Nicotine Withdrawal

Some people report feelings of depression after quitting smoking. Mood changes and irritability are common in the first few weeks after you quit smoking. And so are sadness and depression. 

More severe depression can happen, too. 24% of smokers with a history of depression and 14% of smokers with no history of depression report mild to major depression after quitting smoking.

Most times, these low moods are temporary nicotine withdrawal symptoms and quitting smoking will eventually decrease depression.

And there are many things you can do to speed the process and begin feeling better. 

So if you’re struggling with sadness or depression, or if you’re worried that you will after quitting smoking, keep reading to learn why this happens and how to cope. 

(And if you’re concerned about someone else, there are things you can do to help.)

Remember, You’re not alone! 

What Is Depression?

While experiencing sad feelings and low moods is common after quitting, this is not always depression and it’s not always because you stopped smoking. 

Depression is a mood disorder. It affects how you feel and think, and how well you’re able to cope with life.

Some of the signs of depression are:

• feeling sad or empty

• feeling discouraged or hopeless

• losing interest in things you usually enjoy

• having difficulty concentrating or making decisions

• feeling restless or irritable

• losing your appetite or eating too much

• feeling tired or without energy

• having difficulty sleeping or, for some people, sleeping too much. 

Depression or Sadness?

Feeling sad and being depressed are two different things.

Feeling sad is usually a response to something difficult, disappointing or hurtful. This lasts a day or it can be a longer phase, and there’s a specific cause in most cases.

Feeling depressed isn’t a response to a specific event. It’s a general feeling of unhappiness–usually about everything in one’s life.

Depression is persistent, not a sadness that comes and goes. As a general rule, if a low mood lasts for more than three weeks, it’s probably depression. 

Is quitting smoking to blame if you feel depressed?

Not always. 

Having bad days and going through bad phases is normal.

We all have days or weeks when nothing seems to go right; smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers alike.

The sadness may be in response to something else that’s happened in your life. But this time, you’re going through this challenge as a non-smoker. 

If you feel down shortly after you quit, then it could be because you cut off nicotine and your brain adjusts back to normal health.

But if you feel bad months after you quit, then it probably doesn’t have to do with quitting smoking. 

When you have bad days, and you probably will, you might think that quitting is to blame and that smoking is the solution.

Remember that smoking put you in this situation in the first place and that if you smoke, a bad day may turn to many bad days of guilt and struggle. 

Instead, focus on your freedom, and know that at the end of a bad day, you won and persevered. And a smoke-free day is a good day after all.

Nicotine and Depression

When you inhale tobacco smoke, nicotine passes into your bloodstream and quickly reaches your brain.

Nicotine hijacks your brain, takes the place of acetylcholine, another neurochemical, and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine.

Higher dopamine levels improve your mood and your feeling of wellbeing. In fact, it’s sometimes called the “feel-good hormone.”

Why Would Quitting Smoking Make You Depressed?

It has a lot to do with dopamine. 

Dopamine is released when you do something pleasurable, like have a nice meal, and also when you expect to feel pleasure. 

Dopamine is also the reason why you use cigarettes as a reward and as a way of managing emotions. 

The problem is that, over time, your brain learns to release most of its dopamine when you smoke. 

So when you stop smoking, the reward–the expected cigarette–doesn’t follow, and your dopamine level drops. So you momentarily feel unhappy or dissatisfied.

Think about it this way.

Nicotine is a stimulant. But after stimulation comes depression.

So you have to keep taking the stimulating drug to avoid the depressive effects.

This creates a vicious cycle of stimulation and depression and the only way to break it is to stop taking the stimulating drug; the nicotine. 

Another Reason Why You May Feel Depression After Quitting Smoking

Some other chemicals in the brain are involved, too. One of them is MAO-A. (That stands for monoamine oxidase A.)

MAO-A levels are higher than usual in people with depression. And they’re very high in the first few days after quitting smoking.

Why does that matter?

Well, high levels of MAO-A reduce the amount of serotonin in your brain.  And low levels of serotonin are linked to depression.

What happens when you stop taking nicotine?

Regular smoking changes your brain chemistry. And when you quit, your brain chemistry changes again. 

Once you stop taking nicotine, your brain will eventually bounce back and stop waiting for nicotine to release dopamine.

Instead, it will release the feel-good chemical when you do something that gives you real pleasure. 

During that transition period is when you’re most likely to feel sad or depressed.

You probably smoked when you did things you enjoyed. Maybe you had a cigarette after a meal, after sex or while talking with friends.

You can learn to enjoy all of these things without smoking, but it may take some time. 

Also, when you stop using cigarettes as a way to manage emotions–whether positive or negative–you may feel your emotions more strongly. You’re not suppressing them, so they may feel more intense. 

This is temporary–you’ll adjust.

You’ll learn other ways of coping, feeling rewarded and managing emotions without cigarettes. And your feelings of sadness or depression will begin to subside. 

It takes a while for your brain chemistry to go back to the way it was before you started smoking.

But if you stay away from nicotine, you’ll go back to normal levels in about a month.

Your brain won’t need that nicotine supply any longer.

How Long Does Quit Smoking Depression Last? 

These feelings can last for up to 4 weeks after you are nicotine free, but it varies from one person to another.

If you’re a heavy smoker, you’ve developed extra nicotine receptors in your brain.

Nicotine binds to these receptors. And withdrawal symptoms develop when the receptors aren’t activated.

The number of nicotine receptors will go back to normal levels and you will start feeling better if you stay away from nicotine.

It usually takes about a month, but that can vary from one person to another.

It’s important to be consistent and remain nicotine-free. If you smoke, you’ll just prolong the quitting process.

Using nicotine patches or chewing nicotine gum or vaping will prolong the process, too.

Nicotine is addictive, whether it’s in a cigarette or in some other form. It will take longer to reduce the number of nicotine receptors in your brain if they’re still being exposed to nicotine.

If you stay away from nicotine completely, you’ll probably find that your mood gradually improves.

There’ll be times when you find yourself feeling more energetic and more excited about something you’ve planned. 

Pay attention to the good feelings and increased energy you feel at times. You can expect more of these positive changes. 

Keep your expectations realistic, though.

It’s not unusual for feelings of sadness to return at times, and for your moods to vary. That’s normal for everyone. 

But with time, any sadness or depression that was linked to quitting smoking should end. 

Ex-smokers who have gone for a year or more without a cigarette report being happier than smokers.

And they report being much happier than they were when they were smoking.

So don’t let a short period of adjustment keep you from your goal of becoming a non-smoker.

What If You Were Already Depressed Before You Quit Smoking?

A lot of smokers suffer from depression. In fact, smokers are more likely to experience depression than non-smokers. Scientists aren’t sure why.

And smokers with depression or anxiety disorders often smoke very heavily. People experiencing depression or anxiety are more likely to reach for a cigarette whenever they feel uncomfortable.

You might be pleasantly surprised to find that quitting smoking makes you feel less depressed. For some people, quitting smoking is as effective as taking antidepressants!

Several studies have reported a decrease in depression and an improvement in “psychological quality of life” in people who quit smoking. And this is true whether or not they suffered from depression or anxiety.

So don’t worry that quitting smoking will make you even more depressed in the long run. That’s not likely to happen.

How to Cope with Sadness and Depression after Quitting Smoking

There are a number of things you can do to help yourself feel better. 

• One of the most important is to go easy on yourself. This isn’t the time to make a major life decision or start a big project. Give your body and your mind time to adjust to being free of nicotine first.

• Talking to someone can help. 

• Take care of yourself. Make a point of eating regular meals. Focus on healthy foods, like lean meats, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

• Avoid sugar. You may find that you crave sweets and carbohydrates, but they’re not the best choice. Scientists are finding links between depression and consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates–the kind in white bread and pasta. They may make you feel good at first, but your mood is likely to crash later as your blood sugar drops.

• Reduce alcohol. Don’t rely on alcohol to improve your mood. Drinking may help you feel better for a little while, but it makes depression worse in the long run. And having a drink can reduce your motivation to quit smoking.

• Pay attention to your grooming. Take a shower, even when it seems like a lot of work. 

• Try to stay active. Exercise releases endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins create a sense of calm and relaxation and improve our mood. The feeling they create is so good that it’s often called a “runner’s high.”

So go for a run, take a walk, ride your bike, go to the gym. Do what you can.

You could also invite someone to exercise with you. Spending time with other people can help you feel more connected and motivated. 

• Socialize. Call a friend or family member. Meet someone for coffee or a meal. Make plans to go to a concert or see a movie. 

• Be sure to get outside and get some sunlight. If you can’t get outside, open the blinds and let more light into your home. Sunlight helps boost serotonin levels. It’s a neurotransmitter that influences mood. It isn’t clear why, but it’s usually lower in people with depression.

• Walk your dog. If you don’t have one, walk someone else’s dog. Animal shelters are usually glad to have volunteers come in and take a dog out for a walk. Even a brief time spent with an animal can ease depression. And walking a dog can help you connect with other people in a relaxed way.

• Do something that you usually enjoy, even if it doesn’t appeal to you right now. It’s hard to take action and get moving when you’re depressed, but you’ll almost always feel better once you do.

• It’s a good idea to make plans for your day. Be sure to include something enjoyable in your plans, to give yourself something to look forward to. 

• Keeping a gratitude journal can also help. It’s a list of things you’re thankful for. They can be as simple as seeing a beautiful sunset, or as basic as having a safe place to live and food to eat. And of course, friends and family can go on your gratitude list, too.

• This too shall pass. Remember that your low feelings won’t last forever. You’ll adjust–physically and mentally–to being nicotine free. And the odds are that you’ll be much happier once you do.

You’ll be healthier, too. And more energetic. So there’s a lot to look forward to.

• You’re working towards the goal of being smoke-free. You may want to try working towards another goal, too. It can be in any area of your life–financial, health, career.

Any steps you take towards reaching your goal can focus your energy on something productive, bolster your self-esteem and help improve your mood.

Seeking Outside Help

Sometimes depression is so severe that self-help measures like exercise and socializing with others aren’t enough.

If that’s the case for you, seek professional help. It’s especially important if you find yourself thinking about suicide or otherwise harming yourself.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be very helpful, and so can other forms of psychotherapy. You talk with a counselor about your thoughts and feelings. Together, you work to try to understand them better. And your counselor helps you learn new ways of coping.

Just remember: help is available. You don’t need to cope with depression alone.

Smoking irritates your lungs. That’s why smokers cough. 

Not all smokers have a chronic cough, though. People who have been smoking for a long time are the most likely to develop smoker’s cough or sore throat from smoking.

Specifically, about a third of smokers don’t have a cough or other respiratory symptoms related to smoking. But even these smokers undergo changes in their lungs. 

What is Smokers Cough

Smokers cough is the cough that develops in smokers and lasts for more than two or three weeks. This cough can develop while smoking or after quitting smoking.

Smoker’s Cough Symptoms

If you have smokers cough you probably experience:

• Frequent cough
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing up phlegm or mucus
• Wheezing
• Chest pain

What Causes Smokers Cough

Mucus

The lungs become irritated and inflamed when they’re regularly exposed to smoke. The extent of irritation varies from one smoker to another, in part depending on the amount of smoking.

There’s a substance called mucus that’s formed by the cells lining the respiratory passages. It’s a slippery fluid that has some important functions. Mucus (or phlegm) protects lung tissue, it has a moisturizing effect and it traps irritants, like dust or smoke particles.

Each time you smoke, you inhale irritating particles. In response, the cells that make mucus grow larger and increase in number. They make more mucus, and it’s thicker than usual. This thicker mucus is harder to cough up so it gets stored.

Mucus clogs up your airways, which contributes to smokers cough.

Cilia

Cigarettes have a lot of other ingredients besides tobacco. When you light up, these ingredients can combine to form harmful chemical compounds. Formaldehyde is just one of these harmful byproducts.

Inhaling formaldehyde and other chemicals can damage the very small hairs, called cilia, that line the airways. Cilia act like a broom, sweeping irritants out of the airways. They move back and forth in unison, hundreds of times a minute.

Movement of the cilia moves mucus upwards, towards the throat. Then it’s either swallowed back or coughed or spit out of the body.

Chemical exposure to the tobacco ingredients irritates and inflames the lungs. It also slows the sweeping action of cilia. And with repeated exposure to chemicals, some of the cilia are shortened or destroyed.

With fewer and slower cilia to clear the airways, and thicker mucus clogging them, smokers cough.

How the Damaged Cilia Affect your Lung Health

Smokers don’t just cough more than other people, they also get sick more often. They’re more likely to get colds and respiratory infections, like bronchitis and flu. 

The symptoms are usually more severe in smokers and the illness lasts longer than it does in nonsmokers.

There are a number of reasons for this. One is that the cilia aren’t able to keep your airways clear of irritants. Another is that your immune system becomes less effective when you smoke, so your body has more difficulty fighting off infections.

And of course you know that smoking is linked to lung cancer. It’s the tar in cigarettes that’s the main cause of lung cancer. 

The cilia help to remove tar from your lungs. If they’re damaged or reduced in number, they’re not able to remove as much tar so it can penetrate deeper into your lungs, and do more damage.

Coughing After Quitting Smoking

Although quitting smoking will improve your breathing, you may cough after you stop. Why?

The cilia begin to recover when you stop smoking. Recovery usually starts within 4 to 6 days of quitting, and it can continue for months. Eventually, most people regain normal cilia function.

As the cilia become more active, they can clear more mucus from your lungs. 

As a result, you may find that you cough more often. In fact, you may cough more than you did when you were smoking. 

This isn’t something to worry about. It’s actually a sign of recovery.

How Long Does Smokers Cough Last after Quitting?

The quit smoking cough can continue for a few months after you stop smoking.

In the beginning, the cough can be dry. Later on, you may start coughing up phlegm.

For most people, the coughing lasts only a month or two after quitting smoking. For some, though, it may last as long as 9 months.

What If You Don’t Cough After Quitting Smoking?

Some smokers don’t cough more after they quit. This isn’t something to worry about. 

There are some smokers who develop a chronic cough, and there are some who don’t. There are some who experience quit smoking cough, and some who don’t. Our bodies are all different.

If you don’t cough more after you quit smoking, it means that the repair process is occurring more gradually. Or that the phlegm is coming up steadily, but in small amounts, so you don’t notice it.

You may find you need to clear your throat more often. That’s a way of removing mucus and phlegm, too. 

Whether you cough or not, your cilia will regrow and regain their function if you stay away from smoking. And the irritants in your lungs will gradually be expelled from your body.

How to Get Rid of Smokers Cough

Coughing after quitting smoking helps to remove the irritants from your lungs, so it’s not a good idea to try to suppress it with cough medicines. But that doesn’t mean you need to be uncomfortable.

There are things you can do to soothe your sore throat and promote the healing process.

Even if you’re one of the people who isn’t coughing more after quitting, these suggestions can be useful for you, too. They all help to promote good health.

1. Watch What You Eat and Drink

To get rid of smokers cough, start by drinking lots of fluids so you stay hydrated. Water is the best choice, but tea and juices are good choices, too. 

You can also try taking a spoonful of honey once or twice a day. Try putting it in your tea. Honey will coat the lining of your throat and soothe it.

It’s best to limit other sweets, though. Candy, cake, cookies and other foods that contain a lot of sugar can prompt your body to make more mucus.

So can dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt. You’re trying to clear the mucus from your lungs, so it isn’t helpful to eat foods that increase mucus production.

2. Pay Attention to Air Quality

Stay away from people who are smoking! Breathing in secondhand smoke will irritate your lungs, and it can make it harder for you to keep from smoking yourself.

Try to avoid being around fires and wood smoke, too. Smoke of any kind is irritating to your lungs.

Limit your use of household cleaning products that contain ammonia or other strong chemicals. They’re also lung irritants.

A humidifier can be a good idea. If you live in a dry climate, or if your heating system dries out the air in your home, adding moisture to the air you breathe can make you more comfortable.

3. Get More Exercise

Physical activity is good for both your body and your mood. Exercise helps with cigarette cravings, too.

Be forewarned, though–it may make you cough more. That’s because it helps to loosen mucus lodged in your air passages. Coughing it up is helpful, not harmful.

4. Do Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is good for your lungs. It’s also a good way of relaxing and easing stress.

Learn some deep breathing exercises. They’re simple, don’t require any special equipment and don’t take long to do. You just learn to take deep, full breaths instead of the short, shallow breaths that most people take.

1. Just sit upright in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Or lie flat on your back on the floor or on your bed.
2. Put one hand on your stomach, just above your belly button.
3. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, with your mouth closed.
4. Then exhale slowly. You should be able to feel your belly expand as you breathe in, and flatten as you breathe out. 

When to See a Doctor for Your Cough

If coughing lasts longer than a few months, or if you’re concerned about it, visit your doctor for an examination.

There are some other smokers cough symptoms that should prompt a visit to your doctor. If you have difficulty breathing, cough up streaks of blood or find yourself wheezing, you need to let your doctor know.

Smokers have a risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, usually called COPD. Emphysema is one form of COPD. It’s most likely to develop in people who’ve smoked heavily for many years. 

The very small air sacs in the lungs, called alveoli, are damaged and destroyed in people with emphysema. The lungs take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through the alveoli. When they’re destroyed, it becomes hard to get enough oxygen. The result is shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. 

And smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer. That’s why it’s important to see your doctor if your cough doesn’t go away or if you have other symptoms.

If it turns out that you do have COPD, starting treatment early can help limit the damage to your lungs. And if you have lung cancer, the earlier you start treatment, the better.

Coughing can also be a sign of a respiratory tract infection. If you have a high fever, swollen glands in your neck, or a lot of green or yellow phlegm, you might have an infection. Call your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

Quitting Smoking Improves Your Health

Your lungs start to heal as soon as you quit smoking. With time, irritation and inflammation decrease, mucus production declines and the cilia begin to regrow.

The longer you go without smoking, the more your lung function will improve. Your risk of lung cancer will drop, too.

So even though you may find yourself coughing after you quit, you’re doing something very beneficial for your health. 

Coughing after stopping smoking is helping clear your lungs. Once the irritants are removed from your airways, you should find yourself breathing more easily and coughing much less.

As soon as you stop smoking, you start on a path to better health. Cough is just a temporary inconvenience as you walk that path.

What will you experience when you stop smoking? Will the nicotine withdrawal symptoms make you struggle?

Is withdrawal hard and painful?

Not necessarily. Each smoker has a different experience during withdrawal. 

Keep in mind that every quit attempt is different. Just because last time was hard, it doesn’t mean this time won’t be easy. 

Some people may experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms, at least for a few days. Those who have smoked heavily for years are more likely to have intense symptoms. While others may have no symptoms at all, even if they used to be heavy smokers.

One of the CBQ Method principles is that “How you experience the nicotine withdrawal depends on 1) your overall health 2) your mindset and 3) your nutrition.”

The problem is that the thought of going through severe tobacco withdrawal can discourage you from making a serious attempt to quit. And if you do quit and experience signs of withdrawal, you may be tempted to start smoking again. 

To avoid that, you need to know what are the side effects of quitting smoking, why they occur, and how to face them.

Because when you know what to expect, you can prepare yourself and have a better chance of quitting successfully.

So keep reading to learn what to expect during nicotine withdrawal. 

What Causes Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

The definition of nicotine withdrawal is this: you experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking nicotine, and your body and mind start adjusting back to normal health.

In other words, the withdrawal symptoms are signs you’re getting over the addiction – physically and mentally.

(Nicotine replacement products can reduce the intensity but also prolong the nicotine withdrawal.)

To better understand the signs of nicotine withdrawal, you first need to know about the physical and psychological dependence on nicotine. 

Physical Dependence on Nicotine

If you smoke every day, you most likely have some physical dependence on nicotine.

When you inhale tobacco smoke, nicotine quickly passes into your bloodstream. It reaches your brain in just seconds. 

Once in the brain, nicotine attaches itself to some of your brain cells and tricks them into releasing neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that convey nerve impulses.

When it comes to smoking, the most important of these neurochemicals is dopamine.

Dopamine

Dopamine is very important to feelings of pleasure. A dopamine release feels like an emotional reward. 

And a higher level of dopamine goes hand in hand with a better mood and feelings of wellbeing. 

It takes only about 10 seconds for nicotine to reach your brain after you inhale, so the reward is almost immediate.

This artificial reward doesn’t last long. That’s why you crave the next cigarette.

Do smokers feel happier than non-smokers because of the dopamine release?

Not at all. A smoker’s brain doesn’t release more dopamine than a non-smoker’s brain. They release dopamine at different times. 

Non-smokers release dopamine when they are genuinely happy and rewarded while smokers release most of their dopamine when they smoke.

As a result, the natural reservoirs of the neurotransmitter are depleted.

Over time, a smoker’s brain relies on nicotine to release dopamine. Also, it builds tolerance and needs a larger dose of nicotine before it will release any dopamine. That’s why decades of heavy smoking can change the physical structure of the brain.

Fortunately, dopamine levels bounce back when you stop smoking.

Serotonin

Nicotine also controls the release of serotonin, another neuro-chemical.

Serotonin, with dopamine, affect your mood and appetite. That’s why quitting smoking can contribute to increased appetite and mood changes. It’s because your dopamine and serotonin levels are lower than usual for a while. 

Adrenaline

Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands and causes a release of epinephrine. That’s also known as adrenaline. It’s a central nervous system stimulant, and it produces a “fight or flight” response. 

Blood pressure goes up. Heart and breathing rates speed up. The release of adrenaline makes you feel more alert at the cost of overworking your heart.

But, as important as adrenaline is, it’s the release of dopamine in the brain that makes you physically and mentally dependent on nicotine.

Is your physical dependence on nicotine genetic?

Some people inherit genes that make them more likely to be heavy smokers and have more intense cigarette withdrawal symptoms.  

Their brain creates more nicotine receptors so it uses up more dopamine each time they inhale. This is called upregulation. The more you smoke, the more nicotine receptors you create which makes you want to smoke even more. 

While other smokers can’t generate as many nicotine receptors so they physically can’t smoke more than a certain number of cigarettes a day. These are the lighter smokers. 

This genetic difference is the reason why heavy smokers find it hard to become occasional smokers. 

But even if your genes are to blame for the level of your dependence, you can still stop smoking just as successfully and cope with the cigarette withdrawal symptoms. Because as soon as you cut off nicotine, your additional receptors will start to perish. 

Psychological Dependence on Nicotine

It’s the psychological dependence on nicotine that you may find harder to manage.

Because the mental addiction causes intense thoughts about smoking, and the psychological withdrawal symptoms include difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability, and boredom, all of which can make smoking harder to resist.

You may be used to reaching for a cigarette whenever you feel stress, anger, or anxiety. Now you need to find a better way to handle your emotions.

That lower dopamine level is important, too. You’re not getting the feelings of relief that came with the dopamine releases. Until your brain adjusts, you may have mood swings or strong emotions.

Depending on your frame of mind, these psychological symptoms often last longer than the physical symptoms, but they too will pass.

Timeline of Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms and How to Face Them

Below is a list of withdrawal symptoms and how each heals your body. You may experience all, some, or none of these, and the length and intensity will vary from person to person, but knowing what symptoms are and what they mean can help you shift your mindset and see them as freedom and healing signs.

Whether you quit smoking cold turkey or gradually, you will experience some symptoms. Below is a list of all the mental and physical withdrawal symptoms and a timeline for each symptom. The duration of each symptom may vary from one person to another, and you most likely won’t experience all of these side effects. But it’s best to save this list and come back to it whenever you need to. 

(Important: The advice below is not medical advice. You know your body better than anyone. If your symptoms are different or persist, they may not be because of quitting smoking, so contact your doctor.)

Insomnia and Sleep Disruption 

Lasts 2-3 weeks

Your sleep pattern may change until your body adjusts back to normal health. If you have insomnia, increase your exercise, cut off caffeine after 5 pm, sleep with relaxing sounds (the ocean or the rain), or do deep breathing. 

If worries and negative thoughts keep you up at night, do the following:

1. Write the intrusive thought on a piece of paper to get it out of your mind.
2. Write next to the thought “My mind is thinking that__(insert thought)_”. This will help you get perspective. 
3. Look at that paper during the day to see if there’s something you can do about that worry. If you can, do it. If you can’t do anything about it, why worry?

Smoking Dreams

Can occur a few times within the first 6 months to 1 year

If you dream about smoking, it’s because the cilia of your lungs are cleaning up and expelling tar. Tar gets picked up by your senses that have associated it with smoking. And because you are sleeping your unconscious mind is manifesting this through a dream. 

Smoking dreams are not a sign that you want to smoke. On the contrary, smoking dreams usually feel like nightmares and you will likely wake up feeling glad you’re smoke-free.

Tightness in the Chest or Chest Pains after Quitting Smoking

Lasts 1-2 weeks

Having chest pains after you quit smoking cold turkey or cut down gradually can be due to sore muscles from coughing. 

Drink a lot of water and do deep breathing. 

Headaches, Dizziness, Fatigue & Tiredness

Lasts 1 to 4 weeks

When you quit, your body starts getting more oxygen and it takes a bit of time to get used to it and adjust. This can cause headaches, dizziness, tiredness, fatigue, or light-headedness. 

Nicotine releases adrenaline that put your body in constant tension and stress. So if you feel tired, consider that your body might be trying to get the rest it was missing because you used to smoke.

Another reason you experience headaches, tiredness or brain fog is that you have lower sugar levels in your blood. Nicotine inhibits the release of insulin from the pancreas, which makes you have more sugar in your blood. So when you quit, you have a temporary deficiency which can make you feel weak, confused or dizzy.

To feel better, drink fresh orange juice to increase the sugar levels in your blood, exercise, drink a lot of water, and rest.

Difficulty Concentrating

Lasts up to 2 weeks 

Lack of concentration is due to the brain’s increased oxygen flow. And due to the craving thoughts that keep popping up in your mind and interrupt you.

As a smoker, you used to respond to these thoughts by smoking. Now you don’t, so you experience this as a lack of concentration.  

When a craving thought pops up, reply back to yourself and say “Later craving, I’m busy now.” Or replace the thought “I want a cigarette” with “ I want air”… and return to what you were doing. 

Within a few weeks, you will be able to concentrate better as a non-smoker because your brain will get enough oxygen and you won’t have to keep interrupting your train of thought to smoke. 

Tingling in Hands and Feet

Occurs within the first 3 months

You experience tingling in your hands and feet because more oxygen is going into your blood. This is a positive sign your blood flow is improving. However, if it persists, talk to your doctor.

Coughing, Sore Throat & Shortness of Breath after Quitting Smoking

Lasts 1-5 days

When you quit, your respiratory system is trying to clear out all the mucus and residues of smoking left in your body. That might cause shortness of breath, cough, phlegm, sore throat, or runny nose.

Drink plenty of fluids: water, water with lemon and honey are great. You can learn more about cough before and after quitting smoking here.

Constipation

Lasts 1-2 weeks

You may experience changes in your bowel movements, including constipation or gas. These symptoms will go away by themselves in time. If you overthink it, you might cause anxiety which could prolong constipation. 

Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day, eat fruits and exercise. If it persists, ask your pharmacist for a natural aid that can help. 

Mouth Ulcers

Lasts 2 weeks 

Though quite annoying, mouth ulcers and sensitive gums are signs that the blood flow in your mouth and oral hygiene are improving. It affects 2 out of 5 people.

Hunger and Weight Gain

Lasts 3 months

Quitting smoking might increase your appetite because your senses of taste and smell improve so your food smells and tastes better.

Also, the cravings feel a lot like hunger so you might get tricked into eating without being hungry and end up consuming more calories.

Keep in mind that quitting smoking itself does not cause weight gain. Substituting cigarettes with food does.

To avoid gaining weight, exercise daily and eat at specific times every day. If you feel hungry outside those times drink plenty of water, a protein shake, or eat an apple and snacks like carrot and celery. 

Boredom

Lasts 2 weeks

You might feel bored, restless, or feel the need to keep your hands busy. 

Remember that smoking did not make your life interesting and only kept you from trying new things. Use this as an opportunity to catch up on errands, work, and hobbies. Start making a list of all the things you want to do this year and start ticking things off. Here are 6 things to do instead of smoking. 

Anger, Mood Swings & Irritability

Lasts up to 4 weeks

Anger is part of the grieving process. You had an attachment to smoking and breaking it might bring anger.  

When and if you feel angry, remember that smoking made you feel that way. Not stopping smoking.

Once you catch yourself feeling irritated, acknowledge it and don’t bottle it up. Otherwise, you might snap at your friends and loved ones and blame quitting for it. 

It’s okay to feel angry, whether you are a smoker or a non-smoker. When you do, take a few deep breaths and report your feelings; don’t act on them.

This will make you feel good and even bring you closer to your loved ones. You can learn 3 ways to manage your emotions without smoking here.

Anxiety 

Lasts up to 4 weeks

Smoking increases anxiety as it 1) tenses up your body 2) makes it tired from trying to fight all the chemicals and 3) causes constant cravings. 

When you smoke you don’t relieve your anxiety. Instead, you relieve the cigarette cravings, which makes you feel less tense. That’s why you may feel smoking helps with your anxiety. 

Even though smoking is an ineffective coping mechanism, it’s probably the only one you’ve ever known. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to cope in other ways. You can. 

When you smoke, you inhale deeply and slowly. So you feel relaxed thinking the cigarette helped. But in reality, it was the deep and slow breathing that relaxed you.

And you can relax without the cigarette, just by breathing deeply as if you were smoking a cigarette. So when you feel anxious, take deep and long breaths. 

Depression & Sadness

Lasts up to 4 weeks

When you are nicotine-free the nicotine receptors in your brain start to perish, and your dopamine pathways start regulating and producing dopamine naturally – without relying on nicotine. 

During that period, you might momentarily feel down, lost or lonely. Don’t let your mind trick you. You have achieved one of the most important things in your life. Keep yourself busy and remember that your life can only get better. 

Quitting smoking reduces depression in the long term, according to research. When you have a bad day, see it as an isolated event that’s unrelated to quitting smoking. Everyone has bad days; smokers, non-smokers, and never smokers. Choose a healthy way to cope. Call a friend, share your thoughts and feelings, take a walk, exercise, plan a vacation, learn something new or have a new experience. Keep living. 

How Long Do Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms Last?

The withdrawal symptoms from nicotine do not always last long. Symptoms are strongest in the first week after you quit smoking and you can expect them to start about 4 to 24 hours after your last cigarette. 

Most smokers find the first three days to be the most difficult. The third, fourth or fifth day without smoking is usually the hardest. For many people, that’s when symptoms peak.  

After that, you can expect any signs of nicotine withdrawal to ease up over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. Physical symptoms–headaches, tremors, difficulty sleeping–have usually stopped by this time. 

If you still have any nicotine withdrawal symptoms after that, they’re likely to be related to the psychological dependence –irritability, anxiety, mood swings, etc.

These mental and psychological symptoms will last longer if you feel deprived. They’ll pass more quickly if you have a positive mindset. Try to focus on the benefits of quitting smoking, not the illusion of pleasure you used to get from it.

How Long Cravings Last

There are 2 types of cravings: mental and physical.

The physical cravings are just a twitch, a hunger feeling in your stomach when your body is low on nicotine.

Mental cravings are just positive thoughts about smoking that create positive feelings about smoking. That’s another important principle of the CBQ Method.

Cravings are thoughts like “I need to smoke”, “One more cigarette won’t matter” or “A cigarette would make me feel better”

The physical cravings are brief. They usually last for only 3 to 10 minutes and go away 3 to 5 days after you stop smoking because, by that time, almost all nicotine is out of your body. So if you stay nicotine-free for 5 days or more, you’re done with the physical addiction and the physical cravings.

Mental cravings are a bit different. Because they are thoughts, they can last for hours, months, and even years if you don’t handle them. Mental cravings go away when you change how you think about smoking.

Even after weeks or months without smoking, certain triggers can lead to a mental craving for a cigarette. 

That trigger might be a certain activity (like having an alcoholic drink), an intense emotion (anxiety or anger, for example) or just watching other people smoke. 

Triggers vary from one person to another. So it’s important to be aware of your triggers and have a plan for managing them.

How Fast Your Body Expels Nicotine

Nicotine has a half-life of about 2 hours. Half-life is the amount of time it takes for 50 percent of a substance to be removed from the body. 

Nicotine’s half-life is very short; Your body takes 2 hours to remove 50 percent of the nicotine you inhale or chew.

Once nicotine is absorbed, it’s metabolized or broken down by liver enzymes. Then it’s eliminated from the body in the urine. 3 to 5 days after the last cigarette, nicotine has been eliminated from the body and the nicotine withdrawal symptoms peak.

As with almost everything else, though, the time varies from person to person. 

The half-life of nicotine may be a little longer for heavy smokers or people who smoked for many years. It may also be longer in people over age 65. This means it will take a bit longer for nicotine to be removed from the body. The half-life of nicotine is likely to be somewhat shorter in women than in men, which means that women may expel nicotine faster than men.

How Intense Will Withdrawal Be?

Everyone experiences withdrawal differently. Some people have mild symptoms, while others feel great discomfort. For some, cravings are mild, while for others, cravings are intense. 

Some people find that their symptoms and cravings last for only a few days, while others may find they last for several weeks. 

It’s important to remember that, unpleasant as nicotine withdrawal symptoms are, they will lessen with time. 

Are Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms Dangerous?

Of course, not. Withdrawal is not any worse than a common cold.

Different people experience different symptoms but you can view any signs of withdrawal as signs of freedom and healing. 

If you’re going through withdrawal it means you are doing things right. If you don’t experience any symptoms then how can you know if you’re getting rid of the nicotine?

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms Will Pass

While you may experience withdrawal symptoms from nicotine when you stop smoking, don’t let that deter you. 

The symptoms will pass, they’re manageable and they won’t cause you any harm. 

Physical symptoms are likely to be strongest in the first 5 days and then lessen. Insomnia, headache, tremors, and any other physical symptoms usually stop completely within 3 to 4 weeks. 

Psychological symptoms like anxiety, difficulty concentrating and mood swings may last longer, but they too will pass. 

Cravings may recur, but each craving episode is likely to last just a few seconds. 

With time, all of the tobacco withdrawal symptoms will pass and your body will be well on its way to recovery from the harmful effects of smoking.

Health Improvement Starts Almost Immediately

It’s important to realize that the nicotine withdrawal symptoms are not at all harmful to your body. 

Just the opposite is true. Your body very quickly begins to recover from the harmful effects of smoking. And that’s true even if you were a heavy smoker.

In just 20 minutes, your elevated pulse rate and blood pressure begin to return to normal.

In about 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood will return to normal and your body tissues will be getting more oxygen. 

Within days, your lung function begins to improve and breathing becomes easier. The longer the time you go without smoking, the greater your health benefits.

Even the risk of lung cancer eventually drops to the same risk as for someone who has never smoked. 

Most doctors agree that quitting smoking is the single most important action you can take to improve your health. The National Institutes of Health reports that there’s a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and lung diseases after quitting smoking.

Remember, every moment of withdrawal equals years of health with your loved ones.