Kitabı oku: «Stop smoking! 10 Harmful thoughts while quitting»

© Natali Gorodnyuk, 2026

ISBN 978-5-0071-2263-4

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Introduction

Anyone who has ever seriously thought about quitting smoking has probably experienced an inner dialogue that feels a lot like a battlefield.

On one side, there is the desire to break free from the addiction — to become healthier, stronger, and more independent. On the other, there is an endless stream of thoughts that seem determined to keep you exactly where you are.

Here are some of the most common ones:

“I smoke because I enjoy it. It is my only comfort.”

“I will never be able to handle the withdrawal if I quit.”

“I will end up smoking again anyway, so why even bother starting?”

“If I do not smoke, I will not be able to concentrate.”

“I already know how to quit. I have done it three times.”

These thoughts appear in the minds of countless smokers. Over time, they can become invisible chains, keeping a person trapped in addiction.

But what if we stopped treating these thoughts as facts?

What if we looked at them instead as beliefs, assumptions, and ideas — things that can be examined, questioned, and taken apart? What if we could understand where these thoughts come from, what keeps them alive, and what lies behind them?

And what if we discovered that holding on to some of these beliefs is not actually helping us at all? In fact, some of them may be actively working against us.

This book is about the way our thoughts influence our behavior — including the way they influence our dependence on smoking.

We often think that quitting smoking is simply a matter of willpower. In reality, it is much more complicated than that. Quitting involves a whole system of interconnected factors, and our thoughts are far from being a minor part of the equation.

This book is a practical tool for dealing with an enemy that is difficult to see.

Smoking is not just a behavior that you can decide to stop one day and simply leave behind. It is a complicated combination of physical dependence, learned habits, and emotional rituals. To understand why quitting can be so difficult, we need to look at all of these pieces together.

In this book, we will examine ten fundamental thoughts that can have a powerful influence on the way you experience the process of quitting smoking.

Why ten?

The honest answer is that I do not particularly enjoy writing very long books. It is much easier for me to break my ideas into logical pieces and turn each piece into its own book. So, for now, you get ten.

In this book, we will also spend quite a bit of time talking about the physiology of smoking and the way nicotine affects the process of quitting. Understanding what is happening in your body can make the whole process much easier to understand — and, hopefully, a little less frightening.

So, are you ready to take a closer look at your addiction and understand what is actually keeping you stuck?

Then let us begin.

Harmful Thought #1: “Why should I care what is happening in my brain? Knowing all this will not help me quit smoking.”

When you quit smoking, understanding what is happening inside your body is just as important as knowing why you should treat a cut with antiseptic.

Imagine that you cut your finger. If you know there is a risk of infection, you will probably clean the wound with antiseptic, put on a bandage, and keep an eye on it while it heals. Why? Because you understand what can happen if you do nothing. Bacteria can get into the wound, inflammation can develop, and in the worst-case scenario, the infection can spread throughout your body.

Now imagine that you know absolutely nothing about bacteria or infections. You might look at the cut and think, “It is nothing serious. It will heal on its own.”

And maybe it will. But it might also become infected. Complications can develop, and what started as a small cut can turn into a serious problem.

The same thing happens when you do not understand how your addiction works. You may start to believe that quitting smoking is simply a matter of willpower.

But addiction is more complicated than that.

It is a complex process involving the chemistry of your brain.

Nicotine essentially “takes over” certain receptors in the brain. These receptors are designed to respond to acetylcholine, one of the brain’s naturally occurring chemical messengers. With repeated nicotine exposure, the brain adapts to the presence of nicotine, and its normal functioning changes.

If you do not understand how addiction develops and how the brain begins to recover after nicotine is removed, you will naturally rely on your own assumptions about what your addiction is and what you need to do to quit.

And just as with the untreated cut, that can lead to a rather unpleasant outcome: being unable to stay away from cigarettes, repeated relapses, emotional ups and downs, and eventually giving up on trying to become a nonsmoker.

Understanding the physiology of addiction helps you act consciously rather than emotionally.

You become the accountant of your own brain.

You reduce nicotine — you increase acetylcholine. We will talk about exactly what that means below.

It is like accounting: money comes in, money goes out. You keep track of what is happening instead of getting carried away by emotions.

That is it. No unnecessary drama.

Now let us take a closer look at how nicotine addiction develops, what happens inside the brain, and how the brain can gradually return to normal.

So, What Is Actually Going On in the Brain?

Our brain is home to an enormous number of “friends”—neurons.

Neurons are brain cells that help us think, feel, remember, move, and do countless other things. Like true friends, they are constantly communicating with one another, sending messages back and forth.

How Do Neurons Communicate?

Imagine that neurons are friends who communicate by sending each other “letters.”

These letters are called neurotransmitters.

One of these neurotransmitters is acetylcholine.

Acetylcholine helps neurons pass information from one cell to another. For example, it can be involved in sending the message that tells your body to raise your hand, or in processes involved in learning and remembering something as simple as the multiplication table.

Think of acetylcholine as a letter carrying an important message.

The letter travels from one neuron to a receptor on another neuron. The receptor is like a mailbox waiting to receive it.

The acetylcholine fits into the appropriate receptor, delivers its message, and the neuron responds.

This is part of how your brain normally functions.

What Happens When You Smoke?

When a person smokes, nicotine enters the brain.

Nicotine is a substance that essentially tricks the brain by mimicking acetylcholine.

The brain does not simply look at the molecule and say, “Wait a minute, this is an impostor.”

Nicotine is similar enough to acetylcholine that it can bind to certain receptors that normally respond to acetylcholine.

In other words, nicotine shows up at the mailbox wearing a disguise, and the mailbox accepts it.

The neurons begin receiving nicotine where they would normally receive their “native” acetylcholine.

At first, this can even make a person feel good or relaxed.

Why?

Because nicotine does more than simply imitate acetylcholine. It also affects other systems in the brain and can trigger the release of additional “rewards,” such as dopamine, which contributes to feelings of pleasure and reinforcement.

Imagine that acetylcholine is an ordinary letter.

You receive the letter, read the message, and carry on with your day.

Nicotine, on the other hand, is like a letter that looks almost identical — but when you open it, there is a bright, shiny gift card inside.

Of course, that gets your attention.

But there is a problem.

The gift card is fake.

And the more often you receive it, the more your brain begins to expect it.