Smoking Withdrawal
What You Can Expect During Withdrawal
As much as you have to look forward to when you stop smoking, the road to success is filled with potholes, bumps and blocks. Without diminishing your enthusiasm for quitting, you have to be realistic that this isn’t an easy process for anyone.
First, you have to go through withdrawal, which is perhaps the worst part of your journey to becoming smoke-free. Over the years that you smoked, your body chemistry adjusted to the nicotine input.
Your system is literally addicted to the nicotine and won’t give it up without a fight. That’s where your commitment comes in handy. Withdrawal is both a physical and emotional process.
Your body has to re-adjust to the reduced nicotine levels and you’re going to notice the signs it gives as it tries to talk you into meeting the usual demand. At the same time, you have to make an emotional adjustment so that you don’t rely on smoking as a coping mechanism.
The most common withdrawal symptoms that you can experience when you stop smoking include irritability, anxiety, headaches, inability to concentrate, increased hunger and of course – an overwhelming craving for nicotine.
If you ever tried to quit by changing from regular to reduced nicotine cigarettes, you may have felt some of these withdrawal symptoms. You need to keep in mind that to stop smoking is to battle your body to regain control over what nicotine has captured from you.
As the smoke gets inhaled, nicotine rushes to the lungs, where it’s rapidly absorbed. From there, nicotine goes to the heart, liver, spleen and brain. Nicotine is so invasive that it’s easily detected in breast milk and even in the umbilical cord blood of a newborn.
That’s why smoking while pregnant is so dangerous to the health of an unborn child. Nicotine is tough for the body to get rid of. Even after you stop smoking, it stays in your body for up to three days.
With each cigarette you smoked, your body built up a higher tolerance for this toxic substance. Brain-based studies show that smoking increases as the smoker tries to get the same level of satisfaction.
That’s because nicotine stimulated the mesolimbic system, which is what kicks up intense cravings. Over time, it takes more and more nicotine for the brain to signal the same pleasure reaction.
But at the same time, the lungs, heart and liver are getting slammed with the harmful impact of nicotine. As with any lifestyle change, the first few days are going to be hard, so don’t start this on Monday morning when you have a busy week at work or school to contend with.
If possible, take a day off on Friday and start that morning. Then you have three uninterrupted days to be obnoxious with fewer people subjected to it (yes, you may be a bit grumpy during this time).
Also, you can clear the smoking stuff (ashtrays, lighters, cigarettes) out of the house and not be around the same smoking cues that you’ll have at work or in a social setting.
The early days of withdrawal aren’t easy - on you or on those around you. Make sure you talk to those you love and let them know what you’re doing so that they can provide a support system when you need to vent.
