Coping With Side Effects After Quitting Smoking

The side effects once you quit smoking are what make it so difficult to stay smoke free. There are both psychological and physical side effects that can be equally crippling. The main reason for such severe quit smoking effects is that cigarettes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance.

The effects of nicotine on the body act to increase specific hormones in your brain, namely dopamine and noradrenaline. Without nicotine these hormones will be without their influence, and the positive changes that nicotine makes in the brain will no longer occur. Smokers will have to learn how to live without this high, which is what makes giving up an addiction so tough.

Quit smoking effects

There are many severe quit smoking effects, both physical and psychological. In order to cope with them effectively, it is imperative to know what to expect so that you can prepare for them.

• Feeling restless with a decreased concentration level (especially your hands)
• Give you the shakes and sweats
• With a cough and running nose (this is the Tar trying to work its way out of the lungs)
• Insomnia
• Body aches and pains
• Tiredness
• Increased appetite, as nicotine works to suppress appetite

• Mild depression and/or sadness
• Anxiety
• Angry and short tempered
• Unable to cope

Coping with the effects of quitting smoking

There is no single method of quitting smoking that guarantees success. In fact according to statistics on average it takes up to 5 attempts to give it up indefinitely. There are many coping mechanisms that can be used to deal with quit smoking effects.

If you quit cold turkey you need to have strong will power and be extremely determined to give up. Take each day one at a time to avoid setting unrealistic goals. Aim to get to the end of a day without smoking, and then do it again the following day.

To help ease quit smoking effects, tell your friends and family that you are giving up. Additional support is also useful when you quit. Even better, find someone else who want to give up, and do it together.

Preparing for withdrawal

If you’re prepared for withdrawal symptoms, you can think of ways to help you cope with them. For example, your hands will fall idle, as you won’t be smoking anymore, so pick up a hobby that keeps them busy. Read, knit, cook or write, anything to keep your hands active.

If you start feeling drained during the day, yet cannot sleep at night, then work up your level of exercise. If you are physically tired after a good workout, you will sleep naturally, and more peacefully.

Use an aid to help you quit. There are many smoking cessation medications available that can help make the quitting process easier. Champix for example, is a medication that inhibits the receptors in the brain that react to nicotine, so you will experience fewer cravings and find quitting easier. You can also deal better with quit smoking effects and nicotine withdrawal with nicotine replacement treatments, available in patch, spray and gum form.

Another way to cope with quit smoking effects is to simply consider what the effects of passive smoking has on your friends and family, the increased risk of smoking and impotence , and just how much damage you are doing to yourself with every cigarette.