Nicotine Withdrawal Can Cause Anxiety
The dictionary definition of anxiety is "anticipation of impending danger and dread accompanied by restlessness, tension, rapid pulse and difficulty breathing."
As someone who tried several times to quit smoking I can honestly say I experienced many of these attacks.
At one time I was taken to hospital because I was sure I was having a heart attack.
Amazing to think that this is all caused by nicotine addiction!
There are so many fears associated with giving up smoking it's no wonder we end up smoking again because at the time it seems like the easiest thing to do.
Isn't it interesting though that while we are smoking we don't have anxiety attacks about getting lung cancer or emphysema.
There are many therapies that offer anxiety help and I found the simple ones such as just learning to take nice deep calming breaths helped me a lot. When I could afford it - I went for a massage!
If you are going to try to quit cold turkey you may find yourself suffering these attacks frequently.
This is when some people contemplate using a nicotine replacement therapy such as an electronic cigarette or nicotine patches.
For this reason it is important to plan ahead - if you think that you are the type of person who is going to experience anxiety attacks then your strategy for quitting smoking might not include going cold turkey. Or if you do go cold turkey you might consider using one of the many natural therapies available to get you through.
There are so many good reasons to stop smoking but the first one will always be your health. Remember, you can't die from an anxiety attack.
Focusing on the health benefits of giving up smoking will provide some comfort. When some people quit they focus so much on the pain of withdrawal or the possibility of gaining weight that they forget to think about how much good they are doing for themselves.
The treatment recommended for someone having an attack is to offer them calm reassurance and to remove the thing causing them such anguish and/or fear.
Well, unfortunately you can't offer them a cigarette but you can reassure them that these feelings won't last forever - it will get better and easier in time. There are a few tips at my page on anxiety treatments.
Hypnosis can provide a calm reassurance at a sub-conscious level and might be enough to get you through the initial early stages of nicotine withdrawal. This time is important to your success or failure so do find something whether it be some form of exercise such as swimming or a form of meditation to provide you with better coping skills - you will need something in order to get through this time.
Some related pages:
Reasons to Quit Smoking.
Hypnosis.
Gaining Weight.
Losing Weight.
Emphysema.
Champix.
Zyban.
Pulmonary Hypertension.
All the 599 chemicals A-Z.
Return from "Anxiety" to "How to Quit Smoking"
