I want "something"
Hillbilly(Gold) - Aug 01, 2002
About 15 Years ago, I had an emergency appendectomy. In the course of my recovery, I was given some little white pain pills that I quickly began to like--a lot! I was sitting at home a day or so after being released from the hospital and I had this craving feeling, kinda like wanting a cigarette, except I had one lit at the moment. I was wanting "something", I just didn't know what.
It dawned on me that what I was wanting was one of those pills!! I immediately got up, flushed the rest of the bottle and switched to Tylenol. I've told that story over the years, just to illustrate how easy it would be to get hooked on pain medicine (It never occurred to me that I was just as addicted to nicotine for all those years, but I digress).
Point is, I was sitting there "wanting something." In the course of my three and a half month quit, that same feeling has been there on numerous occasions. I go through periods of a few hours, or even a few days of wanting something, just not knowing what it is. During those times I know I do not want a cigarette, or nicotine rather, but I do want "something."
There have been a few posts touching on this issue the past few days and it just got me to thinking. The Freedom library documents well the great feeling of loss that accompanies a quit--that feeling of losing a friend, the feeling of loneliness and sometimes even the boredom of a quit.
I think for many of us, this may be the biggest challenge of our quits, how to fill the void left by smoking. Obviously, it can be done, look at John, Joanne, Marty, Grumps, et al, they did it. For some, it may be an unconscious process where they naturally gravitate to new and different interests to fill the time. For others, we may have to make a concerted effort to re-mold our lives into something different. Maybe all we need is a hobby!!
I know this is probably just a lot of rambling navel-gazing, but I continue to be amazed at this journey I am on. The floor is open for discussion....
Dave
I don't smoke and I don't chew and I don't go with the girls that do. 3 Months 2 Weeks 12 Hours 15 Minutes 47 Seconds. Cigarettes not smoked: 3692. Money saved: $507.77.
MareBear GOLD - Aug 01, 2002
Hillbilly, I love that line! "I don't smoke and I don't chew and I don't go with girls that do." Thanks for giving me my first giggle of the day!
I too experience that feeling of wanting "something." Not a cigarette per se, just something. Different things help at different times. A lollipop, a walk, a toothpick, a kiss, a deep breath. It's just the process of reconditioning our minds I guess. And it certainly is a challenge, but one that you and I and everyone here have within our power to meet and conquer. And yee-haw to that!
MareBear
Not a puff for: 2M 3D 13h 9m. Cigarettes NOT smoked: 1290, saving me $200.10. Life Saved: 4D 11h 30m.
Mikey D - Aug 01, 2002
Hi ya! Know EXACTLY what you're talking about. About 8 months ago I injured my back...got a herniated disc. Well, I hear it's all a part of getting old....as much as I do not want to believe it, I must accept it as fact. Anyway, I was given a prescription for Vicadin. Damm that's good stuff! Doesn't take the pain away 100% but you just don't care.
Now, about two weeks ago I re-injured my back. About a week before my quit. Got a refill on my Vicadin. Today is one of those days you mentioned...gots to have something. My brain is looking for candy and it doesn't care which kind! It's also an extremely frustrating day at work today which makes things even tougher. But, I'm here at this site and reading your message which really hit home at just the right time!
So long as I have someplace to turn to, someplace to vent, someplace where I feel understood.... I find that little bit of extra strength I need to NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF. And NO SUBSTITUTIONS either. Thanks, Hillbilly! Good timing!
One week, three days, 12 hours, 19 minutes and 43 seconds. 262 cigarettes not smoked, saving $53.75. Life saved: 21 hours, 50 minutes.
Lilac (Bronze) - Aug 01, 2002
Aha!! My "something " surfaces. It has a name. It has a face. It is another facet of my addiction. Is there no end to it????? However, I feel, much, much, much better today and I thank all the wonderful people who make me think--even the thoughts I don't want to think. Lilac
improud (golder) - Aug 01, 2002
In the past 18 months that I have been an ex-smoker when that "I want something" comes up and it still does once in a while ( however I don't associate it with smoking anymore) I will just go get myself a big glass of ice-cold water and it does the trick. Just a little helper, but the "I want something" is getting fewer and farther between, except of course if it's I want Chocolate Something (I've had a real sweet tooth lately)
Roger (Gold) - Aug 01, 2002
I want...I need....I think I want and need.
I believe everyone goes through this at one time or another. I remember the same thoughts would float by me at times. I think what is happening is a phase-out of our psychological thoughts and needs. There comes a point in a quit where we consciously do not want a nicotine fix or need one. Our junkie thinking still reminds us in many ways we need something. (possibly a subconscious craving or remembrance) or something is missing.
Whatever they are or where ever they originate they leave us feeling empty or maybe a better term would be still feeling a fleeting loss of our best friend that accompanied all of us where ever we would go. If it was a place we could not smoke our thoughts would always turn to how nice it will be to be able to finally place our little friend between our lips and deliver the drug of choice ot our system and stop the withdrawal process for another 20 - 30 minutes.
Keep in mind you are on a journey of healing. Have some patience and let the process take place. I guarantee you this, There will come a time when the days drift by and there is not a thought of our x best friend, junkie thinking, a loss, need or emotional tie to our past practice of feeding our addiction. All we need to remember is where we come from and how we got to the point we are in our quits... Day to Day And Never Taking Another Puff.
You Can If You Believe You Can.
Roger
7 Months +
Kiwi (Gone GOLD ) - Aug 02, 2002
Delighted you started this thread, Dave. Thank you. Was just about to do it myself, having been stuck for several days between feeling alternately awesome and horrid with a big void in the center of my being. Even had a small q mark as to whether I was now an unmasked manic-depressive person who should be rushing off for treatment.
I was also aware of Lilac posting about 'something' missing for her. This resonated with me. We are all different, and trying to fill this hole/void with something else, be it a positive experience/thought, or a hobby just does not do it for me.
Today, I was going to try a new approach and just surf/embrace this void, (as I did with the craves during withdrawal). I'd like to report that this has been helpful, but so far today I haven't had any voids to work with. I'll just have to wait and see!
Kiwi
Toast (GOLD ) - Aug 02, 2002
Heya Dave, I'd say the "I want .... something" during the 2, 3, 4 months or so was a surprise to me ... usually, it was wanting to step out on the porch and to have a smoke .... that was something I did several times a day, and so I can't be surprised that I noticed myself not doing it!
But do you know what I remember from before I ever smoked??? I remember having that "I want .... something" feeling too. I think maybe some of that has to do being young and not being adept or experienced enough yet to know and name my desires. Maybe smoking plugged that hole some ... giving me something I could "choose" for myself whenever I wanted - didn't depend on anyone else's vote (just my falling nicotine levels). Maybe smoking plugged that hole a little too by numbing out my emotions and making any deep inspection of my satisfaction or dissatisfaction less urgent sometimes.
Maybe once we get past the initial high drama of quitting smoking - the physical sensations, the most pressing psychological triggers, etc. - we rediscover a little bit of us that's waited stuck all those years for a chance to say, "Hey, I want ... something." And now, rather than it being about smoking, we get a chance to realize it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires.
Or maybe not.
All these great, thought-provoking threads have my brain in overdrive ...
Melissa
Gold Club
SweetLorraine (Gold) - Aug 03, 2002
Hi Dave. One of the things that I liked about smoking was the instant reward (sick reward - but nonetheless) instant gratification of desire. Long after falling nicotine levels were over with memories of the "aaah" feeling would surface (triggers).
Everyone's quit is different. My choices wouldn't necessarily work for anyone else. I will say that not smoking is a lot more effort in the beginning, part of that work is figuring out what you are feeling, what you want and what you need/want to do about it.
Now, rather than smoking when I'm tired I rest, when I'm upset I take deep slow breaths and try to put things in perspective, if I'm angry I may yell or scrub something or go for a walk, when I'm hungry I eat. When I want a little reward for work well done I might read a chapter in a good book or play a game. Everything I ever did as a smoker I now do and do better. But all of these responses had to be learned because each of those situations used to be automatic signals to smoke.
Maybe this is way more than you had in mind. For me, smoking had invaded every aspect of my life and once exorcised life is simpler and much more real.
yqf
Lorraine
Celebrating 9 months 3 weeks and 2 days of Freedom!
Ruth Ann ( Green x 2 ) - Aug 03, 2002
Dave...Thank you for this thread! Once again I get online and stumble right to a thread that is just what I need at the moment. I've had some rough spots when I've come here to post for help, but I haven't because I find the help through others posts. The void or wanting something is often an issue with me. Thanks to all who posted here. You've given me a lot of new insight into this subject. Also thanks to Kiwi. I've wondered the same thing about being manic-depressive!! Now I don't feel alone in that...Whew...(unless we both really are! ) LOL..........
Ya"ll have a great weekend!!!
Ruth Ann
NOT A PUFF FOR 4 Weeks 1 Day 23 Hours 58 Seconds
StrosinGOLD1 - Aug 04, 2002
Hi Dave! Yes, this is a wonderful thread.....Marty, thank you for directing me here. Initially, I was afraid of this "sensation" wondering if junkie thinking was about to take me over.
Melissa, I admire your "overdrive" as you nailed the big picture when you wrote, "And now, rather than it being about smoking, we get a chance to realize it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires." That says it all!
YQS
Sharon
Nicotine free for 1 Month 6 Days 12 Hours 21 Minutes 51 Seconds
Lilac (Bronze) - Aug 04, 2002
Just wanted to add to a post I left several days ago. My "somethings" occur much less often and are less troublesome. in the last three days. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, Hillbilly, for the quick response you posted to me during a very low moment for me. I was in a desert and suddenly there was a friend, there, telling me of the oasis just around the next dune.. And sure enough, the oasis was there.. Won't ever forget that, Lilac
RIVERDOGgold - Aug 05, 2002
Yup, I've been "wantin something". Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover a lobotomy. So the next best remedy for this brain is the group at Freedom and my cold turkey quit.
Had that feeling Sunday (today). Actually a little bit right now... and most days still. But life goes on and perhaps the "wanting" will be less tomorrow.
Mike, 22 days, 660 smokes
CdnpheonixGold - Aug 14, 2002
Hi Hillbilly Dave! This post really touched home with me a couple of weeks ago when I first got to FREEDOM. Now that I know how to get around a bit better I've managed to find it and read it again. Still touchin' so I'm bringing it up so more people can be amazed by your insight.
As always . . . in awe,
YQS
C
3W 16h 15m 44s (-650 cigarettes)
Hillbilly(Gold) - Aug 14, 2002
Glad it helped, C. To me, it's just more of my rattlin' around in my own head. :-)
Lilac (Bronze) - Aug 14, 2002
Dear C,
Did anyone ever tell you and surely they did, that you are a very remarkable young lady-------Your passionate commitment to non-smoking and to the forum is something very special.
LIlac
John (Gold) - Dec 28, 2002
Are we really so different than any other chemically dependent humans? There was a time not so long ago when I thought myself superior to alcoholics, heroin addicts, or those who smoke crack. Was I really? Who was I kidding?
KateG (Bronze ) - Jan 16, 2003
Dave, this post was recommended to me by a couple of friends here, and I love it! The nebulous, squishy, slippery, wanting feeling that I've been battling for days and not knowing how to describe...you had already described it so simply and plainly, and so accurately. You've helped me understand my own experience so much better. I'll come back to this one again and again.
Thank you,
Kate
IrishLotus GOLD - Apr 10, 2003
I am surprised I've never responded to this post. It had such a big impact on me when I first read it. As always Hillbilly, you dished out some good ole fat to chew, so I thought it couldn't hurt to pull this topic to the top of the board for some more discussion. I recommended this thread to Karen yesterday in response to her post Big Fat Quit, mostly because I thought it was appropriate for her, but also because I have been thinking a lot lately about that "something" feeling myself, and I wanted to see if this post (which I remember dearly) would offer me any new insight. As it turns out, Melissa's words in her response to Hillbilly are even more powerful than the first time I read them:
Maybe once we get past the initial high drama of quitting smoking - the physical sensations, the most pressing psychological triggers, etc. - we rediscover a little bit of us that's waited stuck all those years for a chance to say, "Hey, I want ... something." And now, rather than it being about smoking, we get a chance to realize it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires.
For me, cutting nicotine out of my life was only the FIRST STEP in peeling off layers of addiction and unhealthy behaviors...YEARS of "hiding" from my feelings, rather than embracing them. I think that when I first read Melissa's message, I didn't really understand that "rediscovery" she talked about, because I was still coma-tizing my feelings with comfort food and drowning my depression with drink.
As I begin to use my newfound freedom to inspire me to emerge from my mindless state of slavery, however, and reclaim my body from my other addictions, I am FINALLY starting to see hints of the "real me" peeking out for a chance to say "Hey I want...something". And that is an incredible feeling. REALLY listening to your body and making conscious choices about your desires. Sometimes it is difficult for me to realize that I am 27 years old and JUST "getting" this now...and other times I rejoice at the rediscovery of "me". It is scary to enter unknown territory, but even scarier to realize that that "unknown territory" is the real me. Scary and exhilarating all at the same time.
Well, I guess my point besides sparking a conversation on the subject, is to remind all the FREEDOMITES and lurkers out there reading this, that quitting smoking is about much more than ceasing a "dirty habit". It is about rediscovery and reconnection. It is about embracing the "real" you and finding your true path to happiness. As Toast so eloquently puts it, it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires.
Here's a "toast" to you quit sis...thanks for the wisdom.
Lotus
Choosing FREEDOM for 6 Months 2 Weeks 3 Days 9 Hours 17 Minutes 1 Second. Cigarettes not smoked: 5951. Money saved: $1,487.90.
Toast (GOLD ) - Apr 10, 2003
Well now, thank you, Irish!
Still learning to name my desires, and cheering you on your journey to the Real Lotus!
Melissa
22 months
Sal GOLD - Apr 11, 2003
I have been noticing growth-evolution-change that has all come forth since my shedding/stopping of nicotine and the slavery of smoking. It's the new me. Smoking stunted my growth.
Sal
Two months, four weeks, one day, 16 hours, 25 minutes and 30 seconds.
SOC Silver - Apr 11, 2003
Being 3 weeks into my quit, I find that "wanting something" is the biggest itch of my day. Not really a smoke. (A smoke at this point wouldn't give me that ahh feeling anyway! ) Just want something. I don't know what. So you know what I do? If I'm home, I start off by asking my husband for a spontaneous hug. A nice tight hug. Hold it for about 30 seconds. Ahhh. Dopamine level rises. I'm happy again.
Or if I'm at work, I pop over to the community candy jar in my boss' office, grab ONE piece of candy (usually chocolate - he's a good boss) pop it into my mouth and savor it. Moments passed, I'm happy again. This only happens around once a day or less, but I constantly look for new healthy ways to get that ahh feeling. These are just a couple, the hugs of course being my favorite. Oooh, I see a good parade idea here!
~ Sandy
Celebrating 3 weeks, 3 days, 17 hrs of Freedom!
420 not smoked, $84.09 not spent. Saving 1 day, 11 hrs, 0 mins of my life!
SOC Silver - May 03, 2003
Absolutely one of my favorite threads because quitting smoking is about new beginnings! For me it's all about learning how to deal with meals, other smokers, stress, relaxation, tragedy, celebrations, etc. without smoking a cigarette! It is described here as "wanting something" because until now we couldn't think beyond "wanting" that next smoke, let alone actually dealing with whatever comes our way!
It's been a few weeks since my reply above and I can see progress! (Thank goodness I'm not still visiting that candy jar ever day! lol) Just wanted to bring this up for anyone who's new or who might have missed it.
~ Sandy
Celebrating 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 day, 21 hrs of Freedom!
TerrysDaughter Green - Oct 10, 2003
What a great, wonderful thread! There is some amazing wisdom in this thread. Like the fog is starting to clear. I think that my fog is starting to clear too! It is exciting that there is still more to discover. And that "something" doesn't have to be something that is self-destructive. It can be something nice. (The hug part is nice!)
Live in the Moment!
TerrysDaughter_Green
Golddabler1 - Oct 10, 2003
There are probably plenty of people who have lost their quits by having that I want something feeling and come up with the wrong equation that it is nicotine. If they follow through with that equation they will choke and cough and splutter but then it is too late. The fly is in the spider's web and they would be amazed at how strong nicotines hold is as their memory had fooled them into forgetting.
As Roger says in patience, we have a fast-moving society and we all want something right now. If I want to buy something I wait for a week and if I still want it as much then I get it. In the past, I've bought things on impulse and wasted time and energy. Nicotine should never be administered and especially not on impulse. Sorry for rambling on this classic, Hillbilly. I just felt like responding.
Rickdabler
7 months 3 days 7hrs happily nicotine free.
MareBear GOLD - Oct 10, 2003
I love this thread. Funny it should be brought up today. I was chatting with a friend last night, who quit smoking with me on my 30th birthday (6 years ago--I failed, she succeeded) and we were talking about how there are still times when it feels like something is "missing." That is pure psychological habit, because now neither one of us can picture ourselves actually enjoying the feeling of dragging on a cigarette and pulling all that toxic crud into our lungs.
However, every once in a while, usually on a Sunday morning when I'm relaxing with the newspaper on the back porch, I will feel as though part of my routine is missing. Even after all this time. I understand the feeling and allow myself to feel it because to do otherwise would be a form of denial. The extremely mild discomfort that the thought brings is what I consider to be my price for freedom. A price I gladly pay.
Let me also say that the feeling only lasts a moment and doesn't at all interfere with my comfort level. It actually brings my lovely quit to the front of my mind and brings a smile to my face. There's a reason for everything.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!
MareBear
Free for: 1 Year 4 Months 1 Week 5 Days 12 Hours. Not smoked: 9990. Money saved: $1,748.25. Life Saved: 1 Month 3 Days 16 Hours 30 Minutes.
jennifer - Oct 10, 2003
Hi, this is something I also have had to deal with wanting something but what do I want? I know it is not now a smoke I now have an apple or an orange or banana but six weeks ago I was heading for the sweetest things I could. And guess what, the kilos have gone on.
But I am now able to deal with my eating and I am now watching what I am eating. I could not have done this six weeks ago. I was having a hard enough time hanging onto my quit without worrying about my weight gain. But I am strong enough now to cope with both which I think is just fantastic. I have been nicotine free for 2 months 3 weeks 18 hours and sooooo proud of myself
Parker GOLD - Oct 10, 2003
Oh, MareBear, that was lovely. You captured it. Thanks!
Parker - 490 days of freedom & healing
Jeff 74 Gold - Nov 06, 2003
During the past ten days, I have had so much time in the evenings and weekends that I have started reading. Reading is something that I never really enjoyed before. So far I have read:
- Happiness is a choice - a guide to depression
- The sky is falling, By Sidney Sheldon
- I am currently half way thru the New Testament of the Bible
- Currently reading The Purpose Drive Life - a forty journey to happiness.
- Currently reading - To Kill A Mocking Bird
QuitMelBaby - Jan 21, 2004
Thank you for this thread - been having that missing something feeling but do not want a cig. I usually go outside (not too cold here) and take a big breath of fresh air.
Astonished04 - Feb 11, 2004
I just discovered this thread, and it's wonderful! I couldn't quite get that "wanting something" into words, but this adds a lot of insight for the newbie. I wish I had "realized" this about 4 lbs. ago. BUT... I've only gained about 8, with a few leftover from Christmas. Nowadays, I assume it's chocolate when I "want something".
Anyway... This is a great thread.
Carla - Free and Healing for One Month, Four Days, 2 Hours and 44 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 4 Days and 3 Hours, by avoiding the use of 1194 nico-death sticks that would have set me back $152.45.
LilLulu814 - Feb 12, 2004
You hit the nail right on the head! I too feel as though "something" was missing but not sure what. I said as much to my boyfriend and he said, " it's your cigarette that's missing", but that's not it. I don't really want a cigarette, just "something", something to fill that void.
4cherbear - Mar 14, 2004
Hi All. I just read this thread. I hope the person it was intended for has read it too. Boy, I haven't EVER been able to put into words that "want something " feeling. I agree it isn't always that "old feed of nicotine thing"...what I have been doing and it really seems to help ME is: I pour myself a glass of water...I step outside (no matter how cold) Close my eyes, take a long sip of the water... take a deep gulp of that cold air...exhale slowly...and say Thanks to my Higher Power for air, water and the ability to feel the chillin' cold...then I run back inside and I feel soooo good.
Try it IF you're bored and nothing else has worked. No calories...alittle extra air into those healing lungs AND it feels so good to come inside and get warm again
Love,
Cher & Bear
FREE 13 days
Norahs 332 - Mar 14, 2004
I am familiar with that "I want something" feeling. I've had it my whole life. Lately, I know it's nicotine. but it could also be any of the other drugs I've given up. (Nicotene's the hardest!) Maybe it's just the love I never got as a child. I have been using water to fill the void, and tea... and sugar. I have gained some weight, but I'm not going to worry about it yet. A few extra pounds is a whole lot healthier than a few hundred extra chemicals!
Free and Healing for Twelve Days, 16 Hours and 40 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 1 Day, by avoiding the use of 292 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $60.62.
Zylah Gold1 - Apr 06, 2004
This is interesting as I just popped in here to see if there was anything written about the whole "wanting" something thing. It's been 9 months and STILL, sometimes I get the feeling. Except now instead of longing for that cigarette, I usually open the fridge door and stare at it.
I never end up eating anything. Usually, just get a lemon for my water (which is a good habit i picked up from this journey). Still, though, it's strange how sometimes that feeling comes back. But now it's not affiliated with smoking, just life.
Thanks for the article!
I have been quit for 9 Months, 3 Weeks, 1 Day, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 4 seconds (296 days). I have saved $741.11 by not smoking 2,964 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Week, 3 Days and 7 hours of my life.
HockyMa - Apr 09, 2004
I completely understand that "wanting something" - It's like a feeling of being unsatisfied but you don't know what will satisfy it.
John (Gold) - Apr 09, 2004
There are one billion comfortable ex-smokers out there, HockyMa, and almost all will tell you the same thing - the key to satisfying that "something" is patience in returning home to "you!"
Patience, one day at a time
whynotmee1 - Jul 22, 2004
I can't speak for every newbie, but as for myself. I have felt this lost feeling every day at one time or another... I've stood looking threw the kitchen cabinets, fridge, channel surfing, thinking to myself...I'm looking for something what in the world is it? I believe there is no one right answer. I'm just trying to fill that spot smoking used to fill.....SOC SILVER.
Thanks Dave!
DAsmoke-free:12 days
K1k Harper Green - Sep 08, 2004
I go through this same thing. I get up and stand there, anywhere, and think what do I want? It's not a cig. Smokers and those who never smoked didn't understand me. I am glad I passed this way and read this post. I printed a copy to show one person in particular that it is not just me, but something real happening in me. Thanks.
Harper
AssuredNewBren - Sep 08, 2004
Wow. Great post. I have that feeling also, and I sometimes ask myself, do people who have never smoked feel this way? What do people who have never smoked do when they're tired or bored or just want to do nothing for a few minutes? Will this feeling eventually go away for me? I know it's gotten better over the weeks, but will I always feel this way?
5 weeks, 4 days, 8 hours, 58 minutes nicotine free!
freemom - Oct 15, 2004
I was just feeling this way tonight when I finished dinner. I needed "something". I did not want to smoke but I just needed "something". It is so nice to hear that other people understand what that means. So I got up from the table and came to the computer. I saw this thread and started reading. It filled that void. Thank you all so much. Now I can go back and clean up the dishes without needing to obsess.
9 days a free person.
Trisha - Oct 15, 2004
Hello everyone. I am just taking my time to reply to Hillbilly's post. I am on my 6th day quit and I just have to say that I thought that I was in control, I thought I had this thing licked, but I was way wrong if I thought I could beat this just like that. Last night I was seriously considering going out and buying a pack of cigarettes but I logged on here and read some posts from all of you and realized how strong everyone is in here. I can be that strong.
I am only 19 years old, and if I started back now where would that really lead? I know exactly where. I would go back to smoking, probably a little at first to prove I am in control, and I would probably end up smoking more than I ever did before. And I would spend the rest of my life trying to quit, one stupid habit.
I truly wish that I never picked up a cigarette in my life, but I did and now I must live with that fact. I actually rolled up paper last night and pretended to be smoking, but I really want to get rid of the memories and the thought of smoking. The point that I am trying to make is, Yes I want something, I want to know when this feeling of wanting a cigarette is going to end....does it ever end. I cant stand the thought of thinking about cigarettes for the rest of my life...Please help me...I'm going crazy. Sorry to have taken up all of your time...Good Luck Everyone
I have been quit for 6 Days, 2 hours, 33 minutes and 45 seconds (6 days). I have saved $8.88 by not smoking 48 cigarettes. I have saved 4 hours of my life. My Quit Date: 10/8/2004
Conniesunshine - Oct 15, 2004
Trisha, there are lots of people that tell us these symptoms will end and that it gets easier. You are asking if the wanting will never end - it will if you stay off of them. How long? For me, day 1 was the hardest and then 2 and then 3. I remember on day 6 that it was more frustrating than at 2 weeks and 4 weeks is easier than at 2 weeks and so on. It's getting better all the time. I quit thinking about running out and getting the cigarettes at around week 3, not that I would have but I thought about it. After all, I was a junkie and I'm still addicted.
Tomorrow is 6 weeks into my quit and I just thought that today I did not want a cigarette all day long. That's a first. 32 years of them makes for a long habit, so I feel good that I may be getting past wanting them.
After some weeks or months, you may not have an urge to smoke for days at all. It depends on the person and how long you smoked and triggers and what you have decided to do.
The danger, as we are told, is when you think that you are safe enough that you can take just a puff or bum a cigarette just this once. Remember NTAP!
Trisha, you will do fine. Keep your mind on why you wanted to quit because that reason won't change. Take it one day at a time and look at the craves hard and think how they are bothersome now but they will be gone and your lungs can work on being clean and healthy. You are strong and will win!!!
I have been quit for 1 Month, 1 Week, 3 Days, 23 hours, 53 minutes and 48 seconds (40 days). I have saved $122.98 by not smoking 819 cigarettes. I have saved 2 Days, 20 hours and 15 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 9/3/2004
Parker GOLD - Oct 22, 2004
The wise words of Mrs. Triple-Gold Toast......
I'd say the "I want .... something" during the 2, 3, 4 month or so was a surprise to me ... usually, it was wanting to step out on the porch and to have a smoke .... that was something I did several times a day, and so I can't be surprised that I noticed myself not doing it!
But do you know what I remember from before I ever smoked??? I remember having that "I want .... something" feeling too. I think maybe some of that has to do with being young and not being adept or experienced enough yet to know and name my desires. Maybe smoking plugged that hole some ... giving me something I could "choose" for myself whenever I wanted - didn't depend on anyone else's vote (just my falling nicotine levels). Maybe smoking plugged that hole a little too by numbing out my emotions and making any deep inspection of my satisfaction or dissatisfaction less urgent sometimes.
Maybe once we get past the initial high drama of quitting smoking - the physical sensations, the most pressing psychological triggers, etc. - we rediscover a little bit of us that's waited stuck all those years for a chance to say, "Hey, I want ... something." And now, rather than it being about smoking, we get a chance to realize it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires.
LoneNYMom - Nov 04, 2004
Dear Dave, I know what you're talking about. After the first 72 hours, the biggest challenge has been filling my "smoking" time with other activities. When I am bored or I'm finished doing something (when it's slow at work, or I'm finished doing a chore at home etc.) is when I think about having a smoke. I keep reminding myself of how poorly I felt when I was smoking and how tough the first 2-3 days of my quit was. I tell myself that the rest is just a matter of giving myself time to learn how to live this new life without smoking.
Jeanette-
1 week, 2 days, 21 hours & 27 minutes smoke-free, 128 cigarettes not smoked, $44.80 saved, 10 hours & 40 minutes of my life saved. My quit date is October 24, 2004.
Sal GOLD - Nov 04, 2004
Sometimes that Something is something so normal. As nicotine addicts, we have a few things to re-learn about that Something feeling, and sometimes they include:
Sal
Starshinegrl Gold - Feb 12, 2005
One of my many favorites ...
Yes, sometimes, the inner junkie tries to tell us that we want a fix ... but do we? The more we listen to our real selves, the more we are going to find out what we really want each time we are confronted with the junkie in us. It never is nicotine.
Gitte
78 days and a bit
ChurnedSue - Feb 03, 2006
Hi All. Came across this post and the original thread while I was "wanting something" which is most of the time lately.
I know it's not going to be nicotine because after 45 years I don't do that anymore, but I don't feel right, thoughts and feelings keep rising to the surface. Like my parents dying from smoke-related causes, my friend and soul-mate dying from lung cancer just 6 weeks ago, (there were only nine weeks between diagnosis and death) me almost literally smoking while giving birth to my 3 children (you could do that all those years ago) I can't crush these feelings by having a cigarette because I don't smoke anymore. Am I going to cope in the future? I and most people who know me know that I have always coped with whatever life has thrown at me or anyone else, (albeit with a nicotine stick in my hand) but will I do it without?
This is not me looking for a relapse excuse because this is not going to happen, but I am a little concerned that with my crutch gone, I won't be as strong.
I have read this back and it seems like a load of waffle, just a minor panic attack, of course, I'll cope, just have to find a different way, others have.
Sue Free 33 & a bit days
anhef - Feb 19, 2006
Something...but what?? I've had that feeling too and I knew darn well that it wasn't nicotine that I wanted. Also knew that I was not hungry, thirsty or lonely and didn't need sleep. So what????
Found comfort in the oddest thing.
I used to go outside to smoke, and while I was there I'd look at a beautiful clump of trees, or the clouds, or maybe the sunset. Since I quit, I stopped going outside at odd times too. Why????
I only quit nicotine, not the enjoyment of those little breaks. So I started going outside, sitting in the same place and inhaling deeply....but not nicotine, just inhaling fresh air.
And ya know what, it felt great! Just as great as that "ahhhhh' that signaled giving into the craving before I quit. I was missing "something"....but NOT the nicotine. Nope. I was missing the good things that accompanied the delivery of the nicotine. And I realized that there was no need to give up those good things.
So now, when I feel a crave, or trigger, or whatever you want to call it....I follow it to the extent of the goodness involved....and take a big puff...of fresh, free air! AHHHHHHHHHHHH, now that's SOMETHING!
I gotta remember that I didn't "give up anything"....I threw away "something" that was bad for me. ANd I can keep all of the other things, cause they don't have anything to do with NTAP!!!!
All I have to do is remember my priorities and the truth that I learned here at Freedom....and I can stay free. annie....free and learning new things for 1 week, 2 days 1 hour and 40 minutes
Aprilangel1951 - Feb 20, 2006
This is just what I have been feeling the past couple of days, it is not a need for nicotine, food, drink, sleep or any physical thing. It is a feeling of wanting something but not knowing what it is. It is like my subconscious is trying to tell me something but I am just not getting it.
We are all adjusting to living life without nicotine and thus dealing with emotions in a whole new way as we find and embrace our pre addict selves which have been lost to some of us for a very long time. Maybe we are like children trying something new for the first time on their own and feeling vulnerable and afraid of the unknown. That "something" is our addiction that we used to hide our true selves and mask our emotions and is being replaced by the true, authentic us!
We have been stripped to our very cores and are learning to confront life as it should be, head-on and nicotine-free! Yes, we will feel afraid, vulnerable, confused, angry, sad, and like something is missing but it will be oh so worth it because in the end, we will find our true selves!
Carol
Hanging in there at 49 days!
JoeJFree Gold - Mar 08, 2006
For Melissa - From Mary Kate - Lotus above -
I am FINALLY starting to see hints of the "real me" peeking out for a chance to say "Hey I want...something". And that is an incredible feeling. REALLY listening to your body and making conscious choices about your desires. Sometimes it is difficult for me to realize that I am 27 years old and JUST "getting" this now...and other times I rejoice at the rediscovery of "me". It is scary to enter unknown territory, but even scarier to realize that that "unknown territory" is the real me. Scary and exhilarating all at the same time.
Well, I guess my point besides sparking a conversation on the subject, is to remind all the FREEDOMITES and lurkers out there reading this, that quitting smoking is about much more than ceasing a "dirty habit". It is about rediscovery and reconnection. It is about embracing the "real" you and finding your true path to happiness.
As Toast so eloquently puts it : it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires.
Juju - Mar 09, 2006
Thank you. This post should keep me out of trouble for a while!
Julie
quitforgood - Jun 04, 2006
Thanks for bringing these posts up again. I hadn't read them before and they certainly hit the nail on the head for me. They express so articulately what I have been feeling in the last few days of a 14-day quit. A lightbulb when off when I read them. Each day I learn more and more at this site and because of this education, I know this quit is different from others I have had.
Brenda
freejill - Jun 05, 2006
I SOOO needed to see this tonight! I have been feeling this for the last several days and finally recognize it. Having also recovered from drug and alcohol abuse, I've been here before but it's been many years since those first days of getting straight and I've forgotten how that felt.
I have been quit for 1 Week, 6 Days, 4 hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds (13 days). I have saved $69.19 by not smoking 395 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Day, 8 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 5/22/2006 4:00 PM
Flo Babe - Jun 06, 2006
I agree. This weekend I had that 'I want something' feel and after some analysis, realized it was 'boredom'. I wasn't fighting the craving. I wasn't hungry. I was bored. I came to the realization that quitting doesn't solve all our problems and it probably masked many of our problems and now it's time to face them without the 'smoke screen' (pardon the pun).
I think perhaps it's time to think outside the box - the box of a smoker - and realize that the world has opened up almost 80% more than it was before we quit. There are now many more people we can become intimate and friendly with because we don't smoke. There are that many more places we can go to because we don't smoke. And we can do things that take more than an hour because we don't need to think about getting a fix all the time. I think I'm just starting to peek out from my bunker - after 17 days of quitting - and finally realizing that I'm never going back - that I have changed now. That I am a non-smoker.
I think that there are a zillion things that we will need to recover which were taken by nicotine but it is a journey of discovery, an adventure, and a blessing.
One day at a time, and never take another puff - that's the way to go.
Day 17 of freedom after 42 years of addiction.
FishingRodLady - Aug 02, 2006
I have not seen this post before but it describes my feelings exactly. I want something. But what?
Sharon
14 days free
Cindy K - Mar 21, 2007
Wow, am I glad I found this string. I have only been nicotine free for 21 days, 4 hours now but, I have been really feeling all out of sorts, or needing something for about a week now.
For the last 34 or so years I have had cigs to fill my time, they were always there for me. When I was bored, lonely, sad, happy, needing a break, whatever I was, they were with me. My life totally revolved around being able to smoke. So there were many things that I never did because I may not be able to smoke at my regulated time! Now that I am smoke-free, I feel as tho there is something missing in my life. I don't feel the need to smoke, I just have a somewhat empty feeling.
This statement from Dave really helped. I think that I'm one of those people that need to make that concerted effort to find new interests.
'I think for many of us, this may be the biggest challenge of our quits, how to fill the void left by smoking. Obviously, it can be done, look at John, Joanne, Marty, Grumps, et al, they did it. For some, it may be an unconscious process where they naturally gravitate to new and different interests to fill the time. For others, we may have to make a concerted effort to re-mold our lives into something different. Maybe all we need is a hobby!!'
I have been reading thru this whole string I would strongly suggest it to anyone that is feeling kind of lost.
A girl I work with has tried quitting many times over the last few years. She always says that the first couple of weeks are easy, it is the 3rd and 4th that always kill her. She usually starts back smoking after about a month because she is so miserable. I sent her a link to this string. I wonder if what she has always been feeling is the 'I need something' and assumed it was a smoke that she needed?
She says that she wants to give it another shot. I hope that she will take my advice and do some 'Lurking' in here before she tries again. I think that by educating myself prior to quitting made all the difference in the world for me. I was amazed at how much easier it was this time. I know that I haven't been smoke-free for months or years, I'm not even Green yet but I still love the new me. I'm so proud of myself for doing this.
I'm still taking it one day at a time and will Never Take Another Puff!
Cindy
Free and Healing for Twenty One Days, 4 Hours and 14 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 1 Day and 6 Hours, 1 more day for my Grandkids!!!! (when I get them)
Lburgguy1 - Mar 27, 2008
Wow, that is exactly what I've been experiencing. Great read!
JudyH8 - Apr 20, 2008
I'm glad I found this string of posts. This afternoon and tonight I have felt like I am missing something and it would be great to have a smoke right now and get my mind off it, and then a little later it's the same thought. Just really glad I found all these posts. They are so good and helpful.
Days quit, 33.
Judy
Gardenia167 - Apr 20, 2008
I am so glad to see this bumped up. I have also been having the "I want somethings" off and on for several days. The weather is starting to get nice here so maybe some sunshine will do the trick.
It also helps to see that others are having these thoughts around the same point in their quits and I am not alone or crazy :)
Gardenia
I have been quit for 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 1 hour, 41 minutes and 13 seconds (27 days). I have saved $85.26 by not smoking 406 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Day, 9 hours and 50 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 3/24/2008 6:05 AM
Ilona - Apr 21, 2008
This string speaks to me a lot. As a young child, I apparently went around saying "I want something" while seeming to fret and wring my hands. (Sounds pathetic I know). Well, as it turns out, my mother smoked throughout all of her pregnancies. I happened to be born late, well into the 10th month. Imagine how much nicotine I ingested before birth! I was born "wanting something."
Imagine how many of us smokers are probably born addicts due to our mothers' smoking habit (I was born in the 60s; it was still hip for mothers' to smoke while you were expecting a child). When I found cigarettes it was like "ahhh.. I think I've found what I was looking for". It makes me really mad to think that my whole life, since birth, I have been a nicotine addict. I have often wondered how many quitters out there are also dealing with a life-long want for something....
Ilona
Maisie Mai - Jun 11, 2008
I am nearly 6 weeks into my final quit and I can't say it's been difficult, it's been illuminating and satisfying and has made me feel proud.... but all day today I've had the most annoying 'I need something' time that has lasted all day and all evening. Grrrr... I'm so mad!
Anyway, the positive side is that although I felt strongly that I needed a cigarette/nicotine I knew I didn't want to smoke because..it's horrible..it wouldn't solve anything etc. So, I didn't and that makes me proud. I think the worst of today is over now and tomorrow is another day.
Maisie
I am proud to announce that I have been totally nicotine free for 1 Month, 1 Week, 1 Day and 11 minutes (39 days). I have saved £187.23 by not smoking 780 cigarettes. I have saved 2 Days and 17 hours of my life. My Quit Date: 02/05/2008 22:00
bluekate4 - Jun 11, 2008
I'm also really glad this thread has been brought forward... I'm a week quit (today!), and I've had two types of cravings - the conscious, "I want one" type, and the unconscious "I need something!" kind. This thread is definitely helpful.
aryeh36 - Jun 15, 2008
Wow! This describes exactly what I have been going through. I want "something." Two things offer me satisfaction so far:
a) This website satisfies my need for the elusive"something" that I need.
b) a long walk gets rid of the feeling for a while.
But they are not the same. The effects are not the same. This website satisfies. The walk does not satisfy the need - only removes it for a while. Anyway, Thanks Dave for this beautiful insight.
Aryeh
I have been quit for 3W 2D 6h 11m (23 days). I have saved $122.09 by not smoking 325 cigarettes. I have saved 1D 3h 5m of my life. My Quit Date: 5/23/2008 8:01 AM
WavyDavy7 - Jun 16, 2008
I am sometimes conscious enough to recognize how similarly cravings of all kinds show up. There's a sensation of some undefinable thing missing. Maybe it's food; maybe it's something advertised on TV. In the past, I would just light up a cigarette and for 20-30 minutes that hole would be filled.
Unfortunately, the product ultimately doesn't live up to its promise and we addicts often discover too late how our desires and fulfillments have been perverted as our lung function disappears.
jeffazi - Jul 09, 2008
That "wanting something" feeling really hits home with me. I've had that feeling several times since I quit. I didn't really connect it with being a craving. It was more of a disquieting feeling like the feeling you get when you know you've forgotten to do something and can't remember what it is. Good post Dave.
jeff
I quit smoking 2 Weeks, 2 Days, 22 hours, 28 minutes and 51 seconds (16 days) ago.
I have saved $80.44 by not smoking 338 cigarettes.
I have saved 1 Day, 15 hours and 26 minutes of my life.
My Quit Date: 6/22/2008 3:00 PM
NTAP!
johnnynonic - Jan 02, 2009
rosy - Nov 15, 2009
Yesterday I spent the day with the family at large which involved all the stresses of negotiating family politics. I never actually craved a cigarette when I was there but went I got home, something was missing. It wasn't a desire for a cigarette - just something to end the family day once I got home.
I didn't find that something, I came here instead. However, I only found this thread today, explaining this feeling of wanting something. When I used to come home after family events, I'd sit on the balcony and of course have a few cigarettes to "help" make the adjustment of being back in the sanity & quiet of my home.
So this was the" something" I felt yesterday - it meant learning new ways of being, new ways of settling back home after a hectic day with the family.
Thanks
Free & Healing
Rosy
Stopped Smoking for One Month, Five Days, 16 Hours and 42 Minutes, by avoiding the use of 1211 nicotine delivery devices. Quit Day : 09/10/2009.
GirlyGirlRealtor - Dec 13, 2009
Hi all! I am new to this site.....been nicotine free for 13 days. This thread explains exactly how I feel constantly....like I just want "something" and don't know exactly what so I find myself eating non-stop to try and find the "something" I am wanting!!! Eating obviously is not the "something" my body wants or I would feel satisfied at some point! It was so great to realize that many others are going through this same feeling and I am not losing it. Thanks!
JGH - Feb 17, 2010
Sarah52 directed me here -- a post I had not yet seen (and I've read hundreds, maybe more). And, this was IT -- this was the feeling I've been experiencing the past few days -- the one that was starting to gnaw at my brain and really test my resolve and I didn't understand why. I know that if I hadn't done all the reading here that I have, I would have succumbed to the I-want-something -- and would just have assumed that of course, it was nicotine that I wanted.
But that would have been a lie because I actually haven't missed the nicotine (well, at least after the first several awful days of physical withdrawal). But, there has been a void -- literally -- a sort of hollow feeling inside, right below my lungs, above my diaphragm and in the center of my being. Nothing has helped it -- not deep, deep breathing; not walking on the beach; not going to the dog park and pretending to like all the owners of poorly trained dogs whose owner; not candle-lit hot baths with a 2005 French Bordeaux; not my third-pound of baby carrot sticks; not even the bag of caramel rice cakes that I inhaled earlier today. That bloody void still exists although I am more exercised, cleaner, more polite, and so-bloody-full.
But, further, in the original I-want-something post, Melissa wrote this: "Maybe once we get past the initial high drama of quitting smoking - the physical sensations, the most pressing psychological triggers, etc. - we rediscover a little bit of us that's waited stuck all those years for a chance to say, "Hey, I want ... something." And now, rather than it being about smoking, we get a chance to realize it's really about growing up, learning to know and name and act responsibly upon our desires."
Light bulb. Glaring illumination. Scary thought -- but one that makes so much sense that I can now ruminate on that rather than the void.
So, thanks Sarah52 for showing me the way -- and thanks Dave and Melissa for helping me make sense of the seemingly senseless.
Now at the grand total of 9 days, 20 hours, 51 minutes, 48 seconds -- which means I have foregone 385 nicotine sticks and saved me $154 which is now being saved to go to Alaska to see the Aurora Borealis.
LINDAS - Feb 18, 2010
Thanks, Kiwi, for thanking Dave for addressing this idea. My big stumbling block in finding "Something" is .. that my "Something" has been "Smoking", the "Only thing" for years and years. Now, before everyone starts "boo-ing", let me say, I knew this going into NTAP. Having smoked since I was 12 yrs old, being single for the last 24 years, going through 'thick & thin' ALL BY MYSELF (snif..snif)....guess who was always there? Yup, Mr. Cigarette.
While contemplating just what a BIG Something I was going to need, I came up with this analogy: I had been with Mr. Cigarette for so long that it was like we were married. So, I'm the battered wife...yeah? I mean, this (guy) is killing me, literally, and I can't leave him??? Yeah/No!
After trying to quit every few months, I decided I was 'never going to quit trying to quit', using each failure as knowledge and tools for the next quit. I felt that what I really needed and wanted was some kind of interaction, "buddy system", or something. I mean, there are meetings for AA and NA. I just couldn't believe that in my community, with 2 hospitals, we didn't have any kind of quit organizations.
Then I ran across WhyQuit. It's my kind of quit style, cold turkey! So, I "girded up my loins" and here I am at 1 Week, 3 Days, 8 hours, 50 minutes and 46 seconds (10 days). I have saved $108.86 by not smoking 311 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Day, 1 hour and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 2/7/2010 11:13 PM
This is where I need some help...I got through the first 72 hours (finally!) and now I have all of these emotions: anger, disappointment, sadness, etc, etc. Can anyone guide me to info on that? My attitude is this: It may not get easier, but it sure gets better. I want to really believe that all of the time!
FreedomNicotine - Feb 18, 2010
- My Cigarette, My Friend
- Emotional Loss Experienced from Quitting Smoking
- New reactions to anger as an ex-smoker
- For people who think quitting smoking is the hardest thing they have ever done.
- Buddy Systems
- What stop smoking programs do you recommend?
- Quitting can be a very lonely experience
JohnPolito - Apr 16, 2010
New studies are beginning to shed light on the wanting Dave discussed here many years ago and the wanting nearly all of us felt during recovery. In fact, the newest studies suggest that drug addiction's very foundation is a disease and illness rooted in want. Now for some interesting study spin, imagine the brain badly wanting something that you don't really like. Is that possible? Apparently!
While a few of us took to smoking like fish to water, for most, our bodies rebelled again those first cigarettes, at least until scores of toxins numbed mouth, throat, and lung tissues to the point that they no longer felt the assaults and ended their rebellion. But at least three critical events we're happening during those first few smokes. While the body was growing numb to the toxins, there was not yet any want for nicotine. It wasn't until nicotine's continued use saturated dopamine pathway receptors, temporarily desensitizing them and somehow causing the brain to grow/activate additional receptors (a process known as up-regulation). Somewhere in this process want was born.
I remember my first moment of "want" like it was yesterday. I'd smoked five cigarettes over a three-day period and was then alone in my room without a 15-year-old girl to try and impress (my excuse for smoking) when my brain commanded me to find and smoke another. My first cue was likely related to nicotine's 2-hour half-life as I'd never smoked in my room or any building before. But there I was, suddenly wanting something that I didn't think I liked. She smoked and I just wanted her to like me.
The following study abstract's title is a link to a full-text copy. It's about how they conditioned rats to seek and taste something that they didn't like, a taste of salt that was three times saltier than seawater. My point is this. Recovery is a temporary journey of readjustment where we each move beyond thousands of the most powerful wanting memories the mind appears capable of generating, those created in responding to cues flowing from brain dopamine pathways. It appears that the greater our sense of nicotine deprivation when smoking the more enduring the resulting memory.
The beauty of coming home is that natural, normal and healthy wanting gradually buries and hides the lie we once lived, that that next nicotine was as important as eating. Without food and water we die. Without nicotine, we thrive! It just takes a bit of patience to allow ourselves to arrive here on Easy Street, where entire days without wanting gradually become our new sense of normal. Or should I say, again become our old or pre-nicotine sense of normal. There was always only one rule to having years of addiction chatter, at last, come to an end ... no nicotine just one hour, challenge and day a time! Be proud of yourself. Yes you can!!!!!
Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,
John (Gold x10)
Title: Dynamic computation of incentive salience: "wanting" what was never "liked"
Journal: The Journal of Neuroscience, September 30, 2009, Volume 29(39): Pages 12220-12228.
Authors: Tindell AJ, Smith KS, Berridge KC, Aldridge JW.
Abstract Pavlovian cues for rewards become endowed with incentive salience, guiding "wanting" to their learned reward. Usually, cues are "wanted" only if their rewards have ever been "liked," but here we show that mesocorticolimbic systems can recompute "wanting" de novo by integrating novel physiological signals with a cue's preexisting associations to an outcome that lacked hedonic value. That is, a cue's incentive salience can be recomputed adaptively. We demonstrate that this recomputation is encoded in neural signals coursing through the ventral pallidum.
Ventral pallidum neurons do not ordinarily fire vigorously to a cue that predicts the previously "disliked" taste of intense salt, although they do fire to a cue that predicts the taste of previously "liked" sucrose. Yet we show that neural firing rises dramatically to the salt cue immediately and selectively when that cue is encountered in a never-before-experienced state of physiological salt depletion. Crucially, robust neural firing to the salt cue occurred the first time it was encountered in the new depletion state (in cue-only extinction trials), even before its associated intense saltiness has ever been tasted as positively "liked" (salt taste had always been "disliked" before).
The amplification of incentive salience did not require additional learning about the cue or the newly positive salt taste. Thus dynamic recomputation of cue-triggered "wanting" signals can occur in real time at the moment of cue re-encounter by combining previously learned Pavlovian associations with novel physiological information about a current state of specific appetite.
PMID: 19793980 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
onthepath - Jan 01, 2012
I came across this thread today and man does it hit home for me. I have been looking for that "something" all day and never really found it. Found ice cream and popcorn only to discover they weren't "it". I like the idea of a glass of ice water, going out on my deck, taking several deep breaths of fresh air and enjoying nature (except it's 20 degrees out with a 50mph wind today). I plan to do more of that just to maintain some AAHH moments pleasures and keep myself more on top of the crazy wanting somethings. Even just knowing that many experience wanting something but not knowing what, it helps. I look forward to growing and continuing to learn how to regain my life without cigarettes.
Knowledge is a Quitting Method
