Stopping Smoking
When a person decides to quit smoking, various withdrawal symptoms occur. Emotional imbalances include irritability, anxiety, decreased threshold for stress, emotional outbursts, crying and/or a vague but strong sense of dis-ease. Physical symptoms vary greatly from increased food cravings, constipation or diarrhoea, insomnia, decreased energy, palpitations, night sweats, digestive discomfort, muscle tightness to dryness. These withdrawal symptoms occur as the body attempts to re-adjust itself to no longer processing nicotine and the various addictive and harmful substances found in cigarettes.
It takes most people at least two weeks to re-establish systemic harmony and feel at ease again without cigarettes, even though their bodies will continue to release and expel stored substances for months or years to come. But it is the first two weeks that is the most difficult period for smokers to get through. After that it is usually emotional triggers (or reminders) that need to be dealt with to prevent relapses.
How Does it work?
Acupuncture helps people to stop smoking by tailoring their acupuncture treatments to their specific needs. There is no redundant set treatment because no one thing can work for every person. To be most effective, acupuncture must be based on specific needs and circumstances. Each person participates in a complete health evaluation and substance use history so that the acupuncture treatment that follows targets each individual's concerns and imbalances.
The NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol is the insertion of 5 acupuncture needles into specific locations in the ear that stimulate the lungs, liver, kidneys and nervous system. The combination of these points aids in detoxification and restoring systemic equilibrium.
After an acupuncture session, patients are taught how to apply acupressure to the 5 NADA ear points with tiny seeds or semi-permanent needles that are placed on the ear. This gives people a proven tool to use on their own, to help decrease cravings and increase detoxification between treatments.
The combination of individualized acupuncture treatments with NADA ear points stimulated by the patient at home gives most people the extra help they need to finally end their smoking addiction.
How Many Treatments will I Need?
Everyone is different and hence it is essential to perform the full health assessment prior to commencing the protocol. Treatment is most effective when 3 - 5 weekly visits are made first in order to get the patient into an optimum balance energetically. After the first visit, the diagnostic assessment will have given the acupuncturist enough information to agree a target date to stop smoking and work towards that, preparing the patient energetically and emotionally.
It is recommended that you come for acupuncture 2 or 3 times during the first two weeks that you stop smoking. After that, an additional follow-up treatment to consolidate the effects is usually necessary. If life stressors or complicating circumstances are in play, then additional treatments may be necessary to preserve the positive results.