ferrari will always remain a "DREAM" car.

Thanks again and I'll be around and GOOD LUCK everyone

Michel

P.S.: I will never stop saying that without Champix I would of never made it, it might not be for everyone but for me it was my miracle medication!!!

Quit Meter

0

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 0 Hours: 0

Minutes: 0 Seconds: 0

Life Gained
Quit Meter

0

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

0

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 331

Although you may notice that certain symptoms/conditions can get worse or change after you quit, overall your health and lifestyle get better and better! Sometimes we need to change habits or routines but that's okay.....you are smoke free and that's what is important. Hang in there!

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 967

I totally understand what you are talking about, I thought it was just me, after all this time. I have anxiety issues to begin with, but that stomach thing? Never left. I take meds for it, always worse in the morning for me, then it seems to ease up during the day. Worse when I don't get enough sleep.

I guess life will never be perfect, but it can be close if we make it.

Hang in there.

Kelly

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 377

Hi Michele,

I don't really have exactly what you have but I will say that in some ways I have become more lazy than I was when smoking. Just like I don't have to go out in the cold and freeze to have a cig 10 times a day, I also don't push myself as much to be hard driving on doing things as much. I guess I kind of have accepted this new me. I would think that maybe instead of reading maybe you have more energy and no longer want to sit around and read as much anymore. I think you have to decide whether you really need to read more than you are doing. I think with conscious awareness you can change that by giving priority to go somewhere relaxing to read. As far as the anxiety you may need to talk with a Doc on that but I found after I quit that Yoga and Meditation practices really help with stress. Now that you do not smoke you may have pent up stress which you may have no way to release. Try walking a couple times a day and see if that stops or mitigates your symptoms. Wish you well.

Ron

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2606

Hello mmaynard,

First of all congratulations on all of your smoke-free days! Be very proud of your success! It sounds like you are having a difficult slowing things down. Working on breathing techniques may help you get back to the relaxed state you once experienced on a regular basis. Try really focusing on your breathing a few times each day and taking long breaths for that time period. And of course as you mentioned, if this continues to persist do seek consult from your doctor.

Members, what have your experiences been with the inability to relax and breathing?

Samantha, Health Educator

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 3

Hi everyone, been a long long journey and yes I am still a "non-smoker" yes!!!

The reason I'm back on this site this morning is that there's something I have lost since I stop smoking, it's somewhat the ability to relax (just sit down with a book), I used to read novels all the time, probably a dozen a year and in the last 1 1/2 year, I read only 2 and I don't even remember much of the stories... and also as a physical symptom too, a few times a day I still feel like there's stress in my stomach and must take a huge breath of air... some say it's anxiety... I'm so tired of feeling like this after that long and I will go see my doctor very soon but was wondering if other people feel this way as well after all that time still...

Michel M.

My "Introduce Yourself" post when I first joined...

http://sg.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?topic=46654&forum=8&forumname=Introduce%20Yourself!&topictitle=New%20Non-Smoker

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 7/27/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 531
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 23,895
Amount Saved: $9,292.50
Life Gained:
Days: 86 Hrs: 16 Mins: 41 Seconds: 48

Quit Meter

0

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 0 Hours: 0

Minutes: 0 Seconds: 0

Life Gained
Quit Meter

0

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

0

Cigarettes Not Smoked

Reading this thread:

today's top discussions:

This Month’s Leaders:

Most Supportive

Most Active

Most Loved

Loss the ability to read & anxiety