How to Quit Smoking
Are you thinking of quitting smoking? If so, you should know that you will enjoy some immediate benefits within hours of that last cigarette. In fact, it is a good idea to really get informed about the health benefits you will get from this decision. Why? Because you should know right from the start that anyone who tries to quit smoking is in for a challenge. Cigarettes contain a substance known as nicotine, and though it is highly toxic it is also addictive. This addictiveness makes it very hard to eliminate from the daily routine, and this is usually the primary challenge for those who want to quit.
So, before you let people know that you are going to stop smoking, you should sit down and consider the many ways in which your mind will lead you back towards cigarettes. You should then understand how the body reacts without the toxins from those cigarettes, in order to develop a really good defense. Only by constructing a list of responses to the most challenging scenarios will you be able to recognize them and overcome them when they occur.
One of the most common mistakes made is for a smoker to allow themselves “just one” to take the edge off their desire for a smoke. The truth is that each day free of nicotine is going to reduce the potency of the craving, and that “one” cigarette will give the urge an ever stronger edge rather than a weaker one. If you realize that blood pressure and heart rate increase with each puff of a cigarette it is easy to see how self-defeating the “just one” strategy becomes. All of the good work of a day or two without smoking is undone in a few minute’s time unless the individual refuses to smoke.
The next mistake is to think that the momentary urge is just too strong to defeat, but in reality the average craving “peaks” at around three minutes in total duration. This means that if the individual can find something to do for around fifteen minutes during the time of their craving they will defeat it.
One of the best lines of defense is to find a quitting buddy who will be available by phone at any time. This is the person who understands your struggle and will serve as a cheerleader or coach throughout your periods of weakness or intense cravings. Simply talking to them about the upcoming weekend, a new restaurant, or something in the news will see the most intense cravings all the way through to the end.
There are many strategies for quitting, but the strongest ones start with the simple acceptance that it is going to be hard work to stop smoking.
