Day 3 is the hardest day in your first week.
This is the day that the last of the drug nicotine is leaving your body. Nicotine's half-life is about two hours and it takes about 72 hours before all of it is out of your system.
Your brain realizes that this is happening. Your brain starts to scream louder than on Day1 and Day 2. Your brain will yell at you: "Give me nicotine! You know I love it! You know we NEED it to be okay!!"
This is GOOD. While your brain is screaming at you, it is very hard to see that this is a good thing. The louder your brain screams "We are almost out of nicotine!! We MUST have nicotine!!", the more evidence you have that that you are about to be nicotine-free.
After Day 3, the physical withdrawal from the chemical nicotine is over. But the brain takes a much longer time for the receptors to heal and return to a pre-nicotine condition.
Your brain has nicotine-addiction memory. It will continue to hound you: "Where is that nicotine we love so much? You'll feel so much better if we get some nicotine! C'mon, c'mon...it won't hurt to have one".
How your journey goes from now on is up to you.
You will get a million suggestions and tons of advice on how to keep your Quit. Take what resonates with you. And leave the rest.
There is no perfect way to quit. There is no magic formula. Do what works for YOU.
In the end, there is only one inviolate rule: Do not put any nicotine into your body.
As long as you follow that rule, you are victorious over nicotine.
It's simple, right? But it's not "easy". Sorry, Allen Carr, but it is NOT easy. But you can do it. And it is easi ER if you understand what is happening in your brain when you stop feeding it nicotine.
Today, you are an ex-smoker. You can be an ex-smoker tomorrow. And everyday thereafter.
And that makes you victorious. Congratulations!!!
(Please note that this blog refers to Quitters who have chosen not to use any NRTs.)
xxxooo, Sky
