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Pick a quit date. Throw out ashtrays. Get rid of lighters and cigarette packs. You may have read the same old quit smoking tips again and again, or perhaps even a tried a few. While many tips are given with good intentions, they don’t always result in good outcomes. Use these five tips to help increase your chances for success.
Admit the Addiction
Poo-pooing smoking as some bothersome little habit that you can easily control is a surefire way to sabotage your efforts to quit. Smoking involves an addiction to nicotine, a real drug addiction that has actually rewired your brain. This does not make you a bad person; it just makes you a person under nicotine’s addictive control.
Admitting the addiction can put the habit into proper perspective. It can also help you to be kinder and gentler with yourself during the quitting process.
Give Your Body a Gentle Decline
One way to be gentle with yourself is to gradually wean your body off nicotine. Quitting cold turkey can result in severe nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Try gradually decreasing the amount of nicotine in your system until you can easily go without it. Options here include nicotine gum, lozenges, patches or vaping.
Swap the Old Habit for a New Habit
Trying to get rid of an old habit without replacing it with a new one can be excruciating, if not impossible. Every time you find yourself reaching for a cigarette, do something else instead. Vaping again comes into play here, as smoking and vaping have similar hand-to-mouth movements. Choose a real tobacco e-liquid, like Black Note, and they can also provide similar tastes.
Engage in Emotional Recovery
Your relationship with cigarettes may have been longstanding, dependable and downright intense. Letting go of any relationship, even one to a toxic habit, unleashes a torrent of emotions.
Expect to go through a number of emotional phases that are part of your recovery. These tend to include:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
- Complacency
Take (Extra Good) Care of Yourself
Eat healthy meals. Get adequate sleep. Drink plenty of water. Exercise daily. You know, do all those things a healthy, happy woman does to stay healthy and happy. Focusing your time and attention on self-care serves as a constant reminder that being smoke-free is an important piece of the overall puzzle. It can also help level out your emotions and keep you balanced overall as you go through the quitting process.
Take it One Day (or Minute) at a Time
You may have heard this tip in other addiction programs, and it can work equally well for nicotine. Don’t become overwhelmed or think that success can only come from quitting smoking forever. Instead, focus on the present moment, celebrating success for getting through the day, hour or minute without a cigarette.
Feel free to combine these tips with other tips you may have read to design your personal recipe for success. The more helpful hints you have, the more strategies you can use to ensure you put down cigarettes for good.
SOURCES:
http://whyquit.com/pr/100305.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/201408/changing-habits