The Mindset to Quit Smoking
Preparation
Millions of people smoke, and to many, particularly those that have been smoking for some time, the prospect of quitting seems daunting. An addiction to nicotine is a serious one, and is multifaceted: there is a physical component, in that your body craves the nicotine the cigarettes contain, and a psychological one, in that many habits and situations become associated with cigarettes for the smoker. For these reasons it is important that you come up with a plan of attack in order to quit smoking: although the cold-turkey technique works for some people, the vast majority of smokers will have success only with a more comprehensive plan.
When you first consider the prospect of quitting smoking, it's probably going to seem far fetched, but keep in mind that thousands of people - people that are no different from you - quit smoking every year. If they can do it, there's no reason that you can't. Many smokers also feel that after a certain age it is "too-late" to quit smoking. Simply put, this isn't true, and should not be used as an excuse to avoid an attempt to quit smoking: the health benefits of quitting smoking begin the very day you stop.
Read the full article
Change Your Lifestyle to Quit Smoking
One of the reasons that quitting smoking seems like such a daunting task, is that for many smokers it requires that the smoker makes some lifestyle changes. Smoking, unlike many other types of addiction, is both legal and in many cases socially acceptable, and for that reason quitting smoking requires a tremendous amount of willpower.
Unless you are one of the rare, lucky smokers who are able to quit with relative ease, it's not always a good idea to rely on your willpower alone. Putting too much faith in your willpower is going to place you in many situations where you're facing a lot of temptation, and if you give in to this temptation it will be hard to try to quit smoking again: once you lapse in your attempt to quit smoking it affects your self-esteem and ability to try again.
It is for these reasons that it's important you help yourself by making some lifestyle changes when you decide to quit smoking. Especially in the early stages of your attempt, you should avoid social situations that are going to present you with a lot of temptation - don't hang out in bars with other smokers, for example. It's also a good idea to try and become more active. Most smokers will notice that when they first try to quit they experience feelings of anxiety and restlessness, and becoming more active is a good way to deal with this.
Read the full article
Let Other People Know You've Quit Smoking
Almost every smoker reaches a point with their addiction where they want to quit, and for most them is a very difficult task. Although people tend not to think of it this way, an attempt to quit smoking is an attempt to break an extremely serious addiction - in some studies nicotine is shown to be as addictive as cocaine. It is important therefore, that you provide yourself with as much support as possible when you attempt to quit smoking: when you first quit, you shouldn't hesitate to tell people.
A lot of people, when they first attempt to quit smoking, have a tendency not to tell the people around them. There are a few reasons for this: in some cases, the ex-smoker feels that they will be putting pressure on their friends, especially those friends who smoke, or trying to make them feel guiltily; in other cases the ex-smoker will keep the quitting attempt to his or herself because of a subconscious fear of failure - if no one knows you tried to quit, then no one will know if the attempt failed.
If you don't tell anyone that you've quit smoking, you're leaving yourself completely alone with no support group. Most people will find that if they make a point of telling their friends and associates that they've quit smoking, they'll be rewarded with instant support. At times of weakness, your friends are going to step in and make sure you don't smoke in front of them.
Read the full article
|