When giving up bad habits, it is important not to overdo them with goal setting and goal updating. Very few people can stop smoking here once and for all. This is a long process with its own setbacks and experiences. All of this is related to emotional, psychological and physiological properties. You can quit smoking on your own, but you must reasonably get it right little by little.
Let's try to figure out all the twists and turns on this important but not easy matter. Experts have developed a formula for success for a person quitting an addiction in the form of a calendar or graph with a detailed description of the changes in the body. I wonder what happens to the body when you stop smoking. Let's try to find out.
Important: the consequences for the body during the day
During the transition to a healthy lifestyle, significant clinical changes occur in the body of an adult (heavy smoker), in the emotional background and in the change in physiological state. Each new day of smoking cessation is different from the previous one against the background of mental health problems and physical well-being. As they say, the main thing at this point is not to break. So let's present a picture of what is happening in the form of a diary, where a few calendar days are noted and given with a description of the current symptoms.
Quitting smoking: day one
When the decision to quit smoking has been made final and irrevocable (even if not for the first time), this process must be "entered" gradually. To make the transition from an unhealthy to a healthy lifestyle easier, it is important to know how the body behaves. On the first day of the "course" of a healthy lifestyle, the weakened body has to get used to a new regime and start the recovery processes. A sudden transition from one state to another can affect overall well-being and decrease determination. This is not only a physical but also a psychological test.
The main thing that happens to the body when you stop smoking: the amount of carbon monoxide decreases, red blood cell transport improves, and more oxygen gets into the tissues. Even externally, on the first day after quitting nicotine, the “former” smoker enjoys a new state of mind for himself. He is more active, happier and more confident. The ability to painlessly give up the smoking habit on the first day of the course convinces the heavy smoker of determination and willpower. This is important in overcoming nicotine cravings.
However, do not forget that characteristic physiological changes begin in the body on the first day.
For example, what happens in a woman's body:
- slight dizziness,
- Loss of appetite,
- weakness,
- fear,
- Sleep disorders,
- insomnia.
What is the reason? An experienced smoker subjects his body to tests on an emotional-psychological and physiological level. It triggers such deep processes that the body "cannot live" without nicotine.
Quitting the cigarette triggers other dramatic changes. Nicotine is not simply absorbed into the bloodstream, but affects the flow of blood. Hence, it is important to consider that it generally takes at least a year for the body to recover from smoking cessation. But now back to the smoking cessation diary.
Do not forget that characteristic physiological changes in the body begin on the first day of smoking cessation, for example, a slight dizziness in women.
Stop smoking: Day two
At this point, determination can let you down a little - attacks are returning (at least not for long) to the old habit. This happens, for example, in a man's body. While the struggle takes place on an emotional level, the body does not experience any less dramatic changes: the respiratory organs are cleared of mucus and settle, the functions of the ciliated epithelium are restored, the condition of the gastrointestinal tract improves, new cells appear in the tissues. The changes that occur during this time on an emotional level manifest in the form of euphoria, emotional excitability. But irritability can also occur. It all depends on self hypnosis and self discipline. Although sometimes sleepiness can suddenly be replaced with energy. On the second day after quitting smoking, appetite is not fully restored (strange taste sensations may occur). You may also experience difficulty breathing, cough, and even stomach pain. During this time, the need to urinate and difficulty falling asleep manifest themselves more often. When you add the nervous tension, for example from stress at work, then it's very natural to have itching on your skin.
Smoking cessation: days three and four
Let's further consider what happens to the body when you stop smoking. A number of factors affect how quickly the body recovers. In particular, the general condition and weakened immunity play a special role. Therefore, the nuances of smoking cessation therapy should be assessed at the cellular level. Everyone has their own internal energy supply to fight addiction. Accordingly, an individual approach is required. Toxins are removed from the body during the cleansing process. Even the structure of the cells changes and triggers a radical cleansing.
This is what happens with the body these days:
- Restoration of the ciliated epithelium on the tissues of the respiratory organs,
- in the pancreas the indicator for alkaline fractions rises,
- Less mucus accumulates in the stomach,
- In general, blood flow to the heart and brain improves.
There is a clear unwillingness to smoke, the peristalsis is normalized. At the same time, the ex-smoker's "withdrawal" increases, which has more psychological effects and nervousness occurs. Quitting smoking as if "no place is found for yourself" struggling with a long-term habit. Against this background, there is an increased appetite to "grab" sweets. Sometimes the skin starts peeling off and the fingers swell. Mucus may appear in the throat when coughing.
Stop smoking: days five and six
During smoking cessation, many people use a special desk or calendar for convenience. Someone keeps a journal and writes down their feelings in detail. This is useful when you need to identify the related symptoms and changes in the body. Since it gets easier after a few days, keeping a journal will help you hold back and analyze your mistakes. From the fifth to the seventh day, a former smoker notices the following changes in his body: it is noteworthy how microtraumas on the skin began to heal faster; All segments of the respiratory system are restored (and the most distant ones too). digestion returns to normal; nicotine is removed from the blood cells on an invisible level.
Normally, the last point in the process of combating addiction is determined on the seventh day when a person's physical dependence on cigarettes (smoke, smell) disappears. At the same time there is no feeling of psychological discomfort. But do not forget about the likelihood of relapse. Disturbances happen anyway. When the euphoria passes, nervousness and aggression appear. Even sleep problems can recur. However, it is important to remember that this will not take long, that the main stage of life - smoking cessation - has been successfully completed and there is no motivation to return to the old life.
During smoking cessation, many people use a special desk or calendar for convenience. Someone keeps a journal and writes down their feelings in detail.
Quitting smoking: week two
After a week, the Rubicon seems to have passed, and now you can live like non-smokers and deal with everyday worries. But that rarely happens. The body certainly made a huge leap in the first week after quitting smoking. Even so, sometimes even external factors (the smoke of cigarettes and even their appearance, for example, when they smoke nearby) can play a bad joke with a former smoker. It is therefore worth sharing your plans with friends and acquaintances so that there is no temptation to cancel "for the company".
At this moment it is worth listening to your body. He's probably already managed to break off nicotine. But the process of restoring the body from nicotine addiction is still ongoing. You can help yourself by flipping through a former smoker's calendar and noting obvious changes in the way you work. It turns out that from the second week onwards, the fight turns into a purely psychological level. The desire to smoke can arise during stress, sadness at the sight of an active smoker at work. One has to learn not to react to such external promises of a return to the past.
What happens at the end of the second week?
It's been 14 days since a former smoker stopped using nicotine. At this point, the following changes in his body can be noted: the healing of bronchitis and the renewal of platelets. Although the red blood cells have not yet been renewed. This can be due to vegetative-vascular manifestations. At the same time, you can see how the complexion improves, the yellowish tint on the fingers disappears, and the acute cough gradually disappears. The longer the smoker's experience, the longer the symptoms appear.
What happens in the first month after quitting smoking?
On the 30th day after giving up cigarettes, weight begins to decrease, the upper respiratory system is fully restored, and mental comfort is felt. At the same time, enthusiasm can be replaced by depression or the blues. Again, as in the first week, it is important not to tear yourself away, to hold on, since the most difficult way to quit smoking has already been passed.
What happens from the second month after you quit smoking?
From the second month of the recovery process from nicotine addiction and the next three to four months, the former smoker (this is particularly noticeable in women) has more pleasant facial features, swelling subsides, the gray coloring on the face disappears and couperose nets. And in the third month there is an intensive restoration of blood vessels in the body. This indicates that the tone of the body is finally returning to normal, as well as the fact that the "point of no return" has finally been passed. The physical craving for tobacco has weakened so much that you can still see another smoker next to you without experiencing agony. In general, there are noticeable improvements on an emotional, psychological and physical level. A good appetite is no longer a sign of stress attacks, but simply associated with well-being.
What happens in the first year after quitting smoking?
Now let's look at what happens to the body when you stop smoking in the long term. Six months is an important milestone. In this phase of life, doctors note the complete renewal of all body systems, when the blood and cells are almost completely freed from the toxic substance (nicotine). It seems that with each passing day it becomes easier to breathe. The lungs really work more efficiently. One year is already a real experience for a former smoker. This is the period when the first serious results can be summarized. For example, you can congratulate yourself on the successful end of the event and simply enjoy a nicotine-free life that is sure to bear fruit. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by 30-50 percent. Lung cancer - by 80 percent; Problems with the gastrointestinal tract - by 70 percent.
Willpower or alternatives
Many people who quit smoking have a false sense of how easy it is to achieve a goal by replacing one habit with another. But every psychoactive substance arouses the desire for other addictions. Someone switches to light cigarettes, someone keeps smoking a pack of cigarettes and just puts them out in time. Of course, smokers with twenty years of experience may find it more difficult than others. In this case, smoking cessation is cyclical, not abrupt. In any case, only a person can free himself by giving up just one habit.