If you have been wanting quit smoking, then you aren’t alone, but often the focus is so much on surrendering that it feels like an insurmountable mountain that’s too big to overcome. Therefore, this post is entitled “Three Tips to Quit Smoking” because that’s precisely what you need to do.
While some people prefer the cold turkey approach, it can have negative effects on the body and is also much tougher to deal with from an emotional standpoint – because going from something you used to depend on, to not having it at all, creates a psychological pull in that direction because we all have an inclination to want what we cannot have… it is the reason, so often, after people have detoxed for a few days, you can find them in a fast food joint or Chinese food joint.
In fact, as with all addictive behaviors, it is vital to bear in mind of the underlying problem of addiction, rather than focusing solely on the act of putting the cigarette in your mouth.
It is useful to find out why you associate pleasure with smoking, until you discover what benefits it provides you, it is going to be difficult to break this addictive pattern of behavior. The reason is that we do everything we do for one of two reasons – either to escape pain (eg work on time to avoid the pain of being fired) or to derive pleasure (eg relaxation or pleasure).
At some point, you’ll associate pleasure with the act of smoking – you may associate it with a physiological release of tension or it may be more emotional, as people often start smoking for social gain – after all, many smokers say that smoking areas are the most enjoyable and socializing in any bar, these days, so if you have this association it can be hard to let go because you associate smoking with social enjoyment.
In that vein, here are three tips to help you cut back on your smoking habit.
- CHANGE ASSOCIATIONS
If you smoke, it means that on a deep level you must associate some form of enjoyment with smoking – because if you did not, you would not be doing it. Now, if your brain associate more pleasure than pain with certain behaviorsyou’ll continue to do it.
Therefore, you need to have a mental shift and alter the associations to the point you attribute more pain to smoking than pleasure — which is why most people only really quit after important life events, like having a baby or receiving a negative diagnosis.
- CHANGE ADDICTIONS
It can be helpful to replace cigarettes with less damaging alternatives, such as vaping or nicotine patches. Indeed, there are numerous kinds of vapes to select from, ranging from fruity ones to those with a more hard core sound”tiger blood e-juice”. The point is that it’s usually much easier to quit smoking by replacing it with a less damaging alternative.
- KEEP BUSY
When giving up any addiction, it is vital to keep yourself busy – because cravings tend to be worst when your mind is free to wander. An excellent way to distract yourself from cravings is to do something healthy to replace the behavior – like have a glass of water, or hit the gym. It sounds ominous, but besides traditional ways to keep yourself busy like going to the films and hanging out with your friends, there will be times when you are alone, and those are when the cravings tend to strike. the toughest ones so busy themselves with something as easy as a sip of water.
