Quitting Smoking – Signs of Weaning
Quitting smoking is associated with signs and symptoms that may affect you during the weaning period. Most smokers tell us that they tried to quit smoking in their lives, but the symptoms that appeared during this period negatively affected them to the point that they failed in a single moment in the weaning process.
Success in quitting smoking is closely related to dealing with the side effects.
Smoking for a long period of time causes the smoker to crave a constant supply of nicotine. When the body becomes accustomed to a certain amount of nicotine, it becomes dependent on that amount on a permanent basis. When a smoker quits smoking, symptoms appear that are the result of a nicotine deficiency.
Most smokers who reach the withdrawal stage return to smoking again because they cannot deal with and overcome these side effects.
What are the side effects of quitting smoking?
Hunger: Smokers’ feelings of hunger decrease psychologically when they light a cigarette, and when they quit smoking, their hunger increases and the urge to put something in their mouth increases.
Most smokers prove that they end their meals by smoking a cigarette. This habit leads most smokers to end their meals by continuing to eat more and more without limits.
Weight gain: Adding to the feeling of hunger – most people who try to quit smoking discover that they have gained 2-3 kilograms during the quit period, and this is where the feeling of frustration stems.
Bad mood and depression: Nicotine is known to affect dopamine secretion in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for feelings of pleasure, and when dopamine levels drop due to a lack of nicotine, the result is depression and an inability to enjoy anything.
This phenomenon balances out after a few days when the body is able to secrete the correct amount of dopamine needed, without the need for nicotine.
Insomnia: Sleep disturbance that occurs after changes in nicotine levels and a bad mood. This disturbance is characterized by constant fatigue and an inability to sleep. This phenomenon disappears after a short period of time, during which the body adjusts to the new situation and regains its balance.
How to overcome the symptoms of quitting smoking
Smoking cessation symptoms appear immediately at the beginning of the process due to the change in nicotine levels in the body, but they quickly disappear. Compared to old habits and habits, they require dealing with them.
Most symptoms pass over time as the body gets used to the new situation. However, there are habits that are not side effects – such as smoking a cigarette with friends or drinking coffee or beer. Everyone has to deal with these habits on a daily basis as a non-smoker.
It is recommended that you get used to a sporty lifestyle and healthy eating in order to maintain your body and also to strengthen the self to make decisions.
In addition, it is preferable to get used to some techniques that help in situations when you want to smoke, for example, if you are with a group of smokers and this gives you the desire to smoke, then you should impose yourself strongly in your hand and think about what you will lose compared to the moment of weakness. In the end, it is your mental strength that decides whether you will return to smoking or not.