When smokers begin to experience physical withdrawal symptoms it is not uncommon to question the timing of the decision to quit smoking. When our bodies and minds are uncomfortable, it is human nature to question if quitting smoking would be easier under different or better circumstances.
This is the response the addicted brain creates when the drug supply is threatened. DON’T FALL FOR IT! Withdrawal is withdrawal. No change in your professional or personal life will have any effect on it.
Do you think an alcoholic would vomit less frequently when going through withdrawal if they weren’t going through a divorce? Would he/she sweat less while detoxing if they weren’t overlooked for the promotion? Would the hallucinations be less intense if they weren’t caring for an elderly parent? Of course not!
So don’t think for a second that quitting is going to be any less challenging if you had greater control of the world around you. You cannot outsmart or shortcut withdrawal; it is the body’s physical response to the changing chemical environment.
If undesirable circumstances are your reason for putting off quitting smoking, then those same circumstances will cause a relapse. Crappy things will always happen!
Instead of delaying quitting, use quitting to empower and inspire you to help manage the crappy things in life that you cannot control. You CAN control being a smoker. Go for it! By quitting smoking in the presence of outside stressors, you will equip yourself to remain a nonsmoker when faced again with similar stressors down the line. New (and old) stressors will always be there and you need practice with facing them as a nonsmoker.
And so what if a stressful situation or event drags you back in. Quitting smoking takes practice. Test yourself. See where you are at. One more quit attempt will put you that much closer to being perfect at quitting. Nobody expects you to be perfect at something the first go at it. Go ahead…..start practicing!
