People started to realize and aware about the implications of smoking for a long term, most of them have tried to quit but were unsuccessful because they had to face the symptoms of smoking cessation or nicotine withdrawal symptoms. This happens because every cigarette contains nicotine which can cause a person to become addicted. Learn more about the symptoms you may experience when you quit smoking!
Nicotine Withdrawals
Generally, continuous consumption of nicotine through smoking can cause a person to become addicted. Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are real, therefore everyone needs to be aware of it as it is one of the major factors that disrupt a person’s process in smoking cessation. Addiction to nicotine can affect your body, which includes the heart, blood vessels, hormones, metabolism and brain. When you stop smoking, you will experience an extreme urge to smoke again and you are easily irritated if you do not smoke.
For your information, a smoker’s addiction is stimulated by nicotine receptors which are located in the brain. These receptors become very active as a result of previous nicotine usage. These receptors make you addicted and difficult your progress in smoking cessation.
Nicotine withdrawals will usually affect the mental, physical and emotion of a person. Every individual will experience severe difficulties and hardships in the first week when they quit smoking. Once your body is cleared from nicotine, you will begin to experience mild symptoms such as headaches, sleep problems, lethargy and lack of concentration. These symptoms will subside and gradually disappear within 2 – 4 weeks, while for some people they may experience these mild symptoms extended for several months.
Nicotine Withdrawals Symptoms
Individuals will experience these symptoms but it depends on their level of addiction to smoking like how long they have smoked and how many cigarettes they smoked in a day.Some factors like these need to be identified into account as it will affect a person’s process in smoking cessation. There are various symptoms that might be experienced in any individuals when they want to quit smoking, among them are:
- a) Smoking Cravings
Desire for smoking or addiction to nicotine is the most challenging phase and they need to go through before they can successfully quit smoking. This problem occurs due to the response of nicotine receptors in the brain as a result of previous nicotine use. You may experience emotional disturbances and discomfort, usually this feeling will disappear after 5 – 10 minutes. This feeling can be overcome by distracting yourself with other activities.
- b) Sleep Problems
For those who are still in the early stages of smoking cessation, disruption to the sleep cycle is a common problem. They will have difficulty in sleeping or insomnia, hence they need an extra sleep during the day.
- c) Weight Gain
To distract a person’s focus on smoking addiction, they will eat in small quantities continuously to help themselves get rid of smoking addiction such as snacks, chocolate, sweets and ice cream. Eventually causing themselves to gain more weight..
- d) Cough
Individuals will experience cough in the early stages of smoking cessation. This is one of the most common symptoms that they will experience and will subside after a few weeks. To overcome these symptoms, you need to drink plenty of water everyday and consume honey in order to relieve cough and sore throat..
- e) Flu-Like Symptoms
You might also experience mild symptoms that will last in a few days, such as :
- Fever
- Malaise
- Sinusitis
- Cough
- Body aches
- f) Constipation
Quit smoking suddenly can cause a person suffering from constipation problems. This happens because there is a disruption in bowel movements, which slows down the process of digestion and causes a person to have constipation. Generally this problem will occur within 1-2 weeks, you can overcome this problem by drinking plenty of water and consuming more fiber in diet.
- g) Emotional Changes
For those who fail to control their emotions will easily suffer from stress, irritability and loss of concentration. This occurs as a result of hormonal changes in the body during the process of smoking cessation. In addition, it can also increase blood pressure and heart rate. This problem can be overcome if you follow the exact guidelines and the right methods in smoking cessation..
Conclusion
If you are planning to quit smoking, you are advised to get a counseling session from a medical doctor to know more about the systematic guidelines in smoking cessation and how to overcome all those symptoms until you are completely free from nicotine addiction.
