Quitting Tobacco: The 5 Most Common Causes Of Relapse
Around 30% of the world’s population smokes, according to data from the World Health Organization. AND a large part of this smoking population is actively trying to get rid of their nicotine addiction and quit smoking.
Now, we are talking about an addiction, so sheer willpower is not always enough, in most cases.
It requires self-knowledge, understanding the person’s relationship with tobacco, the origins of their addiction and their history of consumption, working on coping strategies and changing habits… That is why There are many possible causes that lead to relapse in tobacco addiction
The truth is that Most smokers who try to quit smoking with homemade “tricks” or just by “using willpower” end up relapsing in tobacco sooner or later.
I mean they quit smoking for a few days or even a few weeks without much effort, but then “something happens” and they end up smoking again.
And what are these potential situations of tobacco relapse? I tell you the most common ones in this article.
1. The motivations for quitting tobacco are unclear
Many people consider quitting smoking due to family pressure, from their partner, due to the annoyance of having to leave places to smoke in the cold…
The problem sometimes is that the person considers quitting smoking due to environmental pressure, without considering why or what their personal reasons are for wanting to quit tobacco. After going a few hours or a few days without smoking, when the “monkey” comes (the annoying sensations of nicotine withdrawal syndrome), it is much easier to relapse if the person has not endorsed their reasons for banishing tobacco from their life.
Many times, The first step to victory against tobacco is to identify with a sufficiently powerful reason to not want more smoke in life. It is each person’s job to find that motivation (and a specialized professional can help you with that).
2. Continue associating tobacco with positive experiences
After years of exposure to movies and series that praise tobacco consumption, in addition to seeing family members or friends smoking, smokers develop a series of positive associations with tobacco.
I mean associating moments of consumption with pleasant sensations, with celebration, with relaxation, with sexual appeal, etc. They are very subtle associations, and they often require a good process of self-knowledge in therapy to realize what is happening
When a person has not become aware of these associations, it is easier for them to let themselves go “on autopilot” and continue to be a victim of their habits.
3. Living surrounded by smokers and not having learned to manage it
Another of the biggest difficulties that people in therapy report is how to handle themselves in social situations where there are other people smoking.
Breaks in the office, moments between classes, having a drink with someone on a terrace let those cousins who always have a cigarette in their hand come home… Tobacco addiction usually has a strong social component, which is difficult to get rid of if you don’t work correctly.
If I’m quitting smoking, will I stop going to social events where I know there are smokers? How can I refuse cigarettes when other people offer me? What do I do with the urge to smoke if I have been around several smokers and tobacco is very accessible?
These are all questions to raise in individual therapy or support groups and doing so will equip the person with tools to avoid falling into nicotine addiction again.
4. Not having changed lifestyle
Solutions to a psychological problem as complex as an addiction require studying the lifestyle and habits and rhythms of the person, because people are complex systems. Getting out of tobacco addiction requires learn more about the interactions between the different elements of a person’s life
For example, many smokers stop doing sports because of smoking. Curiously, resuming sports practice gradually after quitting tobacco usually helps people to resist the urge to smoke, since smoking and playing sports are incompatible activities.
In the same way, each case is unique and each person is a world. Some smokers may have tobacco consumption closely associated with drinking alcohol or social situations, and others may be closely associated with work stress and attempts to relax.
That’s why, Simply “quitting smoking by force of will” overnight does not usually work completely, because the person will have to introduce other changes in their daily life so that tobacco does not have space again.
5. Lack of strategies to calm the craving for smoking
Another very common mistake among people trying to quit smoking is not considering what they are going to do when they feel the “monkey” or symptoms of nicotine withdrawal syndrome
As with any other addictive substance, the body reacts with a series of unpleasant sensations when it lacks a certain substance. In the same way that a person with an addiction to alcohol or cocaine can suffer very unpleasant symptoms when they have not taken their usual dose for several hours or days, many smokers are victims of nicotine withdrawal syndrome.
Studying the case, a specialized professional can help you learn coping strategies so as not to end up smoking again a few days or weeks after buying the last pack of tobacco.
Professional help to quit tobacco
I am a psychologist specialized in addictions, with a lot of experience working with people who want to overcome their addiction to nicotine and quit smoking. If this is your case, you have my contact information on this page.
