Many people mistakenly think that quitting smoking means throwing out the cigarettes and willing yourself to stop. While removing tobacco from your life is one big component of quitting, it doesn’t really need to be that hard. There are numerous tools and techniques which can help you to quit smoking successfully.
Use a good delay tactic when you are feeling an overwhelming desire to smoke a cigarette. Tell yourself how you’ll feel in about 10 minutes and distract yourself. You should see the craving pass within the 10 minutes. If you still feel the urge, try to keep distracting yourself for 10 minute increments to put off smoking for as long as possible.
You should try to ease the pain of quitting as easy as you can. Do not ever try to quit cold turkey way. There’s a huge chance you’ll fail if you use this will be unsuccessful for you. Because nicotine is so addicting, you should utilize some type of therapy, medication, or a patch. This will ease you through the difficult early withdrawal stages and make quitting less difficult.
Let your family and friends in on the secret that you plan to stop smoking.When you share this information with those closest to you, they can help you keep temptation away and stay motivated. This might be the extra motivation you need to stay on track with your quitting plan.
Consider using a nicotine replacement-type of therapy. Nicotine withdrawal is very powerful and can lead to depression, feelings of restlessness, and becoming frustrated or irritable. Cravings for a cigarette can be very powerful. Using nicotine replacement therapy will help to relieve these symptoms of withdrawal. Incorporating nicotine gums and patches into a regimen can double the chances for success. It’s important to avoid using these if you are still smoking.
If you’re trying to stop smoking, stop thinking about forever.Focus on getting through just one day rather than for the rest of your life. You can always set more long term goals that go well into the future as soon as you get comfortable with the commitment to quit.
10 Minutes
Stop smoking now, not only for yourself, but for any loved ones that you have. Smoking is harmful for you and anyone around you that inhales secondhand smoke, and people can even get cancer from it. The sooner you stop smoking, the sooner your loved ones will be free from the risks associated with inhaling secondhand smoke while they’re in your presence. Quitting smoking will not only improve your health, but the health of your family and friends as well.
By telling yourself to wait 10 minutes, you will usually avoid the craving. If the 10 minutes wasn’t enough, repeat that step as many times as necessary.
Your primary care physician can be a great resource if your are not able to quit when all other strategies fail. There are a growing number of medical aids, such as certain antidepressants, that can help you quit with much less discomfort.
Get a calendar and mark off the milestones you’re looking to reach and which rewards you’ll receive when you get there. Make a list of things that you can use to reward yourself for reaching a week, month or day of nonsmoking. Post this rewards list where it will catch your eye often. When you are feeling weak, use it to keep you on track.
Talk to a doctor about quitting smoking. Your physician may have resources available to help you did not know existed.
Now that you have read this article, you should have a good idea of some steps you can take to help ensure that you stay smoke-free. While some ex-smokers will have cravings for the rest of their life, following the above advice will better equip you to resist those cravings.
To help with the motivation factor of smoking cessation, always remember your family and those who would be affected in a big way if your health declined substantially because of this very dangerous habit. Data suggests that about twenty percent of deaths in the United States have something to do with smoking. Do you really want to be another statistic?