You don’t have to be a genius to see that smoking is not good for you. The adverse affects to your health have been proven over and over again. So what is it that you need in order to make it happen? This article has lots of ideas for you.
Writing down a list of positives and negatives about quitting can help increase your chance succeeding. Putting things on paper can have a profound effect on your mental outlook. By making this list, you can spark your interest and motivation in quitting, and help you focus on quitting so that you can more easily stop smoking.
Find the easiest method to quit smoking. Under no circumstances should you attempt to quit cold turkey. Unfortunately, there is a 95% failure rate among those who attempt to quit without any help. Fight nicotine cravings with products like patches or pills. These things will help you with any withdrawal symptoms you may experience, and make quitting successfully much more likely.
To aid in smoking cessation, remove yourself from your circle of friends who smoke. Don’t worry; this is just a temporary measure, but you really do need to do this. Constant exposure to cigarette smoke, plus the social aspect of smoking together, will automatically squash your hopes for success.
You must know why you want to stop smoking. Having shallow reasons, like it is bad for you are not good enough. To really get yourself motivated, you need a personal and powerful reason to quit. Maybe you are scared of lung cancer. Or maybe you would like to keep your family from second hand smoke. It might be because you want to both feel and look younger. Choose a strong reason that outweighs your urge to light up.
Try to avoid alcohol if you’re trying to quit smoking. Alcohol and cigarettes are naturally complimentary to each other. In addition, alcohol lowers your mental focus, meaning you are more likely to give in to temptation or peer pressure. If you avoid alcohol, you’re more likely to stay clear of mind. This might just mean that quitting becomes a bit easier.
Learn how nicotine replacement therapy can help. Nicotine withdrawal is very trying and can exacerbate feelings of stress, depression and anxiety. Sometimes, the craving for nicotine can seem to be more than you can handle. Using nicotine replacement therapy will help to relieve these symptoms of withdrawal. Research proves that nicotine replacement products such as gum, patches or lozenges can double the success rate for quitting. However, do not use those products if you are still smoking.
You need to accept that you’ll need help to quit. Let your family and friends know that you have decided to quit, so that they can support you through the process. You might also want to consider joining a support group for people that are trying to stop smoking. Speak about your predicament and talk about some of the things that you want to change.
When you are trying to quit smoking, sometimes you have to change other habits which trigger your desire for a puff. Instead of that cup of coffee or that alcoholic drink, have a glass of juice or water. Many people still have an urge to have a smoke after finishing a meal. After a meal, take a walk. Not only will it help take your mind off having a smoke, it will also help keep off the weight that is commonly associated with giving up smoking.
As bad as your urge is, it is not okay to take even one little puff. People who are trying to quit smoking believe that it will not harm them to have one puff of a cigarette. The problem is, this one puff leads to one whole cigarette, and then to one whole pack.
Before you quit, identify your triggers and plan ways around them. If you always smoke when you drink, abstain from alcohol for a while. If smoking before, during or after meals is a common practice for you, change up your meal plans or environments to prevent this. Track your smoking times and places to know when and where you light up, and adapt accordingly.
Try gradually cutting back on the number of cigarettes that you smoke. However, you should have a day that you will quit set in stone. For example, you could plan out the number of cigarettes you plan on smoking until the day that you quit. Try making the number that you smoke each day smaller and smaller until this day arrives. This method has been proven to work for many people.
As you can see, there is a ton of information here that could be that thing you’ve been looking for. That thing that will finally break the spell that cigarettes hold over you.
Good luck on your journey towards better health. Just use these tips to be free from the hold of tobacco.
