Is there really a difference between the two if chemical reactions in the brain are responding to the source of addiction. Is there at least a very fine line. Quitting cigarettes again for about the 4th time. I don’t seem to suffer any physical withdrawals that I can identify yet I am drawn to the subtle feeling I get when smoking and a few minutes after. Is the physical withdrawal involved where they draw the line? Does mild anxiety qualify as a physical symptom?
Yes, I think anxiety counts as a physical symptom of withdrawal.
Two options to consider to get you through this. (I used to work on smoking-cesssation drug trials.)
Consider using Nicoderm patches and following a taper.
Consider talking to your doctor and getting a Wellbutrin prescription. It’s a drug that was originally developed as an anti-depressant, but it has all kinds of interesting uses. One of them it that people who use it have an easier time quitting smoking.
It takes several weeks for the withdrawal symptoms to subside completely. It can take months or years for the psychological ones to go away.
Good luck. I hope this one sticks.
Thanks for the info, I may look into that Wellbutrin. Getting on the computer seems to be my biggest trigger.
When I quit smoking it was painful, but there were no overt physical symptoms. I remember once QtM describing DTs pretty graphically and while there may have also been painful desires, there were also extreme physical manifestations of the withdrawal that can actually kill you. I think you can usefully differentiate between physical and mental and tobacco withdrawal seemed to be limited to the latter.
In the case of physically additive substances like nicotine the brain is physically affected, and as a result so is the psychology. The line between the two is not clear.
Like other addictions, another thing that helps is having a plan for what you will do to avoid or manage triggers. It could be rearranging your desktop around your computer so it looks different. It could be keeping an array of fidgets on your desk to pick up and play with every time you get the urge to smoke (keeps the fingers busy). You’re probably not going to give up the computer, so make a plan for how you’re going to manage the trigger.
Think about your other triggers, and try and make a plan for all of the big ones.
Addiction, by it’s very nature, is psychological. Its much different than physical dependence. One can be addicted but not physically dependent, as well as physically dependent but not addicted. Of course one can be both addicted and dependent too. But they are distinct from each other.