How Long will Craving for a Smoke Lasts?
Nicotine is a psychoactive drug which causes reactions and changes in the brain. To the brain, nicotine is good and it remembers the sensation of smoking as pleasant and relaxing. So when the smoker quits and nicotine supply to the brain is stopped, the brain needs some time to adjust to return to normal. During this period, the ex-smoker will feel the urge to pick up a cigarette to smoke again. This is the dangerous period. How long does it last? Well, depending on the smokers but it’s anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months. This period will determine if a smoker can quit smoking forever or surrender to smoking again.
Why does the brain craves for nicotine? It wants pleasure and not pain. The smoker’s blood is free of nicotine within less than 100 hours of the last cigarette. However he is not free from cigarette bondage. He is truly free only when the brain accepts that nicotine is not “pleasure” any more. This is where the smoker must pump in Hercules’ efforts to tolerate physical discomfort. If the mind can win the body, the battle is half won. However, physical addiction is not the only problem.
Mental addiction is another problem that makes quitting so difficult. This means you associate smoking with certain regular activities, places and situations. You will associate your usual morning coffee, after lunch, with a beer in the pub with a puff. You have to stop associating pleasurable daily routines with lighting up a cigarette.
The pangs of nicotine withdrawal is like an itch waiting to be scratched. So how can one scratch without using cigarette. If you need something in your mouth, put a pen or bite a finger biscuit. If you require something between your finger, again, use the pen. You might want to try green tea or herbal teas when the pangs come. Another option is the draw on a menthol inhaler. You might want to hit the gym too, exercise is good. And hypnotherapy can be effective in the treatment of mental addiction
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