How To Stop Smoking? 10 Psychological Tips To Achieve Success
Do you want the best method to quit smoking? Keys to quit smoking with the help of psychology. Discover how to avoid the monkey effect and the benefits of leaving this habit behind.
When give up smoking or you consider leaving the days of vice behind, the first thing that comes to mind are many questions. Among them, we can find some that are very common: Are there tricks to quit smoking? Will you need help to quit smoking? What happens when you stop smoking?
Although there is no foolproof method to quit smoking, Nor can you quit smoking cold turkey (or at least it is not usual), the first step is to ask yourself those same questions. If this time you are determined to quit smoking, we will tell you all the methods, benefits, tricks and what this process will be like to prepare you before taking action.
It is an addictive drug: As we all know, it is a drug, and it generates addiction. Although seeing a person smoking is very common, the reality is that we are dealing with one of the most addictive drugs today. When you stop smoking , you constantly feel the need to go back to natural or artificial tobacco. Furthermore, if you ask yourself how many days the tobacco addiction lasts, the reality is that this question depends a lot on the amount of nicotine you incorporated into your body. Normally, on a psychological level we incorporate a new habit when we do it for more than 21 days in a row. But in the case of tobacco, we add the fact that nicotine disappears from our body after a long time. That’s why it’s so difficult to take the first steps.
Be aware of the problem: For give up smoking The first thing is to be aware that there is a problem and society makes this difficult, since approximately 27% of the Spanish population declare themselves smokers. This percentage is so high that it causes the habit to normalize and thus makes it more difficult to recognize that you have a problem. Therefore, it is more difficult to want to quit smoking under these conditions.
Having less frequency in your consumption is not better: Another aspect that makes it more difficult quit smoking It is when consumption is not very exaggerated. People who say they can quit whenever they want but never try even knowing that it is harmful to their health or those who express that they are social smokers but every time they go out they need to smoke, are also addicts. Addiction is demonstrated by the need to smoke (not being able to avoid it) and the self-deception “I don’t quit because I like it” or “I have to die from something.”
Age of onset: In addition to the above, it is important to take into account the age of onset of tobacco consumption Normally you start smoking in adolescence and that makes it more difficult to quit. At that age one seeks to be special, stand out or show a characteristic trait (such as being rebellious). Sometimes the need to belong to a group or social pressure can cause smoking to begin. It is not until adulthood when one begins to “settle down”, when one stops looking for immediate benefit and becomes more responsible for one’s health. In adolescence we live as if there were no risks or as if we were immortal and that makes the feeling of danger very low. Fear is reduced and therefore, it is difficult to see that you have a problem. By the time one wants to remedy it, one is already deeply involved in the addiction. That is why the process of quitting smoking when you start at such a young age is much more complicated.
Use it to relax or avoid stress: On the other hand, there are people who want give up smoking but he says he can’t quit because “tobacco relaxes him.” But in this very common expression there is a small paradox: tobacco is exciting, it is impossible for it to relax you. What relaxes is probably the fact of stopping doing something, smoking (with which deep breaths are taken) and associating tobacco with relaxing, in addition to the fact that when smoking relieves craving (commonly called “monkey”). But every time someone lights a cigarette to relax, what they are doing is making themselves more nervous. Therefore, if that is your reason, learn to meditate or do relaxation exercises, which will probably achieve the same effect to deal with the anxiety and stress of your daily life.
Think that the consequences are long term: Another aspect that makes it more difficult give up smoking It is thinking that only long-term consequences exist. It is known that smoking kills, but it does so little by little and in an unconscious way. If you were told that by smoking just one cigarette you could die, you would probably think twice about whether to smoke the cigarette or not. But since that does not happen, and the negative consequences are seen after months or years of consumption, it is more difficult to be aware. Many people manage to quit smoking after a scare such as a heart attack or cancer, but they do not consider it until then.
If you feel identified with all of these approaches, it may be that to quit smoking you need extra help from a psychologist specialized in these processes. Even so, there are some tricks to quit smoking that can help you start taking the first steps to improve your health.
Guidelines to take the first step to quit smoking
The first thing to keep in mind is that it is rarely manage to quit smoking at first. Many times it takes several attempts and times of success and failure. There are people who manage to quit for years and come back after a seemingly innocent puff. So don’t let your guard down.
Find the right moment: It is essential to be totally convinced of wanting quit smoking and take the step If you hesitate, you will go back to smoking. The desire to quit must be greater than that of smoking and you should do it when you can. That is, it is not a good time to quit smoking when you are in a low mood or when you are going through a bad emotional moment. It is important to feel strong to face change and resist the monkey of tobacco.
Find your way: Some people quit smoking cold turkey and there are those who do it progressively. There is no single way to quit. You just have to get to know yourself and see what suits you best. Of course, to avoid thinking too much about the urge to smoke, it is advisable to carry out activities that involve being distracted and focused on something. If you stop progressively, you gradually give up the cigarettes that are easier to eliminate and gradually leave only the “essential” ones. When you do not feel anxiety, it is time to eliminate some of those essentials and not leave the next one until the anxiety about smoking is zero or almost zero.
Avoid replacing one addiction with another: Many people who stop smoking They become addicted to other things like licorice, lollipops, etc. This causes discomfort, since you usually gain a little weight and therefore, demotivation occurs. When you feel like smoking, do an activity that is incompatible with that. For example: do sports or take a shower.
Set small goals: Avoid thinking “never again” and think “not now.” This makes craving much better tolerated. When you have desire to smoke think: “not now, we’ll see later” or “not today, maybe tomorrow.” Try to hold on as long as you can, but with small goals it is much easier to achieve success.
Ask for therapeutic help: Psychotherapy is effective in smoking treatment There are many therapies that can be effective (hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral therapy, constructivist therapy, etc.) but for them to work it is essential that you get involved and are aware of the change in addition to the need to find the right moment to make the change.
“Take care of your body, it is the only place you have to live”
Jim Rohn
How does quitting smoking improve health?
leave to smoke is difficult Anxiety due to addiction and withdrawal syndrome make smokers think long and hard before starting the process of quitting tobacco. Added to this is the fact that most people think that, after many years, it is impossible for their body to recover from this bad habit. What’s more, almost none of them know that the benefits are noticeable from the first moment.
But you should know that almost from the first moment, smokers’ health improves in a surprising way and they are not exposed to the dangers that come with smoking. Addiction to tobacco A more than enough reason to go through the long road that awaits us to overcome smoking.
First day without tobacco
As we have already mentioned, from the first moment our body begins to notice the benefits When we have not smoked for a few hours, blood pressure and heart rate drop, which has an impact on blood circulation. The clearest consequence is that the chances of having a cardiovascular problem, such as a heart attack, decrease. But the most obvious thing is that thanks to the absence of carbon monoxide from cigarettes, the oxygen in our lungs increases, which means we breathe better. Therefore, from the first day we feel more comfortable when we climb stairs, walk…
First week without tobacco
As the week progresses our body eliminates not only carbon monoxide from the lungs, but also nicotine from our body. It is then that we begin to feel the negative effects that any person who abandons an addiction goes through: irritability, withdrawal syndrome, nervous anxiety, fatigue… These are completely normal symptoms that we will only suffer for a while. If we are not able to overcome this moment alone, we can ask a specialized professional for help. in smoking to offer us tools that will make this phase more bearable. From a health point of view, in addition to experiencing a significant improvement when it comes to breathing and performing physical activities that previously cost us effort, we will begin to notice that some senses, such as smell and taste, awaken again, for example. what we will enjoy better from the dishes we eat.
As the weeks go by, we will continue to feel the benefits: we will breathe better, we will notice that we catch colds less and, above all, that we do not have the annoying cough that accompanied us every time we had a cold.
First semester
Although it may not seem like it, we have overcome the worst. After the first month abstinence syndrome decreases and the negative effects that accompany any detoxification process decrease: we are less irritable, we notice less anxiety and our state of nervousness is also less. But if there is one obvious aspect, it is that our lung capacity significantly improves. Oxygen levels increase, so we breathe better, we hardly cough and we can carry out physical activities without suffocating. It is a good time to resume exercise or start doing something, such as walking, swimming or cycling.
First year
If we have not smoked for more than twelve months we will have verified that we no longer get as sick. The reason is that our defenses increase and the lungs recover the state they had before starting smoking, that is, they heal. Of course, circulation also improves significantly and the chances of suffering a heart attack have decreased significantly.
But these benefits don’t stop there. As the years progress, this risk will continue to decrease until it is almost equal to those
