Cold turkey for two weeks now. No patches, no gum, no nothin'. I have to kill someone. Boy was i naive. I've tried at least five times before so i knew it was gonna be difficult but i didn't quite guess it was gonna turn out like this. Before, the only trouble i had was trying to avoid the temptation. (guess that's kinda why i quit quitting [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] ) I never had any trouble with aggro. In fact, i've never been aggressive in my whole life. Until now.

In the last week i've freaked out at my boss (it was his fault, or so i thought at the time), hurled abuse at a total stranger for a minor accident(this was his fault but ordinarily it wouldn't have bothered me at all), had two seperate fights with two of my best friends, and crashed my car in a fit of anger. I've also single handedly raised the ante for road rage in my hometown, needlessly spoiled any chance of 'getting to know' a girl that i met and have taken up tormenting my pets as my number one hobby (this, in particular makes me feel incredibly bad).

I need some advice from someone who's been there, done that. When does my fuse go back to normal? Am i going to be a jerk for the rest of my healthy life? Is there anything to take my mind off of chasing cats around the house with an exercise ball? IS THERE HOPE? AAARRRGGGHHH!!! I WILL CRUSH YOU, PUNY ONES!

I quit over a year and a half ago. Just like you, I did it cold turkey. After about two weeks and my first couple of visits to the pub I was fine and have been off the coffin nails since. Strangely enough, apart from feeling a bit stressed out, I survived the initial withdrawal OK.

Give it a chance, you'll beat it yet [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I'll give you two great solutions to anger and frustration that I use (though I've never smoked so it's nothing to do with that or any other addiction). When I am pissed off I either wack on some hard core rap at full volume - that always does the trick. The other solution is to go to the gym and pump iron for an hour or so - nothing like that to take your anger out on the bars instead of on people, plus you wear yourself out so less energy to be angry and you also get stronger - perfect [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for the support, Mouse, but i have absolutely no doubt that i'm going to quit. It's just too easy. My decision to quit was a spin-off of a decision to beef up ----> I needed the extra lung capacity! Since then, i've been doing weights regularly and (trying) to eat healthy as well. The weights just seem to be making me more aggro. Maybe i'm not exhausting myself as much as i could be?

As a software professional, I've learned that when something changes, you start to ask what else changed around the time that the first thing started to change. So if I read correctly, you've given up smoking, made a decision to beef up, and started lifting weights, all at the same time (roughly).

To dance around the topic politely, are you taking any other substances in conjunction with your new weight training regimen and desire to beef up? There are a number of steroid substances that have agression as side effects... I'll let one of our more medically knowledgeable brethren or sistren explain more.

As for getting the agression out, one thing I used to do years ago when I got frustrated or angry was to take a pair of nun-chucks and start going through my paces. It's amazing how a tiny piece of wood (or aircraft aluminum, in my case), whirling around your head and other favorite body parts, can help you to forget about anything else going on in the mundane world and be totally focused on the sticks and where they are at any given moment....

The penalty for losing concentration is pain... utter, extreme pain...

try cleaning!!!! nothing mundane like folding clthes but scrub floors, organize, etc...when i get really angry i tend to clean the bathroom....it's spotless at the moment

[img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] You hit closer than you think, Bungleau. No i'm not on steroids, nor do i want to be. When i say beef up, i mean 'tone' up, not turn into a walking mass of flexing sinew. I've been doing a bit of research on this and it seems that in instances such as this, testosterone levels may increase which may cause some increase in aggro. However, i don't think this is likely as i've only been doing this for a short while. Gracious for you courteous 'dancing' though. ;) I might have to make me some 'chuks! :D

Or should that be Chux!!!??? Just read ur post RevRuby. I find cleaning to be good for relieving stress. But it's hard to work up the motivation when you've got more aggressive thoughts on your mind. Maybe if i finally wind down enough, i'll be able to relieve all the stress of wondering just how many people i've offended! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Glad to hear it's not a side-effect thing. Sounds like you're taking a more sound approach. [img]smile.gif[/img] As for combining the cleaning and agression, what about grabbing things and throwing them into the trash can full-force from across the room? A satisfying exertion of energy, a satisfying demise of something no longer needed, and a satisfying non-confrontational way to relieve stress!

Only problem is when you miss the trash can.... *splat*

I quit eight years ago. My wife and I were getting married the next day, and I didn't want her to move in on a smoky house. IIRC, the only times that I missed it was when I was drinking. Good luck. [img]smile.gif[/img]