The Pain
When you start your first day of quitting, in the morning you will feel very glad about it. You might experience an uneasy feeling once or twice, but it won't affect you very much, and you'll start wondering what all the fuss is about.
But as the day progresses, the feeling will get worse, and it will be almost like a monster raising its fearful head every now and then. If you are a chain smoker, this feeling may become quite terrible as the clock ticks away, and by midday it may well become almost unbearable.
You'll start feeling terrible - almost as if something has taken possession of your body and mind. You might end up feeling so depressed that you begin to think, "What the hell? Who cares a damn about quitting?"
But this is not the worst. The worst is still to come. It is almost as if you are at one end of a tunnel and have started advancing. As you keep moving forward, the darkness of the tunnel engulfs you. You inch forward slowly at first, and then at a faster pace. But the tunnel seems endless. There is no end to the darkness. It is so black inside that you can almost walk on the darkness.
There doesn't seem to be even a glimmer of light. To make things worse, you lose your sense of direction and do not know whether you are advancing or retreating. Along with that, the air starts to get stuffy. You find it increasingly difficult to breathe, and before you know it you are gasping for breath.
Every part of your body seems to be tearing itself apart, and the feeling is just too much to bear. You cannot identify what exactly the feeling is. It is not pain, and yet you feel tormented and tortured. It is sheer agony for you.
It is almost as if someone has got a grip on your throat and is slowly squeezing the very life out of you. To make things worse, you start stumbling and have to reach out to stop yourself from falling. You reach out and you feel that your hand is not a strong, supporting hand but a wet, slimy and cold hand that makes you shudder.
At this moment, when you feel that all is lost and you are about to lose your senses, you see a sudden ray of light; the exit of the tunnel. You crawl towards the opening, but you just can't seem to reach there. At last, after what seems like eternity, you reach the opening of the tunnel.
But you are so exhausted from your efforts that you just want to lie where you are with your eyes shut. You lie there for what seems to be a very long time, but in effect it is only a couple of hours. And then the feeling seems to disappear almost as fast as it appeared. You mind starts getting clearer and clearer, and you find it much easier to breathe.
Yes, when you first stoip smoking, it really does seem as if there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You need to persevere through the pain and the frustration, and stay focused on your goal. If you stay the course, you will be able to stop smoking - for good!
Go to the next section: The Ecstasy
