After You Stop Smoking

Many things can happen to you after you stop smoking and while some of them are good things, the nicotine withdrawal symptoms you have to experience are definitely bad things and they are the main impediments to many people quitting smoking for sure. Such nicotine withdrawal symptoms include things like anxiousness, nervousness and maybe even depression at times. Fortunately, these nicotine withdrawal symptoms are not permanent and in time they will start to fade into the background making it easier to continue in life without smoking. In this article I will explain what happens after you stop smoking and how you can make sure you maximize your chances of not relapsing.

One of the reasons why you experience such strong cravings to smoke is that nicotine joins itself to the receptors in your brain when you first start smoking. This has insidious effects because whenever you smoke from then on, it will trigger the release of the hormone that causes feelings of contentment. This hormone is called dopamine and it is the same hormone that is released when you share a laugh with someone. As you carry on smoking more and more it will lead you to becoming more and more dependent on nicotine for you to get through the day. The reason for this is simple. Whenever you experience something stressful and need a release, you will smoke because this triggers the release of dopamine. This quickly becomes a habit that is ingrained into your subconscious and smoking gradually becomes associated with happy feelings and release in your subconscious.

When it comes to quitting it will become hard to break this pattern because you have not been functioning without smoking for a long time. When you experience stressful stimuli, the first reaction used to be to reach for a smoke but since you have made a conscious decision not to there is that conflict between the habit ingrained in the subconscious and the decision you have made on a conscious level. The habit can be changed over time but this will probably take a long time, perhaps 3 months and while that habit still exists you will have cravings to smoke. Also when in a situation where you used to smoke all the time, such as after leaving the supermarket where you are not allowed to smoke, you will have cravings to smoke.

There are many ways in which you can control your cravings to smoke. These include the use of nicotine replacement therapy which includes using nicotine patches, hypnosis and even natural homeopathic treatments. You just have to choose which one is best for you and you situation.

Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/quit-smoking/after-you-stop-smoking

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