So many people know that they shouldn’t smoke, but continue to do it despite this knowledge. It is easy to talk about quitting smoking, but actually following through can be extremely difficult. Read on for some very useful advice if you are interested in quitting smoking and want to know what it really takes.
Writing down a list of positives and negatives about quitting can help increase your chance succeeding. Writing something down can change your whole mental outlook. It can keep you focused on your goal, which should make it easier to quit.
Just take each day as it comes. Giving up the tobacco habit is a long process. Think about the present without concerning yourself with the future. Take each day as it comes and concentrate on not smoking that day, which will help establish a habit that will help you over the long term.
Keep a cold glass or bottle of ice water nearby at all times. When you get a craving for a cigarette, take a sip of water–even if this means you hardly put the bottle down at first. This gives you something to do with your hands and mouth, and it can be a useful way to prevent snacking, too.
Try to drink a lot of fruit juice as you begin quitting. The fruit juice will help cleanse your body of all the nicotine that is stored in your system. This will help you better resist cravings that you are bound to get if you do not do this sort of cleanse.
If you’re thinking about quitting smoking, it’s important that you talk to your doctor beforehand. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a support group or have knowledge of specialists in your area. Furthermore, your physician may also decided to write a prescription for a smoking cessation medication.
If you have very strong associations between smoking and drinking coffee or smoking while you’re drinking, you may need to avoid these triggers for a while. Once you feel comfortable enough in your ability to stay away from cigarettes, you can slowly bring back that morning cup of joe or happy hour with your friends.
Join a support group to help you in your quest to quit smoking. A support group can commiserate with you about the difficulties that quitting smoking entails, and share their coping mechanisms. The leader of the group may also be able to teach you behavior modification techniques, or other strategies that can prove helpful.
To get off to the best possible start, talk to your doctor about your plan to quit smoking. Your doctor can be a valuable source of information and support and can also recommend the most effective way to quit, as well as, how to deal with the negative effects of nicotine withdrawal.
If you are trying to quit with the use of crutches such as patches and medication, then you need to be careful. When you begin taking in these other substances, you are in turn putting yourself at risk of developing a new dangerous addiction. Be careful when you begin your quitting crutches.
Use visualization in order to assist you in quitting your smoking habit. When doing deep breathing exercises, shut your eyes, and imagine yourself being a non-smoker. Imagine yourself not giving in to temptation. Imagine winning a medal for not smoking. These types of programs, referred to as “quit smoking hypnosis,” are extremely effective.
Write down a journal of every time you have a cigarette and what your reasons were for having one. This journal will help you to find out what your smoking triggers are. For some it may be the first morning cigarette, or the need to smoke after a meal. For others, it may be stress. Determining your triggers will help you to figure out a way to fight them.
To make quitting smoking seem more straightforward, put the negatives of your smoking habit into numbers. For example, figure out how often you smoke, how many cigarettes you smoke a day and how much it costs you to smoke that much on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. Every time you cut back a little, you’ll know exactly how much you’ve progressed.
You might be surprised by how much the power of persuasion can aid you in quitting. If more traditional methods have failed before, then consider seeing a hypnotist. Just believing that hypnosis could work for you will help you to feel more motivated to quit. If nothing else, continuing to seek new treatment options will help you to stay committed to your goal.
You should now understand that quitting smoking is possible if you put in the effort. The key is remaining determined and sticking to the plans you make for yourself. If you apply what you read in this article, you will be able to quit smoking relatively easily.
