Smoking...
megabeln
Posts: 36 Member
Cancer, emphysema, heart disease, asthma, stroke, death… blah blah blah, is there anyone who smokes who isn’t aware of the dangers? Are there any risks you haven’t been reminded of time and time again? Will hearing it a million and one times suddenly make the difference? It isn’t like you don’t know the risks of smoking and, in most cases, it isn’t like you don’t want to quit. The question is how.
Let’s not sugar-coat it: quitting smoking is difficult. Some say it’s even more difficult than kicking a heroin habit. You’re dealing with a physical addiction and a psychological one. But is it impossible? No. Many people who quit smoking report that finding motivation, getting social support, knowing what to expect, and having a plan are the necessary elements for success.
Finding Motivation
Living a smoke-free life is a big change for a smoker, and most of us don’t react well to any kind of change, even positive ones like cutting our hair, moving furniture, or sending a child off to college. When we think of change, the first thing we think of is what we’ll lose. This happens regardless of the type of change you’re thinking about. So let’s acknowledge up front some of the things you’ll lose when you quit smoking. Write those things down.
So what did you write? Things like the feeling of calm when you’re feeling stressed? The excuse to take a break? Are those the only things you can think of?
Let’s acknowledge that those things are important to you and that they’re legitimate needs. Now, let’s take a minute to think about the other ways you can get those things. Next to each benefit of smoking you wrote down, see if you can think of a couple of ways to get that benefit without a cigarette and write those down.
The next thing to think about is what you might gain if you quit smoking- things that smoking keeps you from having. More energy, better-smelling breath, more money- list those things out. Think about how much cigarettes cost you each week. How many vacations could you take with that money instead? What we’re trying to do here is to switch from the idea of quitting, losing, and ending to the idea of gaining, winning, and starting- the idea that you are leaving the cigarettes behind you as you move forward.
Make a list of what you’ll gain. Be specific- not just better health, but the ability to play tag with your children and grandchildren longer and the ability to get out of bed and breathe without coughing. Think about things other than money; the ability to save for a vacation; not just better-smelling breath, but whiter teeth, fresher clothes, and fewer lines around your mouth. Make this list as long and detailed as you can manage.
Put this list on an index card and keep it with you.
Getting Social Support
Think back to the hardest thing you’ve ever done—the hardest, the most difficult, the most agonizingly impossible thing you’ve ever accomplished in your life. It may have been an affirmative thing like running a marathon, paying back a lot of debt, or having a baby, or a more downbeat one like going through a divorce, recovering from an accident or illness, or surviving the death of a loved one. What internal and external resources helped you accomplish it? These are the same resources you’ll need to help you quit smoking.
Some were internal—patience, intelligence, determination—and some were external. Here is where your social network comes in. You will need a team to back you up—a team of friends, a doctor, family members, counselors, and others. List your internal and external resources on your index card and keep the list with you. When you accomplished the last most difficult thing you have ever done, you may have had to feel your way through it, discovering these resources as you went along. They’re still there for you.
Understanding What to Expect
Knowing what to expect can help you prepare for the tough stuff to come- and it will come. After you quit, the lack of nicotine in your system may leave you feeling dizzy or restless, or it may result in headaches and increased appetite, all of which should last only a few days. You can keep sugar-related cravings at bay and help your body adjust by drinking fruit juice (unless you’re diabetic).
You may also experience mood changes associated with nicotine withdrawal, especially if you’ve been smoking to help relieve stress, depression, and/or anxiety. You may feel more irritable, frustrated, restless, angry, or despondent than usual. Trouble sleeping or difficulty concentrating are both common. This won’t last forever- just a couple of weeks while your body flushes out the toxins from the cigarettes and you are better able to deal with the stress in healthier ways. It’s not enough that you know to expect these mood changes; make sure your family knows what to expect as well!
To help you learn what to expect, spend the weeks before your “quit date” making a “cravings log.” When do you crave a cigarette? What prompts the craving? What are you doing and how are you feeling? Think of all the emotional and physical craving triggers you experience and take note of them.
Having a Personal Game Plan
Think about these situations and list out specific tactics for how you want to handle them. For physical cravings after a meal, you might reach for a piece of fruit, a square of rich, dark chocolate, or a stick of gum. With alcohol, you might plan to drink only where smoking is not allowed, or keep that other hand busy with the chip or nut bowl or by playing with a straw. If you’re a social smoker, you might ask friends who smoke to help you by not smoking when they’re with you, and avoid taking work breaks with smokers.
Many people use cigarettes to manage feelings like stress, depression, boredom, loneliness, fear, and anxiety because cigarettes can seem to make such feelings evaporate. Remember though, using cigarettes as an emotional crutch has probably kept you from discovering healthier, more productive ways to manage these feelings. Healthier coping mechanisms include exercise, meditation, sensory relaxation strategies, and simple breathing exercises.
It’s important that your game plan include a number of well thought-out strategies to cope with the expected and unexpected. A general wouldn’t go into battle unprepared, and you shouldn’t go into this battle without a full arsenal of weapons either.
After you quit smoking, food will taste better, your sense of smell will come back, you’ll have more energy, your circulation will improve, and you’ll stop coughing in the morning. Best of all? You will never have to listen to people go on and on about why you should quit… ever again.
Let’s not sugar-coat it: quitting smoking is difficult. Some say it’s even more difficult than kicking a heroin habit. You’re dealing with a physical addiction and a psychological one. But is it impossible? No. Many people who quit smoking report that finding motivation, getting social support, knowing what to expect, and having a plan are the necessary elements for success.
Finding Motivation
Living a smoke-free life is a big change for a smoker, and most of us don’t react well to any kind of change, even positive ones like cutting our hair, moving furniture, or sending a child off to college. When we think of change, the first thing we think of is what we’ll lose. This happens regardless of the type of change you’re thinking about. So let’s acknowledge up front some of the things you’ll lose when you quit smoking. Write those things down.
So what did you write? Things like the feeling of calm when you’re feeling stressed? The excuse to take a break? Are those the only things you can think of?
Let’s acknowledge that those things are important to you and that they’re legitimate needs. Now, let’s take a minute to think about the other ways you can get those things. Next to each benefit of smoking you wrote down, see if you can think of a couple of ways to get that benefit without a cigarette and write those down.
The next thing to think about is what you might gain if you quit smoking- things that smoking keeps you from having. More energy, better-smelling breath, more money- list those things out. Think about how much cigarettes cost you each week. How many vacations could you take with that money instead? What we’re trying to do here is to switch from the idea of quitting, losing, and ending to the idea of gaining, winning, and starting- the idea that you are leaving the cigarettes behind you as you move forward.
Make a list of what you’ll gain. Be specific- not just better health, but the ability to play tag with your children and grandchildren longer and the ability to get out of bed and breathe without coughing. Think about things other than money; the ability to save for a vacation; not just better-smelling breath, but whiter teeth, fresher clothes, and fewer lines around your mouth. Make this list as long and detailed as you can manage.
Put this list on an index card and keep it with you.
Getting Social Support
Think back to the hardest thing you’ve ever done—the hardest, the most difficult, the most agonizingly impossible thing you’ve ever accomplished in your life. It may have been an affirmative thing like running a marathon, paying back a lot of debt, or having a baby, or a more downbeat one like going through a divorce, recovering from an accident or illness, or surviving the death of a loved one. What internal and external resources helped you accomplish it? These are the same resources you’ll need to help you quit smoking.
Some were internal—patience, intelligence, determination—and some were external. Here is where your social network comes in. You will need a team to back you up—a team of friends, a doctor, family members, counselors, and others. List your internal and external resources on your index card and keep the list with you. When you accomplished the last most difficult thing you have ever done, you may have had to feel your way through it, discovering these resources as you went along. They’re still there for you.
Understanding What to Expect
Knowing what to expect can help you prepare for the tough stuff to come- and it will come. After you quit, the lack of nicotine in your system may leave you feeling dizzy or restless, or it may result in headaches and increased appetite, all of which should last only a few days. You can keep sugar-related cravings at bay and help your body adjust by drinking fruit juice (unless you’re diabetic).
You may also experience mood changes associated with nicotine withdrawal, especially if you’ve been smoking to help relieve stress, depression, and/or anxiety. You may feel more irritable, frustrated, restless, angry, or despondent than usual. Trouble sleeping or difficulty concentrating are both common. This won’t last forever- just a couple of weeks while your body flushes out the toxins from the cigarettes and you are better able to deal with the stress in healthier ways. It’s not enough that you know to expect these mood changes; make sure your family knows what to expect as well!
To help you learn what to expect, spend the weeks before your “quit date” making a “cravings log.” When do you crave a cigarette? What prompts the craving? What are you doing and how are you feeling? Think of all the emotional and physical craving triggers you experience and take note of them.
Having a Personal Game Plan
Think about these situations and list out specific tactics for how you want to handle them. For physical cravings after a meal, you might reach for a piece of fruit, a square of rich, dark chocolate, or a stick of gum. With alcohol, you might plan to drink only where smoking is not allowed, or keep that other hand busy with the chip or nut bowl or by playing with a straw. If you’re a social smoker, you might ask friends who smoke to help you by not smoking when they’re with you, and avoid taking work breaks with smokers.
Many people use cigarettes to manage feelings like stress, depression, boredom, loneliness, fear, and anxiety because cigarettes can seem to make such feelings evaporate. Remember though, using cigarettes as an emotional crutch has probably kept you from discovering healthier, more productive ways to manage these feelings. Healthier coping mechanisms include exercise, meditation, sensory relaxation strategies, and simple breathing exercises.
It’s important that your game plan include a number of well thought-out strategies to cope with the expected and unexpected. A general wouldn’t go into battle unprepared, and you shouldn’t go into this battle without a full arsenal of weapons either.
After you quit smoking, food will taste better, your sense of smell will come back, you’ll have more energy, your circulation will improve, and you’ll stop coughing in the morning. Best of all? You will never have to listen to people go on and on about why you should quit… ever again.
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