|
|
 |
Smoking: You Can Be Free!
By Linda Hyder Ferry, MD
 |
| Photo: Stockxpert |
Addiction to tobacco involves three issues: Brain Chemistry, Attitudes, and Habits. Every addiction has all three parts, and the barriers to quitting usually involve one or more of these.
The Power of Addiction
Addition is based on chemical reactions in your brain that distort the way it's supposed to work, and this is especially true of nicotine addiction. Almost 95 percent of regular tobacco users become addicted to nicotine compared to 10 percent for alcohol users. Understanding how your brain is "hooked" to nicotine can make your recovery easier.
When nicotine reaches your brain it triggers the release of many "feel good" chemicals, including a special chemical called dopamine that creates a pleasurable "high" that you enjoy. Other chemicals released by tobacco may at first create unpleasant side effects such as nausea or dizziness, but some people find the pleasure from dopamine so powerful that they'll use tobacco again in spite of the unpleasantness. The problem is that as the effect of the "high" wears off, the brain begins to experience an opposite "low" that's very unpleasant, so you use tobacco again to feel good. This sets up a cycle that continues until you cannot escape the repetitive "highs" and "lows," which is the essence of addiction.
The lowest level of nicotine is just before you wake up, which is why that first morning puff or chew of tobacco gives such a rush. You are going from a "low" of nicotine withdrawal to your desired "high" that feels better.
As your brain slowly adapts to nicotine addiction, less dopamine is released, requiring you to use more tobacco to get the same effect. This is called tolerance. If you feel like you have to use tobacco even when you don't want to, or if you have increased the amount of tobacco you use just to feel normal, you're experiencing nicotine addiction.
Addiction involved tolerance to a drug plus withdrawal symptoms (e.g.: when nicotine levels fall too low or when you finally stop). But withdrawal symptoms disappear within minutes when your brain gets another nicotine rush.
What You Can Do
The good news is that you can repair your addicted brain pathways if you commit yourself daily to the recovery process. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are temporary and may start to decrease after five to seven days. During the withdrawal phase your brain will return to a nonaddicted chemical balance. When this happens, you will discover the "real you."
Consult with your physician about your plan to recover from nicotine addiction. Authorities advise the use of medications that reduce withdrawal symptoms unless their doctor advises otherwise. If you have any psychiatric disorders or other addictions, your doctor will modify your treatment plan appropriately.
______________________________
"You Can Be Free!" was developed by Pacific Press in cooperation with specialists in the treatment of tobacco dependence at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, California 92354. Copyright 2004 by Pacific Presss Publishing Association. Single copiees are available from your local Adventist Book Center, Price US$0.99. For quantity pricing write to Pacific Presss, PO Box 5353, Nampa, ID 83653.
|
|
