I Want To Smoke Again: 5 Tips To Avoid Relapsing Into Tobacco
Tobacco consumption is a widespread addictive habit throughout the world, to such an extent that certain professional organizations have categorized it as a “near pandemic” event.
It is estimated that 3 in 10 people on Earth smoke, which reports an astronomical total number of 1.3 billion smokers across the planet. It does not surprise us, with these data, that 15% of deaths in the European Union are directly due to tobacco.
As indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to half of people who develop dependence on nicotine end up dying from it. Every year, more than 8 million addicted patients die from this substance, since people who smoke cigarettes increase up to 30 times the probability of developing lung cancer throughout their lives.
With all this data in hand, we can do nothing but agree with those who argue that “not smoking is the healthiest thing a person can do in their entire life.” In any case, as with any addictive substance, quitting tobacco becomes a daunting task and the failure rate when trying to quit nicotine is almost universal. If your brain tells you “I want to smoke again”, don’t despair: Here we present 5 tips to avoid relapsing into tobacco.
“I want to smoke again”: how to avoid relapse into tobacco
Nicotine is a drug and, therefore, people who smoke are addicted. The first step is to recognize the individual state and not deny reality: nicotine reports up to 5 times more dependence than cocaine, so if one seems dangerous on a social level, the other is equally or more so.
Based on this premise, we treat this topic taking into account that The addicted person is a patient with a psychological disorder, specifically a Substance Use Disorder, and relapse is one more step within this picture. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) conceives addiction as a disease in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, so it requires specific treatment.
After making this concept clear, we present 5 tips to avoid relapsing into tobacco once you have managed to quit. Do not miss it.
1. Know your condition: you will see that what happens to you is normal
As they say, knowledge is power. Sometimes, the things that happen inside our body seem like a work of magic, but nothing could be further from the truth: living beings we are chemicals, hormones and neuronal connections
When nicotine enters the human body, it passes into the blood and then the brain in a matter of seven seconds. Once it is in the brain tissue, it stimulates the neurons of the nucleus accumbens, responsible for releasing dopamine and norepinephrine, vital hormones and neurotransmitters when activating the reward system. Therefore, when consuming this drug the patient feels extremely punctual and rapid, but intense relief.
The problem is that the neurons become accustomed to the substance, so arousal and the release of dopamine requires increasingly larger amounts of the drug. This is how the typical tolerance of addicted patients occurs. With this data, we want to tell you that it is normal for your brain to “seek” this immediate reward in the form of an addictive substance, especially in extreme moments on an emotional level.
We encourage you, if you feel like you want to smoke again, to learn about the physiological and neurological mechanisms involved in substance addictions, especially nicotine. If you know your condition, you will be better able to verbalize your feelings with a professional and you will stop feeling so helpless in the face of something that, indeed, is partly beyond your control.
The scientific article Anxiety and Tobacco, published in the journal Psychosocial Intervention, cites that more stressful people are more likely to start smoking. Curiously, Many people start smoking to manage stress, but being addicted greatly increases the feeling of generalized anxiety and discomfort.
Stress, anxiety and smoking are sides of the same coin: if you want to defeat your addiction, you have to learn to manage the underlying stress that led you to it in the first place. There are multiple techniques that will help you do this, but it is best that you discuss all these issues with a professional in the field. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, deep breathing, occupational therapy and many other mechanisms can help control stress.
3. Try nicotine medication
As indicated by the Mayo Clinic, medications with low nicotine content can help patients better cope with moments of intense desire to smoke. We remember that an addiction is a disease and, as such, sometimes we have to resort to the pharmacological field as a primary approach. Don’t see it as a defeat: drugs are there to help you when you can’t achieve something on your own
4. Get physically active
As soon as you notice that your desire to use tobacco grows, put on your sweatpants and go for a run. While you exercise you cannot smoke and, in addition, you will release endorphins and other compounds in the process that will help you feel better.
Finally, it should be noted that With physical activity, breathing is unconsciously regulated, something very useful to combat involuntary hyperventilation which takes place in moments of intense anxiety. Staying active is the best ally when it comes to overcoming an adverse situation on an emotional level.
If you feel like you want to smoke again, don’t focus on what you feel in the moment, but on what events have brought you to the momentary frame. Think about what has happened in your life recently, what the main changes have been and even, if you want, write it down on a piece of paper. What do you think is what has made you feel like using tobacco again?
Ideally, you should discuss your immediate sensations with a psychologist in the future, as he or she will help you elucidate the possible stressors that have led you to associate nicotine with well-being again. If this is not possible, you can also try to perform this analysis on your own.
Final notes
If you relapse into tobacco despite having put all these tips into practice, keep the following concept as a maxim: do not feel guilty. Of all the people who try to quit smoking, 75% relapse and, on average, it takes a person three attempts to finally quit the habit. Allow yourself to fail, then As a patient, it is normal for you to make mistakes and not know how to manage your clinical condition on your own
If you relapse into your addiction, don’t think about it anymore and channel your frustration into planning a new plan of action. If you have not been able to deal with the addiction on your own, look for professionals who will support you and teach you the appropriate tools to learn to control your impulses. With perseverance and medical attention, you will undoubtedly be able to leave your addiction behind.
