Expect Unpleasant Symptoms When You Stop Smoking
There are too many physical and psychological symptoms when someone stops smoking to list them all here.
Nevertheless, here are a few: rage, depression, sadness, anxiety, doubts, guilt, insomnia, difficulty breathing, palpitations, skin rash, etc.
Don’t worry: these are normal symptoms and they are usually a good sign. They mean that your body and your mind are adapting to change.
The strength and duration of these symptoms vary between individuals, based on the number of years smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked, and the body’s ability to heal itself.
With LaserQuit, nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) are not needed but you can also make it easier for yourself to stop smoking if you eat well and exercise. If you also cultivate a positive attitude when you face difficult moments and maintain your relationships with friends, then you’re really putting the odds on your side!
Quitting Can Give You the Blues… missing your friend…
Do you have negative thoughts bouncing around in your head?
« Will the urge to smoke ever end? »
« I don’t have enough willpower. »
« I must be weak. »
« I’m always on edge. »
« I keep getting weepy. »
« I get angry for no good reason… »
These thoughts make it harder for you to quit smoking. You may start thinking “If it’s going to be this bad, I might as well light one up!” Just a sec!
To get rid of cigarettes, you must :
- Get rid of this inner voice and negative view of yourself.
- Push yourself towards concrete action.
To reach these two goals, you need more information.
Understanding the Power of Cigarettes and The Age at Which People Start to Smoke
The teenage brain
Almost 80% of current adult smokers fell into tobacco’s trap as teenagers. At that age, the brain is not yet fully developed.
Introducing a substance like tobacco, which acts directly on important parts of the brain, is sure to have an effect. For example, it can create permanent changes, like an increased susceptibility to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, etc.
Recent studies show that many teenagers are genetically predisposed to fall quickly into nicotine’s grip: symptoms of addiction appear with the very first cigarette!
The wrong tool
What’s more, adolescence is a key stage in the development of personality. Turning to a substance that quickly becomes linked to all of life’s events – by the power of the physical dependency it establishes – also creates a strong psychological dependency.
Cigarettes become crutches used to face difficult moments and to accompany other life events. The teenage smoker fails to develop, or to develop fully, the ability and strategies to cope with those situations and with the emotions that come with them.
So it’s not surprising that quitting as an adult is such a challenge!