Nicotine withdrawal is one of the most difficult challenges smokers face when they quit. Symptoms may include feelings of irritability, dizziness, mild chest pains, fatigue and difficulty concentrating; as well as nausea and abdominal upset, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and more.
Some of these symptoms are due to the emotional and psychological separation from smoking, but more often than not the body’s dependence on nicotine sets the newly reformed smoker up for serious discomfort that can last for weeks.
The good news is that there are several ways to minimize withdrawal symptoms so they become more bearable.
This two-part article is going to share many helpful tips for making your quit easier.
- Deep breathing
Smokers tend to breathe very shallowly, so expanding your lungs each day can help you feel better and reduce stress and anxiety – not to mention the benefits of fully oxygenating your body.
How to do it: Whenever you feel a craving coming on (or you’re ready to scream because of the emotional tension), simply close your eyes for a few moments and begin inhaling slowly through your nose. Allow your abdomen to expand first, then as your lungs fill, your chest will expand also. When your lungs are full, pause for a second or two, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat a few times slowly so you don’t hyperventilate.
- Meditation
Meditation is most often considered to be a spiritual pursuit, but it has amazing benefits for anyone – especially people who are dealing with the stress of quitting smoking!
How to do it: Meditating can be as simple as closing your eyes and quieting your thoughts for a few minutes a day. Sit or lie in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and consciously release all stressful thoughts from your mind. Focus on the darkness behind your eyelids, or call up a mental scene of something calming, like the last time you were at the beach or a fun camping trip with your family.
Try to hold your attention steady for as long as possible. When random thoughts try to intrude into your mind, gently push them aside and take control of your focus again. Meditation does take practice to master, but you’ll probably find that the benefits far outweigh the effort you have to put into it.
- Purging angry or tense feelings
If you used to use smoking as a way to avoid dealing with uncomfortable feelings like anger or stress, you may suddenly find yourself feeling overwhelmed when you try to quit smoking. Suddenly you’ve got all these feelings coming up – and no idea how to handle them! One simple method is to begin working through your feelings as they arise. This may not always be easy to do (especially if you are used to avoiding them), but over time it will prove to be a much more effective coping technique than smoking.
How to do it: There are many ways to purge your feelings, including writing them down in a journal, blogging about them online (you may want to make it a private blog or be sure your name isn’t on it!), or even shouting them aloud into a pillow. There really is no magic system with this method; you simply get into the habit of expressing your emotions in a safe and productive way. You’ll probably be surprised to find that expressing your emotions immediately makes you feel better – no need to cover them up with smoking anymore!
There are also more active things you can do to help minimize your nicotine withdrawal symptoms; read Part II of this article for more helpful tips.
Filed under Quit Smoking by on Feb 9th, 2010. Comment. 
You may have heard that smoking is one of the most difficult addictions to overcome, and the majority of people who have successfully done it would probably agree. In fact, it has been said that quitting smoking is even more difficult than overcoming addictions to illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. Why is that?
One of the reasons may be that smoking is for the most part a socially acceptable habit (though this is acceptance level is declining steadily), but there are also other reasons why smoking is such a powerfully addictive habit.
1) Physical addiction.
Nicotine is a powerful drug that acts directly upon receptors in your brain. These receptors are stimulated by nicotine, resulting in several different physiological responses such as elevated heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, and increased mental alertness, among others. The longer you ingest nicotine, the more of these receptors you develop. Over time, these receptors become less sensitive to nicotine and begin to require increased doses to achieve the same level of stimulation. When you try to stop smoking, feelings of intense discomfort (known as withdrawal) will occur.
People have described nicotine withdrawal symptoms as “demons” or “torture” because they are so strong. Most people report feelings of intense restlessness, irritability, fatigue, dizziness, and even flu-like symptoms or chest pain.
Physical withdrawal symptoms can often be eased with the use of nicotine replacement products like gum, patches and lozenges, but many people feel that these products only delay the inevitable by keeping the ex-smoker hooked on nicotine. Still other people claim that using nicotine replacement products helped them conquer one aspect of quitting at a time – for example, the psychological or emotional repercussions, before tackling the physical addiction.
2) Emotional addiction.
The emotional connection to smoking can easily be as strong as physical dependence upon nicotine. There are a variety of reasons why people smoke, but one of the most common reasons that develops over time is an emotional “crutch” or “cover”.
Many smokers report using smoking as a coping mechanism for feelings like anger, frustration, boredom, stress and sadness that they don’t know how to deal with otherwise. Rather than processing their emotions, they reach for a cigarette (or cigar, pipe, etc.) and distract themselves from it.
Of course, this doesn’t really help them deal with unpleasant feelings, but they believe it does. When the smoker tries to quit smoking, they suddenly find themselves overwhelmed with difficult emotions and no way to handle them.
One of the most effective ways to handle these errant emotions is to find alternative ways to process them when they come up. Journaling, venting to a friend, exercise, meditation and affirmations are often helpful. The important thing is not to bottle up your emotions and avoid them, because they just keep coming back until they are fully processed and released.
3) Psychological addiction.
Still another powerful connection to smoking results from the physical act itself: psychological dependence. Since most smokers smoke many times in a day for years at a time, they get very comfortable with the act of smoking, always having a cigarette, cigar or pipe in their hand and mouth. Even if a person is successful in reducing physical cravings and dealing with their emotions, they still may struggle with a sense of loss or aimlessness. The activity that used to occupy so much of their time and attention every day is now gone and they don’t quite know what to do with themselves.
One good way to conquer this type of dependence is to change your smoking routine in the weeks leading up to your quit date. For example, if you tend to smoke while driving, talking on the phone or watching television, gradually reduce your smoking habit during those activities. Smoke in locations where you normally wouldn’t, like standing outside. When you finally do quit for good, you’ll have an easier time engaging in your normal activities without missing the act of smoking so much.
Filed under Quit Smoking by on Feb 5th, 2010. Comment.
Hi, my name is Karen and I am a non-smoker. Having kicked my addiction to nicotine and cigarettes I am living a healthier no smoking lifestyle. If you would like to be a non-smoker, too, join me on your quest to find the best solution to help you stop smoking.
