To whom it may concern,
I have an enormous workload, because of which I have been sleeping very little for the past few years. In an attempt to maintain my performance under these conditions, I began smoking cigarettes (about half a pack a day) and drinking more coffee.
For the past several months, I made repeated attempts at quitting smoking, none of which were successful. I tried cutting down, I tried going cold turkey, I tried chewing nicotine gum—yet, I would resume smoking within days or weeks of having decided to quit.
I made many excuses for myself: I felt I was losing my intellectual vigor I felt that I was gaining weight, because of the amount of food I was accustomed to consuming whenever I stopped smoking for a few days. I had resigned myself to smoking for at least the next few years, uninterrupted, until I heard about an acupuncture method that had worked for many people in smoking cessation.
This method consists in needles penetrating points in the ear, and a few in the body. Within hours of the first treatment, I felt many of my withdrawal symptoms subside: my head felt clearer, my vision became finer (I usually feel like clouds are drifting in front of my eyes and behind my brow when I need a cigarette). Aches in my throat and my chest withdrew as well.
A few days after the treatment, I began doubting myself and smoked another cigarette. To my great surprise, the rush of relief and familiarity did not come the cigarette tasted horribly. I didn’t even finish smoking it.
I resumed the acupuncture treatments and have not smoked since that day, with little to none withdrawal symptoms in the process. Moreover, my cravings to overeat have subsided as well. My chest has felt lighter I have been able to exercise in a way that I haven’t done since before I began smoking. For the first time, I feel confident about my ability to persist in smoking cessation, which is extremely unfamiliar, as I have been accustomed to approaching quitting half- heartedly and only in anticipation of the results of self-disgust. I am extremely grateful to my therapist for helping me regain control in my life, and I recommend this treatment heartily to anyone in similar circumstances.
Constance from Andover, MA