Anyone who has been smoking will tell you that it takes tremendous amount of willpower to quit nicotine. It is never easy when you quit, the withdrawal symptoms can almost force you into going back to smoking. But nothing is impossible; you can quit smoking for sure. Here is some useful information on nicotine withdrawal symptoms and how you can overcome them.

The first few weeks after you quit smoking can be hard on you and it will not be wrong to say that it takes a good 10 to 12 weeks to really take your mind off smoking. As nicotine creates a chemical dependency, a sense of void that can be filled with smoking nicotine, as smokers would like to perceive. The withdrawal symptoms include headache, nausea, inability to concentrate, craving for smoke etc. A sense of helplessness to the point of feeling at loss of words or vision pervades over the individual. He or she feels that that they cannot think properly. Also there are other perceived symptoms like inability to move the bowels, constipation, sweating, sore throats, coughing etc.

Here is how you can tackle nicotine withdrawal symptoms:

1. Realize that physical symptoms like nausea, stuffy nose, inability to concentrate, insomnia and even inability to move bowels are all temporary; and are just the body’s way of coming back to normalcy. Secondly all of these can be cleared by introducing some changes to your lifestyle.
2. Immerse yourself in some entertaining or interesting things that can take your mind off cravings.  For instance, you can take up writing, drawing, painting, watching back to back movies or even meeting up with friends; so that you do not sit idle and get nicotine cravings.
3. Exercise to feel active and charged up. You can choose from aerobic exercises or calming exercises like deep breathing or Yoga.
4. Read a lot about the disadvantages of smoking; watch videos that make you realize that your decision to not smoke is healthy. Associate smoking with early ageing, health problems and many other issues, which is a fact, for sure.
5. Drink water, fruit juice or snack on your favorite dishes whenever you get the urge to go for nicotine.
6. If you still find it difficult to overcome nicotine withdrawal symptoms, you can make use of professional counseling.  You can check with your local area to find if there are any classes that deal with tobacco cessation or anti-smoking support groups.  You can also benefit from online programs and telephone based counseling to counter smoking tendencies.  There are quite a few medications that are available, designed to break nicotine addiction. These can range from lozenges, inhales to gums and nicotine patches. Professional help can be quite beneficial in your endeavor to cope with nicotine withdrawal.