Although many people intend to stop smoking, they often think that they lack the willpower for this difficult task. This article contains many useful tips you should apply to reduce your smoking, and eventually quit.
Support groups can be a great resource once you have firmly decided that you are ready to quit. There is much strength and reassurance in a group of like-minded folks who are all pushing towards the same goal and dealing with the same challenges. These people will offer you guidance, support, and advice on how to stop. Check your newspaper and local hospital for support resources.
In the event that the urge to smoke melts your resolve, at least attempt to put it off as long as possible. Whatever you can do to delay smoking will help, so take a walk, drink some water or lie down. Sometimes, delaying smoking can help you resist smoking. If you desire to smoke a cigarette, the delay could cause you to smoke one less cigarette that day.
Hypnosis is an effective tool to use when you quit smoking. Many individuals have quit successfully after working with a licensed hypnotist. A hypnotist can help you quit smoking by putting you into a trance and building statements in your mind that will keep your brain from wanting to smoke. Once you come out of the trance, the desire to smoke will not be as strong. This means you will be closer to quitting successfully.
Once you’ve decided to kick the smoking habit, tell your family and friends. Just by letting them know what you are attempting to do, they will be able to be a support team for you and assist you in staying motivated and fighting temptations. With this support, you can optimize your chance to quit successfully.
When you decide to quit smoking, tell your family and friends. When you share this information with those closest to you, they can help you remain focused on quitting. They may give you the extra nudge that you require to keep you focused on your goals.
Make a list of what methods you can use to quit. Making a customized list of things to try, can help you succeed at quitting. Each person will find methods which work for them, while they might not work for you. You must learn the best techniques for you. Drafting a personal list will help you to accomplish this.
Start exercising at home or join the local gym, to keep you occupied and prevent you from smoking. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. If you have been leading a sedentary lifestyle, start slow, such as taking leisurely walks every couple of days and building up from there. Speak to your physician before beginning an exercise routine.
When the urge to smoke becomes overwhelming, try using a delay tactic. Try to distract your mind and your body for 10 minutes by going for a walk or calling a friend; in this time your urge will probably have passed. If you still feel the urge, repeat the process! Tell yourself you’ll wait five to ten minutes before smoking.
If you are finding it difficult to stop smoking, speak to a doctor. There are medications available to help you stop smoking or to make the process easier. Your doctor can also steer you to support groups, programs and other resources to help you.
As you work on quitting, steer clear of the things that you mentally link with smoking. Change your behavior, so you aren’t tempted, for example, go to new restaurants that do not allow smoking. Try to find something to take your mind off of the subject.
Obtain the support of your loved ones in helping you quit smoking. Also, make sure that they know not to be judgmental and are as optimistic as possible to improve your chance for success. So, let people around you know that you’re going to quit smoking and that your mood is going to change because of this. Quitting smoking can be very difficult, so it’s critical that you have the support of those who are close to you at this time.
Talk to your doctor about quitting smoking. Your doctor could have quitting resources you might not have in your possession. Additionally, your doctor might feel that you would benefit from using a prescription drug therapy method to help you quit.
Avoid triggers you associate with smoking when you are trying to quit. You may associate smoking with driving or reading. Take a look at how you can change the way you do these things, so that the associations are weaker and do not make you think of cigarettes. Get another distraction then.
When attempting to quit smoking, reward yourself for every milestone that you pass. For instance, after your first smoke-free week you could go to a movie. Once you’ve passed that month long milestone, enjoy a fancy night out at your favorite restaurant. Going forward, increase the significance of the rewards until you are completely smoke-free, and don’t even think about it anymore.
Get the help of others. Ask for support and encouragement from your friends and family, letting them know you want to quit and letting them give you help. Another excellent idea is to enlist the help of a support group. Simple discussions with other individuals who go through the things that you are going through will help you in stopping this unwanted habit.
If you wish to steer clear of strong cravings and feelings of withdrawal, see if you can come up with healthy methods for managing stress. You could exercise once a day, find new hobbies or perhaps get massages. You should do your best to fill any free time with pleasurable and fulfilling activities. You can take this time to catch up on with old friends or reading, too.
Plan rewards for yourself and follow through with them when you meet an important milestone. Keep a list of possible rewards you will give yourself when you make it a day without smoking, or a week, or a month, and so on. Put the list in your phone or on your fridge so that you are reminded of the rewards every day. Looking forward to your rewards can help you stay motivated during the moments you feel like caving.
Secondhand Smoke
Think about the likely consequences of a major decline in your health caused by smoking. How would your loved ones and friends be impacted? In America, about 20% of all deaths are from smoking-related illnesses. Don’t let yourself become a statistic.
A benefit of quitting smoking is so you can improve the health of all those near you. Secondhand smoke is dangerous, and a known cause of many types of cancer, and other serious health conditions. Quitting reduces your family’s exposure to secondhand smoke, so they will be less likely to get seriously ill if you quit. Not only will you be saving your own life, you will be keeping your loved ones healthy.
When quitting smoking, keep in mind that the process will be most difficult during the first week. In the first two days, your body will eliminate all the nicotine you have consumed. After that, you will experience mainly psychological cravings. These symptoms aren’t easy to deal with, but are nowhere near as bad as the initial nicotine withdrawal.
Some smokers find cutting back on smoking is a good start. That way, you can get off to a good start in your efforts to stop smoking. Do not smoke in the first hour when you wake up if you are planning on having a cigarette. You can also try to only smoke half of a cigarette at a time to cut back on smoking.
Swap your smoking habit for an exercise habit. Exercise causes endorphins to be released which make you feel good, and getting a little exercise will help to heal your smoking-related health problems. The distraction doesn’t hurt, either! Exercising more will also help prevent you from gaining too much weight after you quit smoking.
Talking to a counselor may help you quit. There are often emotional issues lurking behind the urge to smoke. If the emotional problem is treated, the cravings for a cigarette will lessen. Ask your doctor for help getting started with this program if you think it might work for you.
If your willpower tanks and you feel a strong urge to smoke, pick up the phone. It could be a family member, friend or colleague, anyone that you can count on to listen to how you are feeling. Your conversation will distract you from your craving, and you will be reassured that there is always someone to support you get through this.
List all of the reasons why you should stop smoking. You should staple this list to your pack of cigarettes: when you are craving a cigarette, read this list instead.
You may want to consider counseling to help stop smoking. Sometimes, we smoke for emotional reasons. By dealing with the issue, it can help any urges to smoke disappear. Ask your doctor for help getting started with this program if you think it might work for you.
Take some time to honestly consider the top reasons why you would want to stop smoking. Jot down a few of your top reasons for quitting, and carry the paper in your wallet or pocket. When you feel the urge to smoke, read the reasons you want to stop instead.
Try writing down all the reasons and positive outcomes that will happen by you quitting smoking. Every time you question your motivation, revisit the reasons on that list.
It is very difficult emotionally, to quit smoking. Cravings are real things and it can be easy to give in to them. Keep a cravings journal to help you stop smoking. Write down what was going on, especially what you were feeling when a craving hit you. Doing this helps you figure out the motivation behind your smoking.
Replace your smoking habit with a fitness habit. As your body heals from the damage you have done when you smoked, you will notice the difference! The more benefits you see from quitting, the less likely you will be to smoke again.
Stopping smoking could be the greatest challenge of your life. However, quitting smoking is not impossible. If you have patience and willpower, you can invest the time needed. The more knowledgeable you are, the better equipped you will be to attain your goal. Incorporate the advice you have found above into your life, and you too will finally be able to toss this nasty habit.
It is emotionally taxing to give up smoking. The physical cravings are very real and many people find it impossible not to give in. One way to help overcome cravings is to keep a journal. In this journal you should write down what was happening when the craving occurred, and how you effectively dealt with the craving.