Oh windy, I wish I could help you. I get anxiety too but I just deal with it on my own and then I blow up at people like my hubby, lol. Maybe not too smart. I don't know what advice to give you but I really do hope you win the competition, good luck you competetitive little one. :)

Hi Melanie Thanks for the site. I think that it might be a little too hard to do a realistic assessment right now as many of the questions pertain to the last 4 days (and my anxiety has been just a tad bit higher) although it looks like a good site to check into. Unfortunately, I don't have a family doctor anymore. (massive shortage here) However, I can go to a clinic if necessary. I think that I'll survive either way....sometimes i just need to post. Perhaps I will start journalling to prevent people from having to read these endless posts. Thanks for the advice! Windy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/11/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 10 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 218 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 50 [B]Seconds:[/B] 41

Hey you SCC'ers I need a little help. I'm afraid I have always been extremely good at the anxiety/panic thing. While most people run at about at 4 on the anxiety/edginess scale...I think I generally run around a 6 or a 7. This quitting thing has pushed me up around 8 or 9 at times. Lately I have had GOOD stress in my life. I have new responsibilities at work (that I wanted), I may be adopting a new kitten (can't wait), and I won a speaking competition (and I'm proud of myself - but now I have to go on). Now don't ask me why I agreed to go in the speaking competition while I am trying to quit smoking (that was just plain stupid) But............you see...I am not only stupid, anxious and edgy BUT i am COMPETITIVE....so I had to do my best because I am just one of those strange mixed up individuals that like to torture themselves. Anyway...by the time I got back to my bed (well not my bed...because Gonna was in it)...but by the time I got back to my parent's house, I was so keyed up that I had to pop a lorazepam. I haven't taken one of those for over 6 months and that was when I was dealing with REAL stress. I have done deep breathing...in fact I did it for an hour straight on the way to the competition...and then I did it all the way back. I think I need some help to get this anxiety under control. Gosh - if I get stressed out when GOOD things happen, what will I do when the bad things come along! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/11/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 10 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 217 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 43 [B]Seconds:[/B] 29

Hey Windy, keep it coming.....it is certainly not to much to read.....:) That's what this forum is for......long raves, short raves, novels if necessary.....:) If you put it in a journal your not going to get the feedback!!! So please keep it out here and share it with us. I know the feeling with the elevated anxiety Windy....before giving up smoking it was a thing I have also had to deal with and naturally I am having to deal with it completely in the raw now that I have quit. This is a good thing though. As Gonna said 'stress is stress', good bad or ugly and most importantly we can't avoid it, stress happens throughout life and NEVER stops visiting us, mostly catching us off guard as we are not prepared. I think you are wise giving thought to what it will be like for you when you hit what you perceive to be a really 'bad stress' situation. Preparation is the key Windy......be ready for it. You and I have been quit since the same day and I feel I have a reasonable fix on where you might be coming from with your thinking on this one. I have endured and survived a number of extremely stressful events in this first 11 days (dateline thing). I never thought I would make it through a heavy stressful event but I have. I managed because I have become so acutely aware that smoking a cigarette has NEVER solved a single problem for me in the past. Smoking doesn't solve problems it creates them. Smoking will actually make a bad time worse. I say that because when we are suffering the last thing we need is to 'punish' ourselves even further. My motivation for smoking had always been 'reward'. These smoke free days have given me a great window of opportunity to reflect on my former belief that smoking was my reward for having done this or that, task completed......time for a smoke. Who was I trying to fool, clearly only myself. Which brings me to my point. I had deluded myself into believing that smoking gave me something valuable. That smoking would be my 'friend' when I needed help, re-assurance, relaxation, timeout....especially when things got tough. But what I have discovered is that I was trying to rely on something 'outside' of myself to rescue and comfort me. Now I am learning to rely on myself. I acknowledge that this means that I MUST learn new skill

Savvvy good post. carry on with the quit one day at a time :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 101 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,521 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $404 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

windy I've bumped a post for you :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/13/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 100 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,514 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $400 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 40 [B]Seconds:[/B] 17

Melanie: I am curious (and rather impressed) with mention of these sister sites. Alcohol, depression, anxiety...what else is out there? You guys are a rather BUSY bunch, aren't you?

You snooze; you lose................. NE ways, stress is stress--good and bad stress. If you remember back [i]then[/i], when you smoked, you smoked more during times of good and bad stress. Atleast I did. Kind of like the kid starving for attention...he will take it whether it is positive or negative attention. I have not had what I would consider anxiety or panic attacks, but i find myself almost panting when things become stressful! I am trying to be more conscience of this and try to control the breathing. I dunno, maybe they are panic attacks. Several times my heart just starts to flutter!!!???

Gonna, The SSC is extremely happy to be associated with many other support groups within our online support community. We are currently associated with The Depression Center, The Panic Center and The Alcohol Help Center. We are always proud to offer our community help when one needs it most. We will be keeping our members up-to-date when we have new and improved online community support groups in the future. Take care and have a great evening :). Cheers, Melanie ________________________ The SSC Support Team

Windy, We all experience different withdrawal symptoms when we quit smoking, and some people do have an increase in anxiety and or panic. Quitting smoking is hard and often people find it hard to make such a dramatic change in their lifestyle. Although side effects may be unpleasant, they should pass. When you experience withdrawal symptoms, remind yourself that each symptom is a sign of recovery. Your body is in the process of healing itself. If your anxiety/panic persists, or seems worse than you expected, you should immediately consult your doctor. It�s possible that your smoking has been masking symptoms of your past history, and when you stop smoking the symptoms may abruptly become noticeable. Please go to our sister site call The Panic Center at [url=http://www.paniccenter.net]www.paniccenter.net[/url] and take our Anxiety Test. The Anxiety Test is a brief and anonymous screener that helps you and your health care professional understand your anxiety and depressive symptoms. When you�re finished the Anxiety Test you are presented with a Final Report that outlines which anxiety, panic or depressive symptoms you might have. We hope that we have guided you in the right direction this evening. Please keep us posted and feel free to express your questions and concerns within our online support group at any time. Take care, Melanie _____________________________ The SSC Support Team