Have you ever felt as if…

  • you are ready to pull your hair?
  • you feel the urge to smoke one cigarette after another, yet you can’t stand the stinky smell?
  • you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, go light up a cigarette, take a puff and put it out only to realize you had not smoked over three weeks?

Well, there may be a good reason for your madness. Did you know a woman’s menstrual cycle could play a role in determining how easy (or difficult) it is for a woman to stop smoking?   If you have thought of stop smoking as your New Year’s resolution, then perhaps you might benefit from checking your ovulation calendars. That may be because declines in levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone boost nicotine withdrawal symptoms and also boost the activity of brain circuits associated with craving.

“Taking the menstrual cycle into consideration could help women to stop smoking easier.”

During a woman’s follicular phase (after one’s period but before ovulation), seeing cigarette and smoking imagery greatly activates at least five different centers of the brain, indicating higher cravings. But during a woman’s luteal phase, only one center of the brain responds with limited activation. That makes sense.   “Craving for nicotine is strongest during periods.”

Studies reveal that uncontrollable urges to smoke are stronger at the beginning phase that begins after menstruation.  Hormonal decreases of estrogen and progesterone possibly deepen the withdrawal syndrome and increase activity of neural circuits associated with craving.  It’s been proven that Hypnosis can help ease menstrual pain and cramps, balance hormonal cycle, and help one Stop Smoking. 

Here are some facts:

  • Women and girls have bought into the myth that they gain more weight after quitting smoking, so they continue smoking for weight control.
  • Women and girls tend to smoke as a “buffer” against negative feelings, while men smoke more from habit or to enhance positive sensations.
  • Most women express emotional dependency to tobacco in the midst of life difficulties and when “very unhappy”.
  • Female addiction may be reinforced more by the sensory and social context of smoking, rather than by nicotine, suggesting that patches may not be so effective an aid.
  • Women quit less easily than men due to their different responses to nicotine as well as a lack of social support, fear of weight gain, depression and hormones.
  • Hormonal imbalance and monthly cycles attribute to the success of quitting.

To book your session to Stop Smoking Today – contact:  info@healwithin