ceceliamurphy

Though I've "only" been off cigs for three days - for me those three days, however short, seem like no small feat at all - I've noticed some serious improvements in a lot of areas and I thought I would share.
Keep in consideration that I'm taking Commit lozenges, so these benefits won't be comparable to those of someone quitting cold turkey.

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY: I no longer have to break up every task into twenty-minute intervals, taking breaks and therefore getting sidetracked and distracted. Last night I cleaned out my filthy, filthy car, my bedroom, and packed away my winter clothes. It didn't feel like I had to be more disciplined than before. . .I just kept at the task at hand and therefore made more progress.
INNER CALM: I'm not sure why I feel so much more tranquil, considering that I'm still consuming the stimulant from cigarettes that causes anxiety both during consumption and in its absence. Still, I feel this remarkable, penetrating calm all day long. I actually feel like I'm so much more in the present : in conversation with someone, I'm so much more available mentally to the person I'm talking to. In the places I go, I feel so much more there than before; I notice my surroundings more and I feel more at peace.
Again, this seems strange because I'm still ingesting nicotine. But it's such a marked difference from the way things used to be that I have to attribute it to quitting. It's by far my favorite benefit, so even if I'm only imagining it, let's not tell that to my brain.
I never expected something like that to happen. You just don't notice what the %^&* you're doing to yourself - your body and your psyche - as as smoker, until you quit. It feels like magic, but. . .I guess these are just the perks of possessing a human body that's not being poisoned!
NEW DEPTHS IN MY LUNGS: I was very very active even as a smoker, and the pack/day I smoked never prevented me from intense, 5x-weekly cardio sessions. Still, when I go to work out now, I have discovered that when I'm hauling oxygen, there's a much greater supply, coming from places much deeper in my lungs than I ever knew existed! I actually had to consciously re-adjust my breathing habits while exercising- I didn't have to breathe so shallowly anymore.
Unfortunately, when I breathe that deeply, it still causes me to cough: the passages down there may be open now, but they still aren't clean. Surely that will change: I'll go even deeper and clean it all out!

Well... I'll update this as I notice new benefits. I hope it's been of some help to motivate at least a teeny bit? Can anyone identify with any of these things?

oh and ps: tell me I'm not the only one who, when trying to write a post, is often distracted to the point of mesmerization by the little green on the right hand side of the writing box?