Is your first week of not smoking too hard?

Giving up something is always going to be the hard at the start, not that it doesn’t have its moments later on; sometimes with diets, it is easy to be enthusiastic at the beginning as the weight falls away but the plateau period after a few weeks can be the hardest point.  Anyone who has tried to quit smoking will tell you that the first week is the hardest due to the physical and psychological effects of nicotine withdrawal.  Pearl Chemist Group offer Stop Smoking Services in Mitcham to help support quitters with advice, information and intervention products to manage nicotine withdrawal.

How does quitting smoking affects smokers in that critical first week?
Here are some of the most common symptoms reported by people in the first week after they have quit smoking:-

• flu-like symptoms, cough and runny nose
• irritable nature
• restlessness
• anxiety
• feeling low or depressed
• an increase in appetite

Techniques to help survive that first week

• Have a well-balanced diet regularly, try and avoid filling up on junk food or sugar to assuage cravings. A nutritious diet will help reduce cravings.  Keep healthy snacks prepared and handy so you can reach for those when you feel like having a cigarette
• Don’t skip meals as this will lower your blood sugar levels and will help heighten the cravings
• Go for a walk – even ten or fifteen minutes can help the body release endorphins – the feel-good hormones – it will help calm you down and lift your mood.
• Drink plenty of water. Water works as a cravings buster and will help prevent you from filling up on food by making you feel full. Water also detoxifies and washes away the residual toxins
• Use deep breathing techniques and mini-meditations to help you work through the cravings when they come

Pearl Chemist Group offers Stop Smoking Services in Mitcham and beyond.  Pharmacy support can be as crucial as a buddy support for getting through those tough early days.  Learn more on our website.  www.pearlchemistgroup.co.uk/