subject: How to Stop Smoking Part 1: Stop Smoking Tips to Rescue You From Nicotine Addiction! [print this page] How to Stop Smoking Part 1: Stop Smoking Tips to Rescue You From Nicotine Addiction!
Do you want to quit smoking? Have you told yourself repeatedly that you need to stop smoking either for your health or your ability to pay all your bills? Stop smoking now and take action to combat every hour of every day that passes as you take back control of your life from your nicotine addiction and quit smoking for good!
I had tried to stop smoking at least 6 times in 8 years since it first started becoming apparent to me that I had a terrible addiction to tobacco. While I have now managed to stay smoke free for almost 2 years , I feel like I am still a beginner when it comes to staying quit smoking and a professional when it comes to stopping!
In the past, I had given up on the most crucial milestones on my path, giving in to the temptation to smoke and sometimes actually thinking I could have 'just one' and actually get away with it...False! Every time I took the first drag I put all the power back into cigarettes and no matter how long I had stopped smoking, I was right back at it.
I didn't just pick up where I left off, either! My addiction had gotten stronger, and every time I stopped and started smoking again I was smoking more than I had the last time I quit! It is true that addiction is a progressive illness whether or not you are active in your nicotine addiction.
Your undeniable no way around it must have first step is to accept that you have an addiction over which you have no control and make a definitive commitment to stop smoking. I know it's scary, and you battle with the idea every day; but you CAN do it! Start saying to yourself repetitively and daily until it clicks: I am going to stop smoking. Arm yourself with more information in the meantime and join a social group either online or at a local meeting hall.
If you are like me, you will need some type herbal solution to help you with the physical withdrawals present when you stop smoking. They all cost just as much or less than a carton of cigarettes so the funds to acquire a natural stop smoking treatment should be easily funded by your budget. And just think: You'll never have to worry about another dime going up in smoke!
I've tried alternate methods (gum, lozenges, patches...nothing) and just stayed addicted to them until I finally replaced them again with cigarettes. There are less side effects and more proven results with homeopathic treatments and they are the only thing that worked for me and countless others. If you have failed at previous attempts to stop smoking, try protecting yourself with a treatment that was voted the most effective by international ex-smokers.
Tell on Yourself! Tell everybody around you of your intentions to quit smoking; tell your family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors (if applicable) so that you acquire as much support as possible. Ignore negative feedback you will get from smokers who refuse to listen to their higher self, for they will defeat you if you let them. Instead, allow yourself to gravitate to those who offer you the most support, preferably non-smokers. Not to suggest that you won't be able to have friends who smoke, but to say that it's hard in the beginning to be around them and not smoke (barbershop = haircut).
Start looking at your schedule and see if you can begin to incorporate exercise into your routine at least 3-5 times a week. For break time or if you have mandatory lunch hours, see if there are colleagues of yours that are willing to stroll the block with you for some fresh air. It's a healthy practice for any living being, and it's especially beneficial as a natural stop smoking tool.
When your date arrives (whether it's tomorrow or when your quit smoking treatment arrives)...
If you still have quite a few cigarettes left, my sincere suggestion is to smoke them back to back until you just can't take any more until you're sick at your stomach and have a horrible taste in your mouth or until they're gone. By smoking yourself sick on your last day, your mind will remember how badly nicotine and tobacco made you feel, and that last memory may be just the tool you need to prevent a relapse. It occurred to me to try that trick the last and final time, to date day I chose freedom from nicotine addiction. If you have any left after you're sick of smoking (or if you'd rather not try that) flush them down the toilet and get rid of all your ashtrays, lighters, and other paraphernalia while you're at it.
In my experience (this may be different for some) it's always helped me in the beginning to stop smoking in the early evening so I could get a few hours head start on the next day. Why? Because it made my morning craving (one of the worst to combat) much less powerful. In the first 8-10 hours after you stop smoking, you are capable of sweating and excreting in other natural ways large doses of nicotine. If you are awake for the majority of those beginning hours you can take the necessary steps to cleanse your body properly.
Drinking plenty of water and urinating often will help you detox well over half of the nicotine in your body! Then, you can sleep throughout the next 5-10 hours that would be the most difficult for you to deal with awake.
Hour 1
This is the time when you need to really start pumping yourself up for the hours and days ahead of you which will be the most difficult time in your battle to stop smoking. Strong, mentally suggestive affirmations are vital to your success (I can quit smoking, I am now a non-smoker, cigarettes no longer control my life, I am taking the power away from my addiction). Make a list in the first hour of all the reasons why you want to stop smoking and keep it with you on a daily basis as a guide and rationale to which you can refer if you are at risk of relapse.
Evening Hours
You may want to switch up from your normal routine here. If you normally watch television and smoke in the evening, for example, there are a couple different things you can do. Instead of watching TV, try playing some music and getting some exercise dancing! Your body will benefit immensely from toxins escaping from your body through sweat and your blood will start pumping, delivering oxygen to your brain that will help you deal with your cravings more effectively. Take a warm bath or shower and try some chamomile tea or warm milk at night to help you sleep.
Know this: No matter what your activities are, you will most likely experience high levels of stress, anxiety, and overwhelming urges to smoke. It's normal, and you can make it through them! They don't last long, and you just have to focus on not smoking 1 minute at a time.
You will benefit greatly for having planned ahead by acquiring some healthful snacks for your urges to 'munch.' Nuts, raw vegetables, or rice cakes are best as far as your health is concerned....I know (rice cakes?) but seriously, have you tried some of the recent flavors? Give them a shot! If you don't like any of those options and you need to tend to your sweet tooth, sugar free gum or hard candy (depending on your preference) is the best way to go in order to not trade smoking in for cavities.
Over the course of the next few days and on into the weeks that follow, you may find that your most difficult cravings come at your peak smoking times: Waking up, on break at work, after a meal, leaving work, and right before bed. They all will pass, and it's at these times that you must think ahead and prepare yourself to perform actions contrary to your learned and developed behavior of smoking.
If you have a relationship with a Power greater than yourself with which you communicate on a regular basis, request that your temptation to smoke cigarettes be removed. If you have no such belief, a collective group of people is a power greater than that which you arealone, so rely on your collective support system as your main source of strength.
Now is the time to make you aware that your addiction to smoking may be much more deeply rooted than smoking itself. You have quite likely been escaping feelings of pain, sadness, or guilt by stopping their surfacing with nicotine. When you quit smoking, all these emotions will surface. You know in your heart of hearts how much emotional baggage you carry. It will be imperative that you get the appropriate amount of help you need to deal with the emotions to prevent them from ruining your life and causing you to relapse.
Addiction is most often an illness spawned by an underlying emotional void. If that is the case and that void is not tended to, you may not be offering yourself the best opportunity to stop smoking for good.
For a continuation on your detailed plan of action to quit smoking, find:How to stop smokingpart 2. You CAN quit smoking!
