May
03

Tip 34 – Find a partner

Everything is easier in life when you have a person by your side who helps you and who you can rely on in difficult times; quitting smoking is no exception. If you have decided to quit this harmful habit, try not to do it alone but enjoy multiple benefits of collective quitting.

First of all, you will get an accomplice. The person, who understands all of the emotions and feelings that you experience by quitting smoking. You are not going to feel alone in your choice anymore. You can always get support from your partner, however, be also ready to support him or her, as well.

The next very important benefit is mutual motivation. Since you are not simply quitting, but also take on some commitments with your partner, you have to strengthen your will. If you relapse and refer back to smoking, your partner will be left to deal with his problems one-on-one. However, the same could happen to you, so if you are not ready for the lead role, try to pick a partner who seems to have strong will power.

The third benefit is a mutual information exchange and experience accumulation – two heads are better than one. Share the information on the methods of quitting smoking and tools that help suppress strong urges to smoke. Experiment with them and provide your partner with the feedback and your best practices. Send each other motivating articles about hazards of smoking and the benefits of quitting.

Quitting in a tandem is quite effective. Your partner can be your relative, a close friend or a complete stranger. However, don’t forget not only to ask your partner for advice and support, but also motivate him or her with the same. Because the more you help your partner, the more you help yourself in the end.

 
Apr
01

Tip 33 – Power of imagination

Quit moking tip - ImaginationIf you think that your fantasies cannot become a reality, you are wrong. It has been proven a while ago that thoughts can cause changes in the material world. However, if everything was that easy, we all would have been living on paradise dreamed up islands. The key to success is a regular practice. Form an image that attracts you and depicture it every day for 5 minutes in the mornings and evening at the same time – for example, on your way to and from the work. Ideally, it should become a ritual for you and should not cause you any inconvenience.

So what should you imagine when trying to quit smoking? The best thing is to fancy you’ve already quitted. Try to feel the positive changes that happened to your body: it is now easy to breathe and play sports, your skin started to look better and your teeth become whiter. Make the image very detailed. Think of the situations when you most often reach for cigarettes and replace them in your image. For example, imagine how, instead of smoking after lunch, you are eating a delicious dessert or are reading a fascinating book. Instead of smoking before bed, you are telling good night to your children or are taking a bath with rose petals in it.

Another approach is to depicture how you are quitting smoking: you are throwing away your cigarettes, cleanse your life of smoking and come out a winner. Affirmation also can be used – a positive setting about your health and life style. Form it in the way that carries a certain charge of inspiration and reflects your goals – for example: “I am healthy and I feel great. Since I quit smoking, my body had been getting rid of toxins every day and I look better and better” Constantly repeat this affirmation to yourself, especially when you feel that negative thoughts have crawled inside your head. The most effective method is to accompany of the affirmation repeating with visualization – pick an appropriate image for your affirmation. What exactly you should imagine depends on individual characteristics of a person, but try to form an image that is going to inspire you, call out your deepest wishes and aspirations. So then, every time you play it in your head, you are going to move further and further away from your ex-bad habit.

 
Mar
18

Tip 32 – Farewell ceremony

Quit smoking plan - Farewell ceremonyWhy is goodbye ceremony needed? The answer is very simple – to really believe. By quietly quitting smoking, you can also quietly start smoking again. However, creating a special atmosphere around this event will allow you to imprint it into your memory and it is going to be harder to convince yourself that your quit wasn’t serious. There are different types of goodbye ceremonies out there, here are a few examples.

You can quit smoking at a certain place (better to do it abroad) and to promise yourself that you are not going to smoke, until you come back to that place. You can improvise a funeral for cigarettes by burning them and putting them underground. Also, a lot of people make a promise to their family. Of course, the best method would be to throw a party, so you can tell all of your friends and relatives that you are quitting smoking – that way, you commitment will become more significant as you cannot let so many peoples’ expectations down. It is best to take a pictures of the ritual so there is some evidence to your intention. You can print that picture and always carry it around with you to take a look at it when you really want to smoke.

 
Mar
11

Tip 31 – Respect your past efforts

This advice is quite simple, but I would like to accentuate it. If you have already reached some success in quitting smoking, in the moment of a bad nicotine craving mentally go back and remember how much effort you have already put into quitting, so you can easier keep on going without cigarettes. Remember situations in which you really wanted to smoke, but you managed to overcome it. The more examples you remember and the more vivid they are, the less you are going to want to smoke now as it will erase all of your past efforts.

 
Mar
07

Tip 30 – Compose a quit smoking plan

Quit smoking tip - Compose a quit smoking planIf you ever read literature on personal development, then you probably noticed that planning has a special place in such books. As quitting smoking is a pretty serious change in your life, it is better to begin this process with making a plan. On one hand, our life is often full of surprises and it seems like planning is a waste of time, as it is impossible to see future. However, in reality, planning as a process is directed more towards confirming your intentions and organizing information, and the plan itself is quite flexible as you can adjust it depending on the circumstances.

In the beginning of planning it is necessary to gather as much information about quitting as possible. Try to find a lot of successful quitting stories, so you can extract methods that really work from them and implement to your plan. The plan should be broken down by several sections, and all the methods you collected to be sorted out by them. Now I am going to give you an example of my classification, however, you can make your own.

The first section is how the actual refusal to smoke is going to be implemented.  Frankly speaking, there are not so many options: either you quit cold turkey right away, or you set a date, after which you quit cold turkey, and before that you are going to decrease the amount of cigarettes smoked per day. The next section is what is going to help you in quitting. You can either quit by relying on your will power only, or use some type of medications, herbs, visit a hypnotherapist or acupuncture sessions. The third section consists of the necessary changes to your lifestyle, which will help you fight with smoking more effectively. Such factors as refusing to drink coffee, alcohol, start a fitness program or getting on a diet may be a part of this section. The fourth section to be the list of the books you are going to read. By reading literature you are keeping your motivation high and changing the way you think about the smoking.

Also, your plan is going to be incomplete if you don’t set a goal (or a few goals) that you are going to reach by means of smoking cessation. For example, it would be great if after 6 months of not smoking, you will be able to not use elevators and travolators, save up money to buy a new smartphone, or simply start looking better. Remember that planning is a very powerful tool because you see and solve the problem in a single package. And do not be afraid to make corrections to the plan, adjusting it to the way you feel and including new methods and quit smoking tips you found.

 
Feb
22

Tip 29 – Manage stress

Quit smoking tip - Manage stressIt is evident, that the process of quitting smoking permanently is also a source of stress. Particularly if you have been smoking heavily for some time, quitting causes you to suffer from withdrawal symptoms, an intense craving coupled with a number of unpleasant symptoms such as nausea and headaches. If you are not vigilant, these symptoms are enough to make you revert to the old habit. To quit smoking effectively, it is important that you take proactive steps to manage the level of stress, because when the stress is high you refer to cigarettes, and it seems like you are going round in circles.

Choosing a time to quit is crucial. No point to stop puffing when you’re organizing a funeral of your loved ones. The stress from other problems is more than enough to make you feel overwhelmed as make you prone to smoke again. Pick a time when you are much calmer most of the time and everything is ok at work and home.

When you used to think problems and negative feelings can disappear with just one puff, keep a positive mindset that there is always a healthier alternatives for you to relieve stress of the day and keep the positivity in check. A leisure ‘me’ time in the bath, a walk in the park with your dog, or anything that you love to do can put things back in perspective, strengthening your resolve to quit, and distract your mind to reach for a puff.

Quitting from puffing is a huge step, so cut yourself a plenty of slack and be patient. Recognize early that stress during the process is inevitable and you need to manage it effectively, particularly when the first few weeks is the hardest. Again, keep positivity in check and don’t be critical to yourself. Take note of any occasion that can trigger stress. As soon as you feel it’s getting to eat you, act fast to counter the stress as soon as possible. Even a simple deep breathing can calm your heart and allow you to deal stress in proactive way.

Studies have shown that engaging a regular physical activity can help reduce stress as much as eighty percent while helping your body to release ‘high – like’ feeling. Choose any activity that you can make it as a regular workout routine and see your body get slimmer, healthier, and your lungs get stronger.

Whenever possible, get as much of moral support as you can from your family, friends, and support groups. When things seem to get bleak, it is essential that you can always ask them to keep you in track to quit smoking.

With these steps, you will be sure to manage your stress effectively and quit smoking for good.

 
Feb
10

Tip 28 – Avoid alcohol

Quit Smoking Tip - Avoid AlcoholWe all know that a strong desire to smoke usually comes right after alcohol drinking. This occurs as many effects of nicotine, that are perceived as pleasant, are strengthened and vise-versa – smoking potentiates the effects of alcohol. Besides, alcohol reduces will power that can lead to relapse. In this regard, it is desirable to exclude alcohol throughout the entire period, while you feel a strong craving for smoking. This is especially critical for the first days of quitting, when the desire to smoke is particularly strong.

What to do to avoid alcohol drinking? This is something like smoking cessation. Try not to visit the places where alcohol is served (nightclubs, bars). Also try to switch to activities during which the use of alcohol is problematic (sports, walking), within this time try to communicate more with people who are teetotalers. In addition, it would be not bad to introduce the temporary ban on the storage of alcoholic beverages at your home, to avoid a permanent temptation.

In general, if you managed to get rid of both bad habits and find the new healthy hobbies, then maybe it will be the beginning of your new life!

 
Feb
03

Tip 27 – Counting

Quit smoking tip - countingAt the time of an acute desire to smoke, try to close your eyes and, taking a deep breath and exhale, slowly count in reverse order from 20 to 1. This is the simplest way to divert your attention from the need for nicotine, but it works. While using this method, try to relax and visualize each number. You can start counting not only from number 20, but from any other number — try to find out what is right for you. When you get to one, it is likely you will notice that the desire to smoke has weakened considerably.

Click here to discover other tips from Craving control category

 
Jan
27

Tip 26 – A phone call

Quit smoking tip - A phone callIf you have an urgent need to do something to distract yourself from the desire to smoke, the most accessible way is a phone call. Arrange with one of your relatives or friends who want to support you in quitting smoking, that you will regularly call him, when you feel an acute craving for nicotine. A phone call is a very good distracting activity that allows you to switch from craving for smoking to communication.

If among your loved ones you can’t find people whom you can call frequently, try to find a telephone of smoking cessation helpline. They can provide you with strong support in fighting with your current craving and also advice you how to manage cravings in the future.

Click here to discover other tips from Craving control category

 
Jan
23

Tip 25 – Gradual smoking cessation

Quit smoking tip - gradual smoking cessation

If you are trying to quit smoking for the first time, perhaps the best method for you is to phase out. Count how many cigarettes you smoke a day, and start gradually reducing their number. Begin with the fact that every week you should cut back the daily norm on one cigarette. If at some point it will be difficult to remove another cigarette, you may have the same amount of cigarettes the next week, but it is important not to increase the number of cigarettes smoked per day, as this will mean that you failed. Step-by-step cessation of smoking is also ideal for people with a strong dependence on smoking. Its advantage is that the body gradually gets used to the lower doses of nicotine, and after you finally quit, craving for cigarettes will not be so strong.

However, since actually you continue to smoke, the focus on the ultimate goal (complete cessation of smoking) starts to blur, and it becomes more difficult to you to convince the body to reduce the daily norm on one cigarette. Thus, there is a chance that you will not be able to maintain the schedule and will return to the usual number of cigarettes smoked per day. In this regard, the period of quitting can take a longer time, but nevertheless the intoxication of the body will be less compared with your usual regime of smoking.