Nicotine dependence is hard to treat because of various symptoms developed during withdrawal. Various home remedies, when complemented with the main therapy, which may include medications, nicotine replacement therapy, and acupuncture, helps the person to quit smoking quite effectively.
Home Remedies For Nicotine Dependence
Once the person has nicotine dependence, it is very tough to live without it. It is a potentially addictive substance. People are not able to manage the nicotine cravings because of the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, which creates havoc inside the body. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms affect the person both physically and mentally. In such condition, when nicotine withdrawal symptoms are hard to manage, most people successfully sail through this tough situation and can come out from this quagmire. Apart from medications, home remedies also play a major role in managing nicotine dependence. Some of the home remedies for nicotine dependence are:
Meditation: Various studies have conducted on the effect of meditation on quitting smoking and almost all the studies unanimously concluded that mindful meditation help reduces the frequency of smoking. This is indeed the first step towards giving up smoking. Brief meditation training helps increase self-control capacity which leads to reduce smoking1.
Herbs: Withdrawal symptoms are a primary hindrance for avoiding nicotine. Various herbs can be used to alleviate the symptoms. These herbs include St. John’s wart, ginseng, ginger, and oatmeal. While ginseng helps reduce nausea developed as a withdrawal symptom, St. John’s wart reduces the frequency of smoking2.
Counseling: Counseling helps in reducing the frequency of smoking and the person maintains abstinence from smoking during the period of counseling. This implies that more the person spends time with a counselor, better would be the result of treatment. The counseling can be done through telephone or face-to-face. Face-to-face counseling can be provided individually or in groups. Further, various websites provide strategies to people who want to stay away from smoking3.
Exercise: Exercise is found to be effective in people with nicotine dependence. One of the reasons for this is the potential benefit of exercise in managing weight gain which is one of the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. A study found that exercise increases the activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor present in the brain which is usually a target of nicotine4.
Avoid Cravings: It has been found that cravings last for 5 minutes or less. Efforts are required to suppress the craving at that point. For this, the person may either go for a walk or have a healthy snack that may keep his mouth occupied.
Avoid Tempting Situations: Every person knows his triggers for smoking. Try to keep a distance from those situations. It may be a place or a person that initiates a craving in you.
Healthy Diet: Sometime hunger may come in the form of an urge to smoke. Thus, keep your tummy full with healthy sets that may include fruits and vegetables.
Stay Positive: Always stay positive. Every time you are in stress, the body requires nicotine as a stress reliever. Talk to a support person in case of depression.
Detoxification: Detoxifications helps to flush the nicotine present in the body. Further, the person should limit caffeine consumptions as caffeine when combined with nicotine, makes quitting smoking a tougher task.
Water: Water is an effective detoxifier for nicotine dependence. Nicotine penetrates deep into the system and it is only the water that penetrated deeper than nicotine and flushes it out from the system. Ensure that you are drinking at least 8 glass of water every day.
Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy for nicotine dependence helps reduces the psychological effects of withdrawal Studies indicate a positive effect of rosemary and tea tree oil on mood and stress.
Conclusion
Various home remedies for nicotine dependence include meditation, exercise, counseling, avoid craving situations, healthy diet including fruits and vegetables, aromatherapy, and detoxification. Most treatments are aimed to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms.
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