Quitting smoking can be a stressful time in your life. Stress is our natural response to change, and just think of all the adjustments and changes we make when we stop smoking! We have to change our daily habits from the time we get up and don't smoke that first cigarette, to the time we go to bed and don't smoke that last cigarette. We have to find other things to do with our hands besides reach for a cigarette and light up. We have to do other things to cope with the dissatisfying or uncomfortable situations in our life. We have to find ways to cope with cravings to smoke. We have to find ways to enjoy ourselves without a cigarette. Most importantly, we have to find ways to manage our stress without the potent help of nicotine. You can get stressed just thinking about all the changes in your life when you quit! No wonder you feel tired, irritable, anxious, depressed, and unhappy!

Many people experience an interesting phenomenon when they quit smoking: they feel as if everything goes wrong soon after they quit. In addition to the normal stresses that occur in their lives, and the unusual or unexpected stresses that happen to occur at the same time, they also experience the stresses that occur because they are quitting smoking. Their stress levels go very high while their smoking cessation strategies and abilities are still so new. They report feeling as if their life is falling apart and they can't even be with their best friend, cigarettes. They experience stronger cravings for cigarettes, and they miss the way that cigarettes helped them cope with life.