People trying to quit smoking often become discouraged when they don’t succeed at first. The more times one tries, one succeeds, as the research shows. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms should never be the deterrent here.
Better understanding of the withdrawal symptoms can help in successfully beating the habit of smoking. A person who is a chronic smoker and needs a puff every now and then to get the high, is a nicotine addict.
He or she requires the pleasant feelings and the relaxation nicotine can create in the brain. Though he or she knows the downside of smoking, it becomes difficult to quit the habit, since these pleasant feeling in the brain is not achieved without the usual puff. If he or she has tried to quit, the nicotine withdrawal symptoms would have come out of the closet to scare him and put him back in the habit of smoking.
So what are these nicotine withdrawal symptoms?
They can be classified into physical and mental problems faced upon stopping the cigarette smoking habit. The physical symptoms are painful and they are normally constipation, headaches, nausea, cold and coughs, fatigue, sudden increase in appetite, resulting weight gain etc.
The mental or psychological nicotine withdrawal symptoms are more difficult to analyze and they are- anxiety, depression, irritability, insomnia, anger and tantrums, mental confusion, lack of concentration, vagueness, boredom, mood swings, dizziness, frustration and restlessness.
One of the keys to quitting smoking is acknowledging the fact that smoking cigarettes is an addiction for many and that anyone can manage it and overcome the habit. One of the main reasons people give up quitting is because they find the withdrawal symptoms so fierce and unexpected.
One should not worry, since these symptoms are actually good news, signs that the body is purging itself of all the harmful chemicals cigarettes left in the smoker’s body.
The medications and care given at the stage of first 4 weeks can define the success of quitting the habit for good. There are several methods used in alleviating the withdrawal problems for cigarette quitters. The treatment methods are:
* Nicotine supplements in the form of gums, nasal sprays, patches and inhalers.
* Use of Bupropion which is available as Wilbutrin and Zyban which is an anti depressant medication
* Varenicline available in the name of Chantrix is the latest medication for ceasing nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
* Other commonly used medicines are clonidine, flouxitine, buspirone etc which are anti depressants, also help in coming out of the painful experience faster.
Anyone suffering from nicotine withdrawal symptoms should undergo a depression analysis to ensure that the medications are administered correctly and in turn help in speedy recovery and permanently avoid smoking in the future.
Like any addiction, smokers find it very difficult to quit tobacco altogether. To garner some help from the support system available, it is ideal to join a smoking cessation program run by hospitals, health centers, community centers etc.
To alleviate nicotine withdrawal symptoms which are both physical and psychological, the quitter has to be given proper treatment, counseling and care by the doctors, family and friends. Nicotine withdrawal is short-lived and symptoms pass in time. Withdrawal is the most uncomfortable part of quitting, but the real challenge is beating cravings and staying away from the nicotine.
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