do you have any advice?

[keevy39]

I quite smoking a little over a month ago, and that is going good. The problem is I'm still having anxiety issues and I am having really hard time sitting still and drawing for more then 10 minutes at a time. I cant get anything done because of this, and it is drive me crazy!

I read up on joining a support sketch group, but it appears that they don't last very long.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

Thank you

[Jason Rainville]

Do you have anything that you watch/listen to while you draw? Some people find the silent irritating. I put on playlists of Whose Line from Youtube. Keeps my ears occupied and cheers me up when stuff isn't going so good :)

[Hookswords]

Yep, I've got some advice. STOP IT!

You're feeding the anxiety by acknowledging it and giving it power. You're dwelling on it and letting it take control. Dude, you made it a month. A whole month, that's huge! Congratulations, you made it through the really tough part, but not entirely. But you're acknowledging the anxiety and associating it with drawing. Kind of like associating a cigarette with driving or after a meal.

In meditation practices this is often referred to as "monkey mind". When you sit to meditate and empty your mind it will often try to distract you with random thoughts. If you feed it and start down the path of that thought it wins. If you acknowledge it and curse yourself for being distracted you've now added a monkey on top of the monkey that was already there, and it has won. So, instead, you can smile to yourself and say "Oops, it almost got me" and reinforce your focus and go back to your meditation.

This understanding can be extended to your problem. Dont think about the anxiety just think about what you want to draw. Take some deep cleansing breaths. Sit up straight and breathe to your stomach. Think of a balloon in your stomach that fills and expands as you breathe. Keep your mouth closed with the tip of your tongue gently touching the roof of your mouth. Breathe slow and deep through your nose. This will help calm your body. Just focus on what great things can come from your pencil to the page and calmly set into drawing. If that anxiety starts to creep up just smile and breathe deep again and think about how that drawing is coming and how awesome it's going to be after you've worked on it for twenty minutes. Then thirty minutes, then an hour, and so on. Dont push it too long at first, but eventually you will gradually take control.

Good luck, you can do it.

[zerdron]

I don't smoke so I don't really know how it feels or how's it going to be like if a smoker quits. If you ask me what do I do to cope up with it. I draw and listen to music every time. It's what I do always. When I do that kind of routine my attention won't go to anything else. If all else fails, I just do some damn sketches. The only thing I do is art.

[keevy39]

Jason Rainville, Hookswords and zerdron, I want to thank you for helping me out, you guys are a life saver!
Thanks

[George Abraham]

Get patches if you can't handle it but don't wreck your lungs any longer.

If you smoked for a long time it's just a matter of learning to do it manually again.

Practice the "sigh", that triggers the body to relax. Ever seen how quickly a dog falls asleep? Just picks a spot, lays down and sigh.... Gone..

[zerdron]

I feel like a dog right now.

[purplegoat]

Congrats on quitting smoking, by doing so you've improved your health by leaps and bounds. I used to smoke a pack a day for over 10 years. Took me many attempts to get quitting to stick. Finally it did.

There's some good advice already posted here. Another thing you can try is to take a small break if you start to get anxiety while drawing. But try to draw for as long as you can. Taking a break may help you come back to the drawing with a fresh mind. By taking a break I mean getting a snack, going for a 5 minute walk or looking at an art book.

Over time, with repetition, you can train your brain to relax instead of experiencing anxiety.

[Kraus]

Damn, now i wanna smoke one, i'm climbing walls here. On the other hand, when i'm occupied painting or playing videogames, i completely forget i'm a smoker.

[macabre]

How long does it take to start physically feeling better after quiting? I never make it past a week or two because I never feel any different. So I say, fuck it.

[TASmith]

They say running is very addictive. If it's possible, find a treadmill where you can walk and read, or watch tv, or maybe even draw. Do enough of that you'll be too exhausted for a cigarette. Do it enough and you'll get addicted to running. Then you'll be in really good health.

[nauvice]

how bad are your anxieties? you could get prescription pills w/ insurance if you have that. I take some, I still smoke, but less for anxiety reasons since I've started taking them

[keevy39]

how bad are your anxieties? you could get prescription pills w/ insurance if you have that. I take some, I still smoke, but less for anxiety reasons since I've started taking them

Its Hard to answer that really. This really never happend to me before, Ive tried to quite before, but never gotten this far before, so things never got that bad. Also, I don't feel extremely comfortable with meds, and I lack insurance. Aside from all of that, I think this is just part of quitting. I'm coming to terms with it, hopefully Ill even back out soon :)

[stuartmathew]

There has been much research done in understanding anxiety disorders and the different ways to treat them. Among these treatments, one that is becoming very common is the use of natural remedies that include doing certain exercises and taking some herbal medication, which have been proven to help alleviate some symptoms of anxiety disorders. However, people using these remedies also need medical supervision so that they can be assured that they are using the remedy that is right for them and their type of anxiety disorder.

[ShotgunTony]

when i quit smoking 6 years ago i would start doing pushups whenever i started feeling a craving or irritated and the endorphins from the excersize would make everything allright for like an hour. and pushups dont cause that much muscle stress so you can do them over and over and over all day long

it helped me i hope it helps you

[ShotgunTony]

btw it will be a year or 2 before you stop having the cravings at all . but at that point you will notice how addicted to caffeine you are and you will have the same cravings until you quit that.

by that what i mean is you will have cravings you think are smoking related but they are really because of soda or coffee or energy drinks

quitting soda was 150 times harder that quitting smoking cause theres no anti soda media and nobody preaches the negative effects of it

[George Abraham]

When you study hypnosis it's all about suggestions and boy people can't help it. hehehehe!!!

How bad is your anxiety??!!
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[keevy39]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you guys an update on my situation. I still haven't touched a cigarette. I don't really get the cravings that much anymore. I still get a little jumpy now and then, but not nearly as bad as before. Although I know Im not completely out of the woods yet, things have gotten a bit easier for me. All of you have been extremely supportive and I really appreciate it.

[Randis]

chew gum