Post by judyb on Jun 19, 2004 11:22:04 GMT -5
I think that most of us have our greatest trouble keeping our resolve when we are upset, i.e. when we 'feel'. Personally, I've never had much success with 'resolve'. I just can't hold on to it. But I can keep going if something makes sense. Toward that end, here's some material I find helpful.
First, Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal:
At some point after we began our smoking careers, we became addicted to nicotine. In a nutshell, that means that after we smoked a cigarette, usually within 60 minutes, we'd start to feel some of the indications that it was time to top up our nic level in order to relieve the onset of withdrawal. Withdrawal is experienced both by smokers between the cigarettes they smoke, though they rarely wait long enough for the symptoms of withdrawal to become very intense, and by those quitting cigarettes as they change their nic levels and their delivery systems. The only differences that I can see between a smokers withdrawal and a quitters withdrawal are intensity, duration, and evolution of the experience.
There is endless documentation re: the specific ways in which a dose of nicotine will improve ability to concentrate, increase energy levels, and calm anxiety. The following is just a tiny morsel of what can be found by typing 'symptoms of nicotine withdrawal' into any search engine.
From Dr Koop's web site (http://www.drkoop.com/wellness/tobacco/library/pg00041.asp):
"The physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal vary from person to person, but may include any of the following:
Increased appetite, especially for carbohydrates and sweets
Increased coughing and sputum production
Sweating
Fatigue
Muscle aches and cramps
Constipation or diarrhea
Headache
Hypersensitivity to stimuli
Sleep disturbances
Weight gain
Nausea
The psychological symptoms of nicotine withdrawal vary from person to person, but may include any of the following:
Irritability
Restlessness
Anxiety
Increased aggressive thoughts and behavior
Depression
Decreased ability to tolerate stress or disruption
Decreased sexual drive
Impaired work performance
Intense tobacco cravings "
The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are exactly the sensations that nicotine 'relieves' Almost every one of those symptoms has been proven, by our own repeated experience, to be 'curable by cigarette'.
And now, Symptoms of stress:
It's common to see posts referring to stress as a major trigger. Our perception of stress seems to be the primary cue that initiates the cig thoughts. Here's a list of symptoms of stress from the University of Minnesota (http://www.d.umn.edu/hlthserv/counseling/stress_symptoms.html).
Physical:
heart pounding
headaches
sweaty palms
indigestion
skin breaks out
shortness of breath
holding breath
cold hands
sleeplessness
sleep too much
fatigue
nausea
diarrhea
tight stomach
tight muscles
pain
Emotional:
moody
irritability
depressed
anxious
lack of sense of humor
abrasive
hostile
nervous
emotional
Mental:
forgetfulness
loss of concentration
poor judgment
disorganized
fuzzy perception
confused
lack of interest
math errors
stop thinking
diminished fantasy life
negative self-talk
(Obviously some of this list pertains to serious and/or prolonged stress. Our experienced symptoms are dependant on the individual and where we find ourselves within some stress 'spectrum'.)
Stress, by the definition of many experts, is with us 24/7. Awake or asleep, we continuously experience some degree of stress (check almost anything written by Dr Hans Selye). What we commonly call stress are those symptoms that have become chronic, intense, and of which we have become consciously aware.
How many of these symptoms of stress are identical to symptoms of nic withdrawal? If stress is a by product of being alive, how often have/do we experience some stress symptom and respond automatically with an urge to smoke or consciously think it's due to nicotine addiction? How often do we make an effort to differentiate? In my case, never. That is until I began to view what I was feeling and how I 'wanted' to respond as a function of what I was thinking...... which brings me to Albert Ellis's ABCs. But that's for another post at another time.
Sorry this has gone over long
~ddsteve
First, Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal:
At some point after we began our smoking careers, we became addicted to nicotine. In a nutshell, that means that after we smoked a cigarette, usually within 60 minutes, we'd start to feel some of the indications that it was time to top up our nic level in order to relieve the onset of withdrawal. Withdrawal is experienced both by smokers between the cigarettes they smoke, though they rarely wait long enough for the symptoms of withdrawal to become very intense, and by those quitting cigarettes as they change their nic levels and their delivery systems. The only differences that I can see between a smokers withdrawal and a quitters withdrawal are intensity, duration, and evolution of the experience.
There is endless documentation re: the specific ways in which a dose of nicotine will improve ability to concentrate, increase energy levels, and calm anxiety. The following is just a tiny morsel of what can be found by typing 'symptoms of nicotine withdrawal' into any search engine.
From Dr Koop's web site (http://www.drkoop.com/wellness/tobacco/library/pg00041.asp):
"The physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal vary from person to person, but may include any of the following:
Increased appetite, especially for carbohydrates and sweets
Increased coughing and sputum production
Sweating
Fatigue
Muscle aches and cramps
Constipation or diarrhea
Headache
Hypersensitivity to stimuli
Sleep disturbances
Weight gain
Nausea
The psychological symptoms of nicotine withdrawal vary from person to person, but may include any of the following:
Irritability
Restlessness
Anxiety
Increased aggressive thoughts and behavior
Depression
Decreased ability to tolerate stress or disruption
Decreased sexual drive
Impaired work performance
Intense tobacco cravings "
The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are exactly the sensations that nicotine 'relieves' Almost every one of those symptoms has been proven, by our own repeated experience, to be 'curable by cigarette'.
And now, Symptoms of stress:
It's common to see posts referring to stress as a major trigger. Our perception of stress seems to be the primary cue that initiates the cig thoughts. Here's a list of symptoms of stress from the University of Minnesota (http://www.d.umn.edu/hlthserv/counseling/stress_symptoms.html).
Physical:
heart pounding
headaches
sweaty palms
indigestion
skin breaks out
shortness of breath
holding breath
cold hands
sleeplessness
sleep too much
fatigue
nausea
diarrhea
tight stomach
tight muscles
pain
Emotional:
moody
irritability
depressed
anxious
lack of sense of humor
abrasive
hostile
nervous
emotional
Mental:
forgetfulness
loss of concentration
poor judgment
disorganized
fuzzy perception
confused
lack of interest
math errors
stop thinking
diminished fantasy life
negative self-talk
(Obviously some of this list pertains to serious and/or prolonged stress. Our experienced symptoms are dependant on the individual and where we find ourselves within some stress 'spectrum'.)
Stress, by the definition of many experts, is with us 24/7. Awake or asleep, we continuously experience some degree of stress (check almost anything written by Dr Hans Selye). What we commonly call stress are those symptoms that have become chronic, intense, and of which we have become consciously aware.
How many of these symptoms of stress are identical to symptoms of nic withdrawal? If stress is a by product of being alive, how often have/do we experience some stress symptom and respond automatically with an urge to smoke or consciously think it's due to nicotine addiction? How often do we make an effort to differentiate? In my case, never. That is until I began to view what I was feeling and how I 'wanted' to respond as a function of what I was thinking...... which brings me to Albert Ellis's ABCs. But that's for another post at another time.
Sorry this has gone over long
~ddsteve