Withdrawal

Module 1 - Preparation and the first few days

Learn to manage withdrawal symptoms with specific strategies for each symptom, and understand the “pink cloud” phenomenon that can appear after the first few days of quitting smoking.

Withdrawal processes don’t have to be linear. Linear improvements are those in which, gradually, cumulatively, and at a steady pace, improvements are achieved without setbacks.

However, psychological processes—and smoking cessation is one—can be discontinuous, so there are people who skip phases, or experience some simultaneously, go back, or take 2 steps at once.

Detoxification is the process by which nicotine leaves the body. It usually lasts between 1 and 3 days. After that you’ll be free of the drug. However, addiction doesn’t disappear that quickly, because it leaves a mark on the brain, such as in memory, the reward circuit, and nicotinic receptors.

Withdrawal syndrome usually doesn’t last more than 28 days, but it may last less, depending on the person. This syndrome refers to the clinical picture that arises in response to deprivation of the substance, that is, the lack of the drug. Symptoms may include:

  • Nervousness, anxiety, difficulty concentrating. We recommend:

    • Walking, going for a stroll.
    • Bathing with warm or hot water. Cold showers are useful because they provide well-being and relaxation afterward, but they can increase the sensation of breath being cut off, so if anxiety is very intense and includes difficulty breathing or tightness in the chest, we do not recommend them.
    • Relaxation techniques: massages, or guided breathing exercises with QuitNow. Inhalation gives us the perception of gaining inner space, the brief intermediate apnea generates a sense of inner silence, and exhalation promotes the impression of release. As you follow your breath, notice which of the 3 intervals you feel most in tune with your body and most aligned with your purpose. Connect with that feeling.
    • Distraction techniques: coloring mandalas, making up stories about the lives of unknown passersby, etc.
    • Putting the feeling into words with people close to you and talking about everyday or trivial topics.
    • Accepting and normalizing that this is an unpleasant internal state, but temporary.

  • Irritability, bad mood, anger. Anger is a very energetic emotion that predisposes you to action, and sometimes to defense or aggression. It is an emotion that needs to be expressed. We advise:

    • Intensive physical exercise.
    • Anger releases: hitting a pillow, screaming while covering your mouth with a pillow or inside a closed car, hitting the mattress with a pool noodle, stepping on single-use plastic cups, etc. Ideally there should be no other people nearby, and if there are, let them know you’re going to do an exercise that may be noisy, but without any intention to intimidate, threaten, or break anything of value. After physical releases, it is usually easier to verbalize the emotion in an assertive and less aggressive way.
    • Putting your anger into words with other people, preferably when its intensity has decreased, or after you’ve done the release.
    • Writing a new letter to tobacco, emphasizing the anger you feel.

  • Insomnia. We recommend:

    • Avoid stimulants (caffeine, tea, sugar, nicotine).
    • Relaxation techniques (as in the previous section).
    • Adding relaxing drinks or supplements to your diet: consult the options at a pharmacy.
    • Doing more exercise, preferably in the morning rather than the afternoon or evening.
    • Maintaining good sleep hygiene:
      • Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
      • Don’t do activities in bed other than sleeping.
      • Don’t stay in bed for a long time if you can’t sleep.
      • Don’t use screens and lower the lighting 1 hour before going to sleep.
      • Have dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed.

  • Constipation. We suggest:

    • A diet rich in fiber.
    • Drink water.
    • Eat fruit.

  • Hunger. We advise:

    • Drink water.
    • Chew sugar-free gum.
    • Eat fruit or nuts.

These symptoms will gradually lessen, their intensity will decrease, and they will become more spaced out over time. Cravings to smoke aren’t eternal.

Even if withdrawal syndrome decreases, the consequences of psychological dependence can last longer, for example, the association of certain moments or activities with cigarettes, and the urge to smoke, longing, etc.

During the first days of abstinence, we suggest that you talk to yourself: remember the benefits you’re achieving for your health.

“I’m doing it,” “One more day.” Acknowledge how difficult what you’re doing is, avoid judging yourself for cravings, and don’t treat yourself as weak: “This is so hard…”.

A phenomenon we call the pink cloud may also appear. It’s a euphoric feeling of control after the first days or weeks of abstinence. It is that experience of success, of victory, that brings vitality, joy, and pride when you feel you have accomplished an important challenge. It is the emotional experience that follows achieving a goal or overcoming a difficulty. The risk is that, even though you’ve made progress, the addiction probably has not yet been overcome.

It is advisable to sustain satisfaction without it turning into a euphoria that is too intense to maintain. You deserve to feel victorious, but you have to remember that the process may be longer and that the pink cloud and its euphoria can create a false sense of control—of having won too soon—that relaxes you and brings you closer to a relapse.

Summary