Cravings - why is it that...?
Cravings - why is it that...?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/13/04
Cravings - why is it that...?#1
Posted: 11/25/08 at 7:49pm
Why is it that when smokers start freaking out they grab a cigarette to calm down? Shouldn't the stimulation from the nicotine just wind them up more?
I'm curious, because sometimes that's how I feel caffeine affects me - the more panicky and stressed out I am the more I want to grab a cup.
re: Cravings - why is it that...?#2
Posted: 11/25/08 at 8:35pmI think it is a bit more mental than physical.
re: Cravings - why is it that...?#2
Posted: 11/25/08 at 8:35pm
If you're not addicted to nicotine, and you smoke it, you will feel the stimulant effects as an aberration to your normal state. However, when you're addicted to nicotine, the heightened state is your "norm". Anything outside of that is the physically uncomfortable aberration. The return to "norm" that a cigarette produces is what's calming. Your body doesn't care if it's being brought up or down to "norm".
There's a similar phenomenon with alcoholism. Buzzed becomes the "norm". And you feel raw and uncomfortable without it. Lots of alcoholics don't drink to feel drunk. They do it to feel normal, so they can go about their day...or operate on you.
re: Cravings - why is it that...?#3
Posted: 11/25/08 at 11:07pm
"I'm curious, because sometimes that's how I feel caffeine affects me - the more panicky and stressed out I am the more I want to grab a cup."
Me too, exactly!
re: Cravings - why is it that...?#4
Posted: 11/25/08 at 11:45pmi dont know why... but i do. i dont smoke frequently, but if i'm very nervous or stressed out at work or stressed out about finances or whatever, ill smoke a pack quickly. it calms me
re: Cravings - why is it that...?#5
Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:44amThat's how drug addiction works. You need the drug in order for your body to function normally. Those kind of jitters are almost like little mini bouts of withdrawal.
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