Most people who tried to quit smoking lit up again after a while. The reason is that the body, accustomed to a regular dose of nicotine, became ill without it, and the absence of cigarette smoke in the lungs caused a side effect. In science, this condition is called nicotine withdrawal. Not everyone succeeds in fighting it, since cigarettes cause a strong and lasting addiction. How long does nicotine withdrawal last? It all depends on the strength of this addiction.
What is nicotine withdrawal?
Nicotine withdrawal is commonly called withdrawal symptoms associated with attempts to quit smoking cigarettes. Smoking for a long time leads to the fact that the body gets used to receiving a certain dose of nicotine, and when this dose is not replenished, a person acutely feels this lack, which is expressed in various symptoms of a physical and mental nature. The breaking mechanism is addictive: the body includes the psychogenic substance in its processes, attaches it to the system as a constant component, and as a result ceases to function normally without it.
Lack of motivation
Many non-smokers are skeptical of this phenomenon. They believe that this syndrome is not as serious as it is described. They see the reason for the heavy parting with cigarettes because smokers lack the willpower to part with an activity that is pleasant for them, which allows not only to relieve mental stress, but also to pass the long time at work. How long nicotine withdrawal lasts depends on how much the smoker wants to deal with his addiction.
Some psychologists also argue that the physical symptoms of withdrawal are contrived, and the psychic ones are based on the fact that smoking is a habit, and it is hard to part with any habit. In this regard, they advise those who want to quit smoking, create sustainable motivation for this, convince themselves that smoking takes time, money and time, and these are the most important components of life.
Characteristic symptoms
How long nicotine withdrawal lasts, symptoms, its various manifestations in different people can be different, but the following indications are most often found:
- irritability and aggressiveness, violent negative reaction to minor factors;
- apathy: emotionally unpainted state, lack of motivation;
- mood swings, emotional outbursts;
- increased appetite, overeating;
- decreased libido, loss of sexual interest;
- disturbances in sleep and wakefulness: insomnia or excessively prolonged sleep;
- muscle or bone pain;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- choking cough: this is the most characteristic symptom of nicotine withdrawal, it can be considered an indicator that smoking cessation is successful.
Stages of the syndrome
How long does nicotine withdrawal last after quitting smoking? The withdrawal period can be divided into several stages, each of which is characterized by its symptoms and their severity:
- First day. The easiest stage, which is why many people stop at it. At this time, the body is only beginning to experience discomfort, which does not appear in specific symptoms. General health worsens, concentration decreases, anxiety and irritability appear.
- Climax. From the second day, the symptoms become more serious, and the person begins to experience physical pain. Many men become very aggressive and ferocious, can use physical force in inappropriate situations. Women also become irritable and quick-tempered, but to a lesser extent. The body at this time experiences an acute desire to make up for the lack of nicotine. This stage is often accompanied by depressive states and even suicidal tendencies. How long nicotine withdrawal lasts at this stage depends on many factors.
- First month. After overcoming the apogee of breaking, the body begins to quickly cleanse of nicotine. At this time, the former smoker still does not leave the obsessive desire to smoke a cigarette, but it is already weaker and more easily suppressed. Immunity weakens due to the deprivation of one of its engines already built into the system, as a result of which chronic diseases can worsen, you can catch a cold. During this period, there is increased salivation and an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth.
During these stages, a person almost completely gets rid of physical dependence on smoking, but psychological dependence lasts longer. This increases the risk of returning to a bad habit. The desire to smoke completely disappears after about a year, if you manage to avoid stressful situations. In this case, the period may be extended to two years.
Individual characteristics
Although there is a periodization of nicotine withdrawal, it is impossible to determine exactly how long it will last for a smoker. Also with symptoms that vary not only in strength but also in time.
There are several main factors on which the course of the withdrawal syndrome in an individual depends:
- gender and age;
- smoking experience, the number of cigarettes smoked at a specific time;
- lifestyle features and the totality of psychological factors that fall on the period of commitment to a bad habit;
- health status, immunity, the presence of chronic diseases.
How nicotine withdrawal is manifested depends on these circumstances, how many days it takes, how to help a particular smoker; those or other stages of refusal of cigarettes can increase or decrease.
Solution
Since the fight against smoking is very difficult and is accompanied by numerous deviations in the psyche and in the body as a whole, funds have been created that muffle the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. These are various nicotine patches, tablets, chewing gum, etc. There are two types of such funds:
- containing nicotine: they gradually reduce the daily dose of nicotine in the life of a smoker, gradually reducing it to nothing;
- nicotine-free: these are mainly anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants.
Usually, doctors prescribe both types of drugs so that they work in the system: the former reduce physical dependence, the latter struggle with mental defects. Without consulting a doctor, taking medications is not recommended, as they contain strong substances that cause various side effects. Their intake may be accompanied by complications due to chronic diseases, high blood pressure or weakened immunity. It depends on these factors how many days nicotine withdrawal lasts.
Is it possible to cope without the help of medicines?
Some people prefer to fight addiction without the help of drugs. It is real, but very difficult. Although it is less harmful to physical health, the psyche will suffer more damage in this way. Therefore, those who decide to do on their own are especially recommended to visit a psychologist throughout the entire period of nicotine withdrawal.
Folk methods to alleviate suffering
Depending on how the nicotine withdrawal proceeds and how long it lasts, the ways to alleviate it vary. If there is not enough money for expensive drugs and a psychologist, then you can turn to folk remedies.
First of all, this applies to everyday diet. There are products that contain nicotine in very small amounts, and they can be an alternative to drugs. Such foods include potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, etc.
Visits to saunas and baths, walks in the fresh air, the use of sour-milk drinks and a large amount of water helps to cope with addiction. It would also be nice to find yourself a permanent hobby that will distract from the desire to smoke.
In addition, doctors recommend breathing exercises to interrupt the urge to smoke. There are many more ways to alleviate nicotine withdrawal, and how long this syndrome lasts depends on your diligence.
Relapse prevention
In order not to return to a bad habit, you first need to figure out what is the reason you started smoking. This determines how long nicotine withdrawal lasts for smokers and what is the likelihood that it will be defeated. If it’s hard for you to do this yourself, you should consult a psychologist.
In the event that you began to get addicted to cigarettes as a teenager just to try something new or to stand out among your peers, then quitting smoking in adulthood will psychologically quite simply give up the habit. But if the reason for such a whim is more complicated and serious, then alone it will be difficult to cope.
Many adults start smoking in order to relieve stress from the problems hanging over them. These problems can be of varying depth or complexity. But if you manage to part with the addiction, and the problem remains, then most likely you will again look for a way to alleviate the suffering and will come to the same method, if not more serious. Therefore, it is better, before you are about to quit, to find out, together with a psychologist or a loved one whom you trust, what is bothering you, and try to get rid of this annoying factor. Some resort to help groups created voluntarily by people who want to get rid of the same problem. When you part with the difficulties in life, you will already have much less incentive to return to cigarettes. How long does nicotine withdrawal (withdrawal syndrome) last - it doesn’t matter, it will be overcome by you if you really want to.
If you smoke for no particular reason and come to this already in adulthood, then most likely, in this way you are trying to pass the time. Then you need to come up with a lesson for yourself that will captivate you and take time so that it does not remain on cigarettes.
Fighting Prejudice
People who lack the willpower to say goodbye to addiction come up with various excuses that relieve them of responsibility for unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking. Here are the most common excuses:
- quitting smoking will lead to the accumulation of excess weight, because cigarettes interrupt increased appetite;
- the more experience of a bad habit, the less sense to try to quit;
- it is not worth so much suffering;
- the desire to smoke will return anyway after a while;
- it is impossible to get rid of addiction without throwing out a huge amount of money.
In fact, all this can easily be refuted by scientific facts or successful examples from life. Smoking gives a tremendous burden on the heart, and getting rid of it will only benefit.
If you consistently give up the habit, fulfill all the conditions and follow the instructions, then you will not need to repeat the same course of drugs several times that costs money, therefore, it is not necessary to spend so much if you can simply plan the treatment correctly, which will greatly reduce how long nicotine withdrawal lasts.
Excess weight can be added only if there is too much, but if you eat in moderation and make up for those intervals that were suppressed by smoking, then you will only enter your weight norm, and no more.
But most importantly, no matter what the costs of anti-smoking drugs are, you will spend a lot more money if you continue to smoke, because tobacco producers earn a lot of money from selling their products.
What do people say?
Some smokers have noticed that nicotine withdrawal is manifested the more, the more opportunities to smoke a cigarette at the moment. For example, when a person flies for several hours on an airplane or is forced to spend a lot of time at an important meeting, he thinks less about it. When he sits at work, where at any moment there is an opportunity to go out and smoke, or simply walks down the street, or is at home, the idea of smoking becomes intrusive.
The mental component in the fight against addiction is very important. How long does nicotine withdrawal last and how to relieve it? Testimonials from those who managed to quit cigarettes and not return to them indicate the importance of motivation and willpower, as well as the right attitude and support from loved ones.