End Of The Year Resolutions: Back On The “quit Smoking” List
We all start the new year with great enthusiasm to achieve certain challenges and We carry many of these year after year on the “to do” list, such as “Quit smoking.”
It is a great goal that we normally venture into without preparation and we are often surprised by difficulties that make us decline in the attempt once again. This year do something different, plan and prepare well, know what you have to do.
There is no single piece of advice for quitting smoking that works for everyone, but if there is planning of steps and aids that you can adapt to yourself, you just have to know them. Let’s plan, create, and implement your own method of quitting smoking in 3 steps
Step 1: Motivation
Motivation is the starting engine and is generated by those reasons that each of us finds to do something, our reasons.
Quitting smoking is a great effort that comes from a very personal decision, even if everyone encourages you or even pressures you, you You have to be very clear about your reasons for quitting smoking Make a list, and of course you can rely on many reasons that are popularly offered, get to know them better, dismantle myths, and take advantage of those that can be your motivators. Those that are most frequently taken into account, and their peculiarities are:
Health
The incidence of tobacco in cancer in general and more specifically in lung cancer is more than known and studied, but It is common to hear people say that “everything causes cancer.” This is a false consolation, a mistake, because the truth is that if we did not smoke, lung cancer would be very rare, infrequent, like nose cancer, but the reality is that currently tobacco is responsible for 80% of the cases. of lung cancers.
But in addition to this serious problem, many other complications must be taken into account such as COPD, bronchitis… and the damage caused to other organs, since tobacco affects everyone negatively, heart, liver, skin, etc
With the list of health complications we could go on to write several articles and sometimes more than motivating it generates anxiety, which is often confused with the desire to smoke, what a paradox! So if health is a big motivation for you, investigate and learn more, and if it is not, do not completely ignore the importance of health because when you stop, you will surely feel relieved.
Perhaps a health-focused formula that may be more positive is think about what you gain as you maintain abstinence The positive effects on health can begin to be measured just 24 hours after quitting, blood monoxide levels drop to almost normal levels, and if you stay on, the benefits increase: 3 days later the nicotine has been eliminated from the body. body, at 12 weeks the lungs regain much of their functionality, at 9 months the respiratory complications and cough disappear, at one year the cardiac risk is reduced by half, at 5 years many cancers reduce their risk significantly (mouth, larynx, etc.) and at 10 years, lung cancer equals the risk of a non-smoker.
The money
Spending money is considerable, we cannot ignore it and it can be a motivation If, for example, we have an average consumption of one package per day for an average price of 4 euros, we have a total of €1,460 per year, have you really thought about how many things we can buy?
Throughout this time without smoking, giving yourself some of those small indulgences that you usually save on can be a good reinforcer, it will always be a much better investment than burning it.
Freedom
The lack of freedom when one has an addiction is very obvious You feel it when you can’t leave your tobacco at home, when you go down late at night to get tobacco because you’ve run out, when you enter a place or situation that limits consumption and your head automatically makes calculations of time, possibilities of go out, leave everything no matter how cold it is outside and go out.
On the contrary, the feeling of freedom when dependence is overcome is great, the feelings of pride are also great, and appreciating this freedom will often keep you firm in your purpose.
Step 2: Time and date
Let’s choose a moment and set a date. The truth is There is no ideal time to quit smoking , although there may be less ideal ones. If you are in a particularly unusual stage of your life in terms of stress or problems, it is better that you postpone this decision until you return to your routine, but do not look for not having work stress or any problems as an ideal time because this is not a vision. realistic.
The sooner you see yourself overcoming negative situations in which tobacco no longer mediates, the sooner you will gain confidence and begin to recognize yourself as another person one free from the false aid of tobacco.
Another smoker myth is to think that tobacco helps them relax when faced with problems; It’s not true at all. Nicotine is not a relaxing substance, it is a stimulant like caffeine, but the feeling of relaxation comes because the withdrawal syndrome that reminds every smoker that the next dose is necessary disappears.
So, really Freeing yourself from your addiction is what will be most effective so that in general you are calmer in the face of problematic everyday situations there will not be extra nerves (withdrawal) when the problems occur, but it requires time and patience for your body to stop feeling that withdrawal.
It is important that you choose a day, set a slightly special date (for example the last day of the year) that will determine one of the most important moments that you will remember for the rest of your life, and celebrate it. In addition, setting a day helps you prepare mentally, make up your mind, plan these needs that you are considering, and conclude with a farewell.
The most important thing about your purpose is to achieve it, and for this It is necessary that you value the need to have extra help It can be pharmacologically with nicotine substitutes that help you alleviate the physical effects, or with professional help that also gives you psychological and strategic support.
In pharmacies there are many substitutes that your pharmacist can evaluate with you, the most common are in the form of patches, gum, inhalers… that reduce the intensity of withdrawal.
This compensatory effect should not be idealized because they simply help regulate sensations. Before relying on drugs in an unrealistic way, you need to accept that overcoming an addiction inevitably entails certain negative effects. The important thing is to know and trust that no negative effects are impossible to manage.
Along with drugs, other good aids to consider are the alternatives that you can give to smoking in the form of: sport or light physical activity if you are not used to it, drinking water, eating fruit, family support, leisure activities that concentrate you a lot such as painting and cooking, etc. They are good battle companions.
Professional help can come from specialized nursing personnel or psychologists , they can expand your action and resource plan by seeing with you what your needs and difficulties are, and help you generate alternative solutions. As I said, the important thing is not how you do it but getting it, cheers up with this smoke-free 2021.
