Practically everyone who smokes has good intentions regarding quitting. When the day arrives, however, the uncomfortable initial effects of withdrawal can become overwhelming. It may help some smokers to develop a mindset that equates the symptoms of withdrawal with proof that the body is beginning to heal.
Initial Withdrawal Symptoms
In the initial stages of nicotine withdrawal, the desire to smoke can be overpowering. To understand the mechanisms that cause this craving, it helps to know how nicotine acts in the brain. Nicotine attaches to receptors in the brain that normally receive a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine that is involved with the release of hormones such as dopamine, which is associated with the experience of pleasure.
"The New York Times" Health Guide series explains that the brain reacts to nicotine as if it were a necessary factor in survival. As nicotine levels begin to decrease, and cravings set in as the body tries to perpetuate the addiction. This can be accompanied by increasing levels of anxiety, anger, and mental confusion.
Depression is another common occurrence during nicotine withdrawal. This sometimes lasts for a prolonged period. Those who suffer from depression are more prone to begin smoking again. Such people could find more positive results through the use of therapy, nicotine replacements and/or antidepressants.
Cardiovascular Improvements
The good news is that the uncomfortable initial withdrawal symptoms are a sign that nicotine is leaving the body, and the process of healing has begun.
The American Lung Association states that within just 20 minutes after quitting, blood pressure and heart rate decrease. Within two weeks to three months, ex-smokers experience an improvement in blood circulation. In one year, the ex-smoker's risk of coronary heart disease declines to half that of those who continue to smoke. After 15 years, those who quite smoking have no more risk of coronary heart disease than those who never smoked at all.
Respiratory Improvements
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers the encouraging news that lungs begin to repair the damage caused by smoking within 12 hours of quitting. Smokers may experience an initial increase in coughing, as the small hair-like cilia located in the lungs begin to clear out the mucus and waste that has accumulated. These symptoms should decrease within one to nine months. Lung function shows signs of improvement, and breathing becomes easier, within two weeks to three months of quitting smoking. After 10 years of smoking abstinence, the ex-smoker's risk of lung cancer drops to half that of smokers.
