Quit Smoking Advisory

A question that many smokers ask themselves when they are thinking about or planning to quit smoking is: what happens when you quit smoking? You may well have heard the horror stories about what happens when a smoker can no longer get their “fix” but are they all true?

Irritability

Most people will suffer from a feeling of irritability. It can be described as similar to having a constant itch that you cannot scratch, although perhaps not as extreme. But in the same way that the only way to cure an itch is to scratch it, the ex-smoker can feel that the only way to cure the irritability is to smoke a cigarette. Luckily, these feelings soon pass with time and the days immediately after stopping smoking are said to be the worst.

Cravings

More specifically, most ex-smokers will experience large cravings for cigarettes in the immediate days after quitting. These are similar to a feeling of hunger that cannot be satisifed. Again, these soon pass with time. Effectively, cigarettes are needed to make the ex-smoker feel normal again, let alone for pleasure.

Increased Appetite

Following on, many smokers will get feelings of an increased appetite. From a scientific point of view, no one can say for sure whether this genuine is an increased appetite or whether ex-smokers are simply confusing cravings for hunger but would gladly eat food or smoke cigarettes to fill this “void” in their life. If you are using these willpower methods to stop smoking, then it’s very important in the first few days not to “break” by eating more food than you need. Some ex-smokers put on weight and what they are really doing is swapping one addiction for another - smoking for excess food - both fill a void in their lives.

Anxiety

It is normal to feel some anxiety after quitting cigarettes. Anxiety is simply a form of stress, and stress is common when making such a huge change to your life that requires strength of mind in the form of willpower. Many ex-smokers will also be anxious about whether they will be successful this time in their quitting attempt, especially given what we know about the low success rates for stopping smoking.

Nausea and Shakes

A minority of people quitting smoking will experience almost violent reactions that cannot be explained scientifically. Are they genetically predisposed to suffering more from nicotine withdrawal or is this just psychological? Whatever the reason, the symptoms pass extremely quickly.

Insomnia

Inability to sleep is a common symptom amongst ex-smokers. This is usually due to irritability as mentioned earlier. It is extremely helpful to increase the amount of exercise that you do if you are suffering from insomnia. A thorough workout in the afternoon or early evening will help to relax both the body and the mind. Working out with weights is preferable to cardio because it will leave the muscles feeling slightly sore - this is a sign of a good workout and the body will find sleep easily because it wants it in order to repair the muscles and help them grow.

Are Any Of These Symptoms Necessary?

To the non-smoker, the ordeal of quitting smoking seems similar to coming off crack or heroin. But does it need to be this way?

I used to smoke 25 high tar cigarettes a day and I tried all the usual methods such as patches and willpower. It was only when I discovered a little known method that I was able to stop successfully and I have been clean now for 8 years. Added to this, this method did not require me to use any willpower and I have never had any cravings for a cigarette since, no desire at all.

Can This Really Be Possible?

Yes it can, and I am not the only one. Anyone can do this if they know the method. The method is all about understanding what your addiction is and how it works, because there is much more than meets the eye.

I have given you some clues above - think about the void that exists when a smoker quits smoking. This void was never there before, when they were a non-smoker. Can a chemical like nicotine really have such a powerful effect that it can cause people to start smoking gain 5 years down the line? Has medical science ever given an explanation for this apparent amazing “memory” effect? Does medical science have an explanation for how addiction really works?

And how about the smokers who quit smoking but then become overweight? How is it that you can replace this cigarette caused void with food instead? Are cigarettes and food related? Where did that void come from and does it just exist in the mind? If it does, how do you get rid of it?

I hope I have given you food for thought (no pun intended!). If you want to learn more about addiction, my own experiences and how I personally stopped smoking, then click here.