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Healing crisis after stopping smoking
I am a 60-something man who gave up smoking in February, having smoked around 40 a day for nearly 50 years. Ever since I have been plagued by one cold after another, and feel less well than when I smoked. Is there anything I can do to help revive my health?
Since people habitually use both alcohol and cigarettes to effectively “suppress” emotions and alter mood, it is not surprising that once you stop, especially after smoking for so long, your whole sense and experience of wellness can deteriorate for a time.
Embark on any form of detox programme and the first thing you will learn is to expect to feel much, much worse before you feel better. Give up coffee, for example, and you will suffer from headaches and even panicky feelings. Give up cigarettes and the body has even more in the way of toxins to clear out of your system. Natural healers often refer to this process of getting worse before you get better as a healing crisis, which precedes the return to a healthier state of body and mind.
Repeated infections are also always a sign of weakened immunity and scientists now know that the mind has such an impact on the functioning of the immune system, they have devoted an entire branch of immunology to the subject. Psychoneuroimmunology may still be its infancy as a branch of science, but this will be part of the puzzle of what is happening with you right now.
One of the best immune-supporting herbal remedies you can take over the long term is astragalus; a Chinese herb, which is one of the potent adaptogens that works to improve all the body’s systems, including mood and immunity.
Start with a therapeutic dosage of 4g a day and after a month, cut back to a maintenance dose of 2g a day. This herb is now widely on sale, but if you cannot find a high dosage source locally, mail order Doctor’s A-Z Supreme Astragalus which provides 500mg per capsule from Victoria Health (0800-413596). 60 capsules cost £19.95.