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What is a smoking addiction?
A smoking addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping causes emotional distress!
Why is smoking more difficult to overcome than other addictions?
Well, some proponents of the addiction disease model would have you believe that it is directly related to the chemical dependency effect nicotine has on the brain.
It is true that nicotine is a psychoactive drug with stimulant effects on the electrical activity of the brain. And, it also has a calming effect, especially at times of stress. But, that's not the reason that it is more difficult to overcome for most. You see, out of all addictions smoking is a habit that for the most part has been socially acceptable. In other words, one does not have to hide to have a cigarette! This fact alone makes it more difficult to overcome.
The Effects of Nicotine
Nicotine affects almost every system in the body. When you take a puff, your heart beats faster, your pulse quickens, your veins constrict, your blood pressure increases. Your adrenal glands pump out adrenaline that increases your heart rate, relaxes many of your smooth muscles, and raises your metabolic rate. Even the electrical activity in your brain changes. These are powerful biological effects. Indeed, nicotine is a very powerful drug. In fact, it is one of the most toxic of all drugs, comparable to cyanide. Take enough nicotine and it can kill you. But the amount of nicotine in a single cigarette is only 8 to 9 milligrams on average.
The amount of nicotine that smokers inhale from each cigarette is even smaller. Most popular brands of cigarettes deliver less than 1.5 milligrams per cigarette. This amount may be somewhat higher or lower for each smoker, depending on how deeply you puff and how many puffs you take from each cigarette.
But nicotine is so potent that even this small dose causes significant changes in the functioning of numerous organs and systems in your body. When people first take up smoking, these physiological changes seem extremely unpleasant. Beginning smokers usually experience nausea, dizziness, headache, stomach upset, coughing and other uncomfortable symptoms. But people who continue to smoke soon develop a tolerance to these symptoms, until they become unnoticeable.
Tolerance is a term used to describe an important feature of addiction. Tolerance has developed when, after the repeated administration of a drug (in this case, nicotine) produces a decreased effect. As well, tolerance has developed when increasingly larger doses must be administered to obtain the effects observed with the original dose. Therefore, as with any addiction trap more and more of the substance or compulsion is required to achieve the desired effect!
The Real Reason you Smoke
However, the key is to realize that nicotine does have a calming effect on the the mind. As with all addictions, smoking merely diverts people from their emotional pain! While everyday stress can exacerbate the situation it is not the primary cause of the emotional pain that needs to be calmed. Generally, underlying emotional trauma caused by family dysfunction is at the root of the addiction. This emotional trauma batters the self-esteem and self-confidence levels which lessens the ability to cope with everyday stress.
Many cessation programs describe smoking as both a habit and an addiction. In other words, there are many times when you tell yourself you're going to have a cigarette, but often, the smoking you do is just out of habit. Habits are affected by your environment. Something you see or do in your daily life (a cue or a trigger) gets them going.
Triggers are the stimuli associated with smoking. In an effort to overcome the so called smoking habit cessation programs often recommend substituting a cinnamon stick or a plastic straw in place of the cigarette! In my opinion, this is absolutely useless since the reason you smoke in the first place is to calm your nerves or reduce your emotional anxiety. It's really all about the benefits you receive versus the habit!
These Programs often recommend changing your surroundings and your lifestyle by beginning an exercise program or new activities that are not conducive to smoking. I agree with his approach, however, if you fail to also remove the emotional pain that is causing your anxiety you will relapse!
Take a moment to ask yourself a couple of questions; What has caused the anxiety that you need to calm with smoking, and why does smoking make you feel better?
So, if you want to crumple up your last pack and walk away forever, you need to get to the bottom of the emotional pain that provokes you to calm it by smoking.
Best wishes,
David Roppo
Addiction Coach Quit Smoking Today! Subscribe to my Free E-Guide and weekly e-Zine Overcome Addiction
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