Participants: Raginée Edwards
Series Code: KTH
Program Code: KTH000005
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00:23 Welcome to Kickin' the Habit.
00:25 My name is Raginee Edwards. 00:27 And today we are going to talk about withdraw symptoms, 00:31 and how to deal with them. 00:33 Now this trips a lot of people up, 00:35 because sometimes we don't anticipate 00:37 that the withdrawal symptoms would be so severe. 00:40 So we don't want to trip you up, 00:41 some people don't have withdrawal symptoms at all, 00:44 but for many people they do, 00:46 so I want you to be aware of those withdrawal symptoms, 00:50 think of ways that you can overcome them 00:52 or get through them, 00:54 and be successful on your journey 00:57 to becoming a nonsmoker. 00:59 Now, I want you to be aware of these 01:01 particular withdrawal symptoms, 01:02 the first thing that 01:03 a lot of smokers as they quit experience 01:06 or increased hand tremors or just a shaking. 01:10 And other thing is insomnia trouble falling asleep 01:14 or staying asleep for a period of time. 01:17 Some say that they experience nausea, 01:19 feeling sick to their stomach or just wanted to vomit. 01:24 Others talk about restlessness or anxiety even seeing, 01:28 hearing or feeling things that are not really there, 01:30 I know that can be scary, but if you're aware of that, 01:32 you won't think you're going crazy, 01:33 you know that's a withdrawal symptom. 01:36 Sweating or even rapid heartbeat, 01:38 so you want to be aware of some of those things, 01:42 but what I want you to listen to now 01:44 are the experiences of real people, 01:47 so the question that we asked the participants 01:51 is the day you quit, 01:54 what were all the thoughts 01:55 going on in your head about becoming a nonsmoker. 01:58 Let's listen to what they had to say. 02:01 The day I quit smoking 02:04 I vividly remember the first day, 02:07 the first time that I smoked. 02:10 I got on, I did very well Friday, 02:15 Sabbath, Sunday, 02:17 and then Monday I got on the bus to go to work, 02:22 at that time you could smoke in public, 02:25 at that time cigarettes didn't cost that much, 02:28 and you could actually ask people for a cigarette 02:31 if you didn't have one. 02:32 I got on the bus, 02:34 and a person got on the bus smoking my brand. 02:39 The struggle was to ask or not to, 02:43 I prayed at that time, 02:46 "God, give me the courage, give me the strength, 02:48 " to not ask for the cigarette, 02:50 because you know, if I do, I'll never stop. 02:54 He gave me the strength to get off the bus 02:57 without asking for the cigarette 03:00 and I was cigarette free for 10 years. 03:05 Well, the first day I quit the thoughts 03:08 that went through my head, you know, 03:09 it's about becoming a nonsmoker were all wrapped up in that 03:13 I had a job to do, 03:17 and I was medic and I took care of people, 03:20 and I wanted to continue doing that, 03:23 so those were the thoughts in my mind, I have to quit, 03:26 because I have people that I have to take care of. 03:29 Now, the second time I quit, 03:35 I really didn't have any thoughts 03:40 about anything else just quitting. 03:45 I want to quit, I was tired of smoking, 03:47 I was tired of the whole lifestyle 03:49 of having to pick up the cigarette 03:51 or even just smell them, so I just... 03:56 that's the thoughts was just to quit. 03:58 It wasn't about, you know, 04:00 do I want to pick it back up those, just quit. 04:04 When I first realize that I wasn't going to smoke that day, 04:10 I felt almost as if I was losing a friend, 04:14 I really felt lonely, 04:17 I didn't know what to do with my time, 04:19 I didn't even, you know, 04:22 what to think about not smoking, 04:24 it just felt really foreign, it felt like my, 04:26 like I was moving to a different country 04:28 or someone have died closing your eye 04:30 like I lost a leg, I felt an extreme sense of loss. 04:34 And I was at a loss, 04:36 and I just kept having to pray or refocus my thoughts, 04:41 because it was really hard, it did not seem natural. 04:48 Those responses were so unique. 04:52 You heard what Isaac said, 04:55 he was thinking about others the first time that he quit, 04:59 and the thoughts in his mind were, 05:01 I want to help others and save lives, he was a medic, 05:04 so if he continued smoking 05:06 and continued having the chronic bronchitis, 05:09 he couldn't help the way that he wanted to, 05:11 and it goes back to as health educators 05:15 we learn the health belief model, 05:17 and again they for a person to change their behavior, 05:21 they consider very different things. 05:24 There is cost and benefits and if the cost of change 05:27 that behavior is more than the benefits, 05:29 then they're predicted to change, 05:32 be less likely to change basically. 05:34 So for him the benefit of helping others 05:37 was much more than the cause of changing 05:39 that health behavior, he decided to change. 05:41 But on the other hand he said that with the second time, 05:45 he actually almost had a distaste 05:47 for the lifestyle of being a smoker, 05:50 he didn't like the smell, he didn't like it at all, 05:53 and so those were the thoughts in his mind. 05:55 He was probably just very disgusted with the whole idea, 05:58 and those were the thoughts that encourage him 06:01 to actually look forward to becoming a nonsmoker. 06:06 Now, when we look and listen to Cathleen's response, 06:13 you hear something a little different, 06:16 and we talked about this before, 06:17 it's something that is bit more typical with females. 06:23 You heard her say, "I felt lonely, 06:27 I felt like I was having an extreme sense of loss 06:32 like I was losing a friend, 06:33 " I mean those are really serious terms, 06:36 you would think that 06:38 she was losing an actual person, 06:41 but again this is something 06:42 that we hear with women time and time again 06:46 that is really that serious. 06:50 When you have a couple, 06:52 sometimes we get couples that want to come 06:53 and they quit together, 06:55 and you have, you know, here is the husband, 06:57 here is the wife and if the husband is ready to quit 06:59 he is like, yeah, I just crumbled it up 07:01 and I threw it in the garbage and there it was. 07:04 And the wife, you know, she wants to quit, 07:06 she's very motivated, 07:08 she doesn't want to do it anymore 07:09 and she is having a much harder time 07:11 and it can be kind of discouraging 07:13 to see the husband quit so easily. 07:15 If you're a woman listening, 07:17 please know that it's very different 07:19 as a women sometimes to quit not that it's impossible, 07:22 it's very possible. 07:24 I know many women who have quit, 07:25 but you have to realize that it is a very serious thing 07:29 to feel like you're losing a friend to where we almost... 07:34 I hate to say this, 07:35 we have to bring women 07:37 sometimes through a, the grief cycle 07:38 as if they were actually losing a loved one. 07:40 So know that if it's a little bit harder for you, 07:43 it's okay, 07:45 the women on this video have quit 07:46 and they've done it successfully 07:47 and many women have, 07:49 but just know that you might have to go 07:51 through that grieving process, 07:52 and if you're aware that is something 07:54 that you're gonna have to go through, 07:55 that is gonna be hard 07:57 and it may not seem as easy as some guys 07:59 that just throw it in the garbage 08:00 when they're ready to quit. 08:02 Be encourage that you can do this. 08:05 Now, the next question that we asked our participants was, 08:09 what withdrawal symptoms did you have? 08:12 Let's hear what they had to say about that. 08:16 I had no withdrawal symptoms for 10 years 08:20 until I encounter distress 08:23 that I was not willing to deal with, 08:25 and I started smoking again, 08:28 then the withdrawal symptoms were headaches, 08:33 withdrawal symptom was nervousness, 08:37 it was a pain that cannot be described, 08:42 only another smoker can understand that pain. 08:48 Thankfully on both occasions the first time I smoked, 08:51 then the second time I smoked, 08:53 I really didn't have any withdrawal symptoms at all. 08:57 My withdrawal symptoms were very intense, 08:59 I had anger fits, I was very irritable, 09:04 I was depressed, I had headaches, 09:09 everything that could go wrong basically did 09:13 when I was trying to smoke. 09:14 There is nothing in my favor saying, 09:16 "Oh, yeah, this is pleasant, this is great, this is fun." 09:20 I love that we get to hear the responses of actual people, 09:24 because as you can see here 09:26 every person had a different experience 09:28 with their withdrawal symptoms, not only that, 09:31 but the same person had two different experiences 09:34 when it came to withdrawal symptoms. 09:36 You look at Brenda, she said, 09:38 the first time that she quit smoking, 09:40 she had absolutely no withdrawal symptoms. 09:43 But the second time was a different story. 09:45 She said that she had headaches, 09:48 nervousness, and an indescribable pain. 09:52 Now, that sounds weird, 09:54 but I've heard many people say 09:56 that they have this indescribable feeling, 09:59 emotion or not just something that they feel in their mind, 10:02 but even in their body, they can't really describe. 10:05 So just know that, 10:07 that is something that could happen 10:09 and don't think that are abnormal, 10:12 it is a withdrawal symptom to you. 10:15 Now, you heard Isaac no withdrawal symptoms, 10:18 okay, but Cathleen, when you listen to what she said, 10:22 she said, "She had anger fits." 10:26 I don't know what that meant exactly, 10:27 but anger fits never sounds good, 10:29 she had anger fits. 10:30 She was very irritable, depressed, she had headaches. 10:35 She said nothing 10:37 about the experience encourage her 10:39 to want to continue on as a nonsmoker, 10:43 not judging by her withdrawal symptoms. 10:46 Now, if you're a family member of somebody 10:50 who is desiring to become a nonsmoker, 10:54 try to give him a little break. 10:56 I've heard people whose, you know, 10:59 may be they have spouse 11:00 and they're going through this experience 11:02 and they're having may be anger fits 11:05 or very, very irritable, and they'll say 11:07 you need to just go ahead and smoke a cigarette, 11:09 don't, don't tell them that, okay. 11:12 Encourage them and know that, 11:14 that's something normal and it will pass. 11:18 Now, the next question we ask the participants is, 11:22 what did you do about this these withdrawal symptoms? 11:25 Now we know they have successfully quit 11:27 and they're now nonsmokers, 11:28 so again we want to hear how they overcame them, 11:33 so that you can be encouraged to overcome them too. 11:35 Just listen to those responses. 11:38 How to deal with those withdrawal symptoms? 11:42 You really cannot deal with it except to give into it, 11:49 otherwise you have to chose to go through it 11:52 and endure the pain and it will disappear. 11:56 It took when I finally broke free. 12:00 It took the average of five days 12:04 to really get over the craving 12:07 of having to have that cigarette. 12:10 Well, the first time that I quit as per plan 12:15 which I just wanted to quit, so I quit. 12:17 It worked well. 12:19 The second time it was a long drawn out thing 12:23 to slowly put cigarettes down. 12:26 I never smoked a lot of them, 12:27 but it just took a long time some years 12:30 to finally not pick another cigarette up. 12:34 And thankfully Lord blessed 12:38 that last time I was successful 12:42 that I haven't picked any cigarettes up since 12:48 My withdrawal symptoms were so intense, 12:52 that I realize that there was nothing really physically 12:54 I can do besides, 12:56 popping aspirin for the headaches. 12:58 So the best alternative I had was to realize 13:02 that they're gonna be there, 13:04 and once you are okay with that and have peace with that 13:07 and realize that your decision is worth it, 13:09 it kind of numbs the withdrawals overtime. 13:16 You heard those responses, wow. 13:19 Now, with this you understand 13:23 that it's may not be easy for you, 13:26 for some people the withdrawals are negligible, 13:29 but for others it's very, it can be very extreme. 13:33 But I like what they said, they basically said, 13:36 "Know that it's going to happen, 13:38 and know that it will be over." 13:40 Usually withdrawal symptoms only last 13:42 for one to two weeks max. 13:44 So if you're aware that this is going to happen 13:47 and you're aware of that this will end, 13:50 it will not always be like this, 13:52 then you can have the power 13:55 that God can give you like Brenda said 13:57 to actually go through it, go through the pain. 14:00 I like what Cathleen said, 14:02 "Know that it's gonna be there and be at peace with it." 14:06 So that you're not overwhelmed with these things 14:09 that seem like they're happening to you 14:11 and get that urge to quit. 14:12 She was within that first week, 14:14 that a person picks back up the cigarette, 14:16 because they want to feel normal again 14:20 under the influence of the cigarette. 14:22 So if you're aware of these withdrawal symptoms 14:25 or if there's somebody that you know 14:26 that needs to hear this, share it with them 14:28 because sometimes they'll feel like, I can't do it, 14:30 I'm not strong enough. 14:32 Let them know that it's very normal 14:34 and all they have to do is just focus on letting the idea go 14:39 that it's gonna be easy and go through the pain 14:43 and know that on the other side the pain is no longer there. 14:47 Now, let's look at the next question. 14:50 We asked our participants how did your plan work out? 14:54 Did you have to make adjustments along the way? 14:57 Let's see what they had to say. 15:00 My plan was to stop smoking and it worked out 15:06 when I made the decision to endure work the pain, 15:11 then it worked out perfectly. 15:13 After I endured work the pain, there was my gain, 15:16 and I was able to just rejoice that it was over once again. 15:22 And by the grace of God, I've never gone back to it. 15:28 Some of the things that I did... 15:29 Well, really there was only one thing 15:31 that I did to avoid smoking, 15:35 mainly was to stay away from folk 15:40 that really smoke that much 15:42 even though it's almost impossible, 15:44 most, a lot of the people I know smoke, 15:46 but just to severe those associations 15:51 that closeness of were I'm in the situation. 15:53 In fact a lot of folks I told them, 15:55 "Hey, look I don't smoke anymore, 15:57 " so they would tease me about it, 15:59 but they would honor that, 16:01 and but every once a while they would tease me 16:04 and say here take one and I look at them, 16:06 they say, no man, I'm just kidding. 16:08 God is faithful and so when you really put your trust in Him, 16:12 He's not gonna let you down, 16:14 so whatever plan that you may have 16:17 even if that doesn't work, 16:19 if you just put your trust in God, 16:21 anything is possible and He will make it possible. 16:26 Okay, you heard those responses. 16:29 They... I like how Brenda said that, 16:32 "Once you make the choice 16:33 to just get through the withdrawal symptoms 16:36 then that's what really did it for her, 16:38 to know that it was gonna be difficult 16:40 and that she just need to kind of grin and bear it 16:42 and use all those resources and tools 16:44 and skills that she had 16:46 and know that it was going to be over. 16:48 And we looked at Isaac, 16:50 he had to severe some of those connections that he had, 16:53 he had his friends around him that might smoke 16:55 and that was a big trigger for him. 16:57 So how he dealt with that plan was to just kind of make sure 17:02 he wasn't in that environment. 17:04 Now, it was funny because he said he had friends 17:06 that would jokingly you know, offer him a smoke 17:09 but they would be like no, man no, you know, 17:11 I know that you're trying to quit, 17:12 so again they may play around with you, 17:15 but a lot of times even those of you, 17:19 if you have friends that still smoke, 17:21 they often times are really happy 17:23 and they want to quit themselves 17:25 and they want to encourage you to quit to, 17:26 so just make sure that you let them know, 17:30 and that you, if you have to severe those times 17:34 that you spend together until you're little bit stronger 17:36 or a lot stronger really. 17:38 But they can be very encouraging, 17:40 so don't stay back from or keep yourself back 17:43 from telling them what you are wanting to do. 17:45 Again you might encourage them, 17:47 they want to quit along with you. 17:48 Now, Cathleen, you can tell, 17:51 this was a very serious thing for her. 17:54 It wasn't something that she did flippantly. 17:57 She said she committed this to God. 17:58 There were no plans of, 18:00 know nothing that she could really do, 18:03 but just follow from step to step 18:07 what God wanted her to do. 18:09 So that's what worked for her 18:10 and again that can work for you too. 18:13 Now, let's look at this last question. 18:16 The last question was, 18:17 what are specific things that you did to avoid smoking? 18:21 We want to hear specifics here, 18:23 so listen up to hear what their specifics were 18:26 so they could be a nonsmoker. 18:30 I had to do specific things to avoid smoking. 18:34 I had to not be around smokers. 18:37 I had to make a decision 18:39 when I got up in the morning that no, no cigarette. 18:43 I had to drink water, I had to take showers, 18:48 I had to just make the decision 18:51 that this is not what I'm going to do. 18:54 Best way to not smoke is to not think about smoking. 18:58 To not let your mind go there, 19:00 the minute that thought comes into your head 19:02 or you get that image of what you would like to be 19:06 doing smoking a cigarette, 19:08 you have to just banish that individual thought, 19:10 one thought at a time 19:12 instead of trying to control your whole day 19:14 or control the next hour, 19:16 just focus on one thought at a time. 19:20 Brenda was very specific. 19:22 She talked about not being around smokers 19:25 which was a big trigger for her, 19:27 but she also mentioned taking showers 19:29 and drinking water, and those are actually 19:32 two techniques that people use 19:35 to help take away that urge to kind of, 19:39 well, we'll talk about this in a few seconds, 19:41 but that's one of the ways of dealing with withdrawal, 19:43 drinking lots of water. 19:44 But those were two methods that she specifically used, 19:48 so again take notes from that. 19:50 Cathleen, she talked about 19:52 not even thinking about smoking, 19:55 banishing the individual thoughts 19:57 and focusing on just one thought to the next. 20:01 She really couldn't fathom 20:03 trying to think about the whole day and say, okay, 20:08 I'm gonna stop smoking the whole day at least, 20:10 stop smoking for the rest of me life. 20:12 She really focused on one thought to the next, 20:15 and when that thought came into her mind 20:17 where she thought about cigarettes, 20:20 anything about cigarette she said, 20:22 she had to banish the thought. 20:24 I mean think about that. 20:25 If you're trying really hard not to eat something 20:29 that just looks really good, I always use chocolate cake, 20:32 because it just seems like it calls your name. 20:33 If you see that chocolate cake there 20:35 and you're wanting not to eat the chocolate cake. 20:38 If you go around all day thinking 20:40 I'm not gonna eat the chocolate cake. 20:41 I'm not gonna eat the chocolate cake. 20:43 What are you thinking about all day? 20:45 Not eating the chocolate cake, 20:46 but you're still thinking about the chocolate cake. 20:49 So what she's saying is, 20:51 I don't even want to think about it at all. 20:55 So take that as a tip. 20:57 You don't want to be so focused on not smoking cigarettes 21:02 that all you're doing is thinking about cigarettes. 21:04 Earlier in the program we talked 21:06 about thinking about just something totally different. 21:09 Remember the urge only lasts for a few a minutes. 21:13 And if you can just think about something different 21:15 for a few minutes, the urge can pass. 21:19 Now, we're gonna talk about the four Ds. 21:24 The four Ds are some coping mechanisms 21:27 that you can use to help deal with the withdrawal symptoms 21:32 at that moment. 21:34 The first one, do not act on the urge to smoke, 21:38 it will pass in a few minutes, do not give in. 21:42 This is incredible. Why? 21:44 Because sometimes we feel like the urge will last forever, 21:49 but it really won't. 21:51 This is scientific. 21:52 The urge will come 21:53 and if you can just think about something else, 21:55 do anything whatever it is, 21:57 you can just allow that urge to pass 22:01 and go on to continuing being a nonsmoker 22:05 until the next time the urge comes. 22:06 And the urges become more and more spread out 22:10 until they finally disappear. 22:12 The second D, deep breathing. 22:17 Take deep breath. 22:19 Breathe in slowly and deeply, then breathe out slowly. 22:24 Keep breathing until you relax 22:26 and forget about the urge to smoke. 22:28 Now this is really interesting, because when we sit in class, 22:32 I asked them to pretend like they're taking in a drag 22:35 as they would say, 22:37 taking in that first inhale from the cigarette, 22:40 and so I have them put a fake 22:41 or something whether it's a pen or pencil or straw, 22:44 and they pretend like they're taking an inhale and they go. 22:52 And you know what they do? 22:54 They're taking a deep breath, and I asked them, 22:57 at what other point throughout the day 22:59 do you take that deep of a breath. 23:01 They think to themselves, I really don't. 23:04 Lot of times we're sitting down in chairs, 23:06 we're sitting in cars 23:07 and we really are out of the habit 23:09 of taking deep breaths. 23:12 And a deep breath can actually be very soothing 23:15 for the nerves, can boost our endorphins, 23:17 it actually feels very good to take in a deep breath, 23:20 and sometimes just taking that cigarette 23:23 and taking that deep breath, 23:25 part of it is kind of relaxing, 23:27 but when we practice it in class, 23:29 we show people that part of the relaxation 23:32 can even come from just taking in the deep breathe 23:35 that we don't normally do except for when we're smoking. 23:38 Isn't that interesting? 23:39 So try just taking deep breaths, 23:41 nice and slowly and deep until the urge passes. 23:45 Okay, another D, drink water. 23:49 Drink the water slowly 23:51 and hold it in your mouth a little while. 23:55 If you don't like plain water, 23:56 try cutting up slices of lemon or orange 23:58 and just squeezing in there, you get the vitamin C 24:01 that helps deal with stress 24:03 and you'll also drink that water. 24:06 Water actually that it dilutes the chemicals in your body, 24:11 the nicotine and it actually brings down the urge to smoke, 24:17 so don't neglect that, drink lots of water. 24:23 Distract yourself. Take your mind off smoking. 24:26 I can't emphasize this enough. 24:29 Think about something else 24:30 just like Cathleen said or focus on what you're doing, 24:33 whatever you're doing just focus hard on that. 24:35 Get up, move around, 24:37 do anything that will take your mind off 24:40 the thoughts of smoking. 24:42 Again the urge only lasts 24:44 for a few a minutes at the most, 24:47 so if you can just get through those few minutes 24:50 know that you're one more step closer to becoming a nonsmoker. 24:57 Now, even with the four Ds, 25:01 you heard the responses 25:02 that they didn't necessarily use all of these four Ds. 25:06 There's so many ways of going about this. 25:09 But you hear time and time again that they talk about God, 25:13 you know, Cathleen and Brenda especially 25:15 they talked about God being the one 25:16 that helped them through this situation, 25:19 that gave them the strength 25:21 to go from being a smoker to a nonsmoker. 25:24 And a lot of times, you know, people will ask the question, 25:27 does Jesus really understand 25:29 what it's like to be addicted to have to deal with craving 25:33 that is so intense. 25:36 I think of Matthew 4, 25:39 and where He is drawn into the wilderness 25:43 and He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. 25:46 Let me ask you. 25:47 Have you ever gone a whole day without food? 25:50 Have you ever gone one meal without food? 25:51 Can you imagine going 40 days without food? 25:56 Can you imagine the craving that He might have felt? 26:01 The craving for something that wasn't even bad, 26:04 it was actually something that everybody needs, 26:07 what we all need to survive, so He had an intense craving. 26:12 It says when He came out of His wilderness experience, 26:15 He was hungry, 26:17 so does Jesus understand 26:19 how you feel when you're craving for something? 26:22 Of course He does, He understands and He overcame. 26:26 I want to actually go to Matthew 4. 26:29 It says here that, when Satan came to Him, 26:34 He said, "If you're the Son of God, 26:38 then why don't you just make these stones turned to bread." 26:44 Jesus could have done that, He could have done that easily, 26:47 but Jesus made it a point to not do miracles 26:51 to benefit Himself but to benefit others. 26:53 And He didn't want to do 26:55 anything outside the will of His Father. 26:56 What did Jesus say in response? 26:58 He said, "It is written, 26:59 man shall not live by bread alone, 27:02 but by every word that precedes out of the mouth of God." 27:05 It was Jesus' purpose. 27:08 Now listen to this. 27:09 Not to satisfy that craving outside of the will of God. 27:16 Now I want to be delicate about this. 27:19 If we are smoker, 27:20 we're trying to satisfy a craving 27:24 outside of the will of God, 27:27 and there is encouragement there, 27:30 because Jesus understands 27:32 what it feels like to crave to be hungry 27:35 after 40 days of not having anything. 27:40 But He still decided 27:42 not to satisfy that craving outside of the will of God. 27:47 And God gave Him the strength to do that. 27:51 You too can start to explore 27:53 how you can satisfy that craving 27:55 inside the will of God. |
Revised 2016-09-29