Originally Posted by
Narc
Here are my thoughts. I managed to get about 5 weeks into quitting while getting the worst possible withdrawal symptoms (fuzzy mindedness that I refer to as 'brain mush', really strong depression, overeating and insomnia) and I'm about to commence quitting again now that I'm on break from university and have less things around that will make me want to smoke.
It seems that there's a huge addiction to the actual smoking component, possibly even more than the chemical addiction which is almost gone by about 4 weeks in.
My advice is at the very least to get your Nicotine from gum, patches or lozenges. Work on killing that habit. You've already demonstrated that you can get through the chemical component.
Judging by the amount of time you have off cigarettes before going back, you have essentially quit smoking each time. Your returns are probably triggered by being around other smokers too much, watching film or TV with too much smoking in it or you're coming across stressful situations that make you want to light up again. I'd say look for a better way to channel/cope with your stress. You can essentially turn to food, but then it just becomes the same problem and you end up putting weight on.
My recommendation is that you look to exercise to get your hit of 'feel good' stuff. Supplement that with meditation to help keep a cool head and deal with the stress better.