What is a craving?

Cravings are what quitting smokers usually dread the most. There are a few people who are especially blessed, put away the pack, and never look back. The rest of us normal human beings need to arm ourselves with a variety of craving management strategies if we are going to become successful ex-smokers. The guidelines to use when preparing your quitting plan are to find three to four strategies for every reason or situation that you smoked.

No one will have exactly the same quitting experience as you, so the need to prepare for cravings is very important. Cravings are simply a desire to smoke, but they can sometimes feel overwhelming and intense. Cravings can be caused by your withdrawal from nicotine, stress, the need to do something with your hands, a familiar or favorite smoking situation, or a pleasurable memory. Cravings can be merely a subtle attraction, or they can make you feel like you have given control over your life and your feelings to cigarettes. Cravings give you a "double whammy" of stress because not only do you have to cope with the normal stresses in your life, but also you have to cope with your usual desires to smoke for stress management. An intense craving can take away your motivation to quit and make you temporarily forget all your good reasons to quit smoking.

Sometimes you can predict when they will occur, but at other times they will surprise you. Cravings are usually the most intense for the first few days after quitting, and then they begin to drop off substantially by the end of the first week. They further subside at the end of the first month, and particularly after the first four months. After that, they usually become only an occasional inconvenience. For most people, cigarette cravings are more mild in the morning and increase intensity as the day goes on. The period of the most intense craving is usually between noon and 10 p.m., with the peak between 7 and 8 p.m.

A craving is like a wave on the ocean that builds, crests, and ebbs. As it builds to a crest, you might become worried about your ability to control the urge and focus on anticipating how bad it will get. You may begin to feel anxious or out of control. When this happens, remember to stay focused in the present and on the degree of desire that you are actually experiencing. Do not exaggerate how strong it might become or how crazy you may feel. Anticipated discomfort is often worse that the real experience. Stay in the present and keep asking yourself if you can handle what you are experiencing. If not, quickly put some of your craving management strategies to work. Also, remember to give yourself time. Just like a wave, the urge will finally crest, decrease, and disappear. Most cravings pass within a few minutes. Your determination, your increasing ability and skill at focusing your attention to something else, and the practice of coping with cravings will make them easier and easier to handle. In time, your new, smoke-free behaviors will become a habit, too!