To start vaping again? Can’t cope with the anxiety

[Almaalama]

I cold turkey quit vaping after around a year. I vaped A LOT. It was constantly in my mouth, I got through nearly a full bottle of vape juice a day didn’t help that I was working from home I never had to restrict it.

When my vape stopped charging 5 weeks ago I just stopped vaping at all. It wasn’t hard for the first day or two, but a few days after that I had the worst panic attacks/dread I’d ever experienced. Dizzy, nauseous and tearful.

id thought it would have stopped by now, but it’s got worse. I’m on antidepressants, having therapy, meditation and sleep hygiene stuff… nothing works!

i can’t think of anything else that would have made me this anxious I don’t miss vaping, but I miss how relaxed it made me feel

AIBU to go back to calm my anxiety?

have you tried nicotine replacement things, the same ones you would if you had been trying to quit smoking, eg gum, patches, etc? You could be experiencing nicotine withdrawal
gums are quite effective at eliminating my cravings

Ok I’ve been there. You’re looking for an excuse to vape because you want to. I get it, because it’s great. In reality, 5 weeks means it’s cleared your system and nicotine at vape strength makes anxiety a million times worth.

you’ve quit for 5 weeks, you’ve done the hard bit.Think about how proud of yourself you’ll be if you make it through tonight without vaping.

No please don’t go back you will just end up in the same spiral
I used to use vape/they made my chest hurt for some reason
I know they are safer than cigarettes but it doesn’t mean that they are hundred percent safe long-term especially with the way that you were using them
find other ways of dealing with Your anxiety, vaping was just a stickingplaster
ask your GP for a referral to CBT counselling it’s free or you can try and do some online counselling. Also these days most workplaces offer free counselling through the employee assistance scheme, If you are working check with your manager. Try some breathing exercises and have a routine at home where you can relax.

Avoid sugar and caffeine, It can stimulate anxiety and make it worse -even decaf. I suffer Terribly from anxiety but I find listening to Spa Music on my Alexa or chill FM helps along with a herbal tea and breathing exercises.
sometimes just turning off the lights and the TV And doing nothing helps
try reading up on mindfulness as That can really help along with some light stretching. Exercise is also really good for anxiety

I really recommend you read Allen Carr's stopping smoking books. It is transferable to vapes. He basically explains that the vape is what is causing your anxiety, previous to it you would not have had this feeling and while you vapid you were constantly anxious between pulls. It teaches you to be genuinely joyful at being free. One example used is the massive relief one would feel after removing their hands from boiling water... but no sane person would ever submerge their hands in the first place just to get that overwhelming feeling of relief. Worth a shot anyway, changes your mindset on being free rather than sacrificing something and quitting in a negative light.

I honestly don’t crave the act of vaping at all! I don’t even like how it made me feel toward the end… dizzy, no hunger sensations, would constantly be stressing over it being charged/having enough juice bottles.

I just honestly don’t know how to cope without vaping away my stresses! It’s getting harder as time goes on for no reason. I constantly feel on edge

This sounds fab thanks so much! Will order it tonight instead of ordering a new vape…

You'll probably find the anxiety reaches a peak and then drops off once you're through the full withdrawal.

I've been through everything you said in the post, the feeling of calmness and peace once you hit it, and whenever you think of something that wrenches your heart, you put the vape in your mouth, hit it and your anxiety gets better right?
although this all is true but that is just a way us nicotine addicts have learnt to hide away from things, and not really face the problems with what we should do, instead we let a stupid chemical induced drug to calm us down,
So, instead of focusing on the good things of vaping (which we tend to do because when we're facing withdrawal),Focus on the bad ones, for eg.The feeling in your lungs after you've vaped all day and the whistle sounds that comes from within you when you breathe too hard and you can feel your body telling you to stop but you cant because you're way too deep in it,
or when as soon as you wakeup you go for the side table to look for your vape to hit it first thing in the morning.
I've been through it all and now that you've surpassed 5 weeks, its just not worth it to go back now, you've passed all the hard withdrawal days, not a lot of people make it this far some quit by day 1 or 2, (well most of the people that I know)
This feeling your facing will pass and youll learn to deal with with all these things by yourself, talk to someone.
I hope you do whatever you feel is better for you at the end of the day none of us are your mom and dad and you will chose to do whatever you think is fitting for you but, just make sure you know what you'll be getting yourself into again and oh please, dont forget about the long term benefits and drawback.
have a good day!
(after trying 2 times before,I was able to quit 1 year ago after being a smoker/vaper for 7 years)

Oh and I also wanna add, The reason you cant cope with anxiety is because you've relied on just hiding behind the vape chemicals that make the anxiety better, that you dont know how else to deal with it,
and oh it will be hard but if you really wanna quit, you're gonna have to deal with anxiety without vaping for some time so you atleast know what its like,
you've probably been dealing with it with vaping for so long, you dont know what to do, now that you've quit smoking.

Look up ashwagandha. I have extreme anxiety and this herb is amazing for it. There’s other kinds too, just google it. Mindfulness techniques do work for panic attacks, but it can be hard to remember in the moment. If you can see a therapist they can guide you through it. Try the herbs though, seriously they are so good. Drink plenty of fluids and try to exercise so your system can flush the chemicals out and balance out again. Vaping is basically poison. It is not worth it.

I wanted to add, relapsing is part of quitting. It’s a process. So if you do relapse, just try again. It’s not failure, so don’t get down about it. It will get easier and easier.