How to Quit Smoking Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health and everyone knows how hard it is to quit smoking. If you have ever tried to quit smoking, you know first hand how difficult it can be. I like to write on topics where I have first hand experience and this is one of them. I began smoking when I was about 19 or 20 and I smoked full time for more than 4 years. Long enough that I had an inescapable monkey on my back day and night. Make no mistake – smoking is both a habit and an addiction. And understanding the distinction between addiction and habit was important in helping me quit smoking. I smoked between 1 and 2 packs every day. This was back in the days when smoking was allowed in the workplace and many of my cigarettes just burned up in the ashtray. I guess you would say that I actually smoked about 1 pack per day. I have successfully quit smoking for more than 20 years and I would like to share my insights and some techniques that helped me stop. If you search the web for articles on how to quit smoking, you will find lots of advice. But, I have a few practical ideas that I’ve never read anywhere else that just might get you through the difficult ordeal of quitting. Success is possible! Sick Of Smoking I never tried to quit smoking for the first couple of years. I actually enjoyed it for a few years but then I saw it for what it was – a disgusting habit. My lungs hurt and I had a constant headache. I was sick of smoking. I made a few feeble attempts to quit smoking but my first attempts were miserable failures. But after 4 years, I actually got a lucky break – I came down with pneumonia! Now, you may not call getting that sick a good thing and it was rough (and painful). But, for several weeks, I could not smoke. Even if I wanted to - and I did want to. I saw my opportunity to quit smoking and I was going to take it. I actually tried to smoke a cigarette after I has been sick for about a week. I knew it was a bad idea but addicts don’t always make good choices. I took about 2 puffs on that cigarette and I began coughing. I coughed so hard I thought I was going to die. And, it was not just the cough and the pain in my chest. With every cough, it felt like I was being stabbed in the back with a knife between the shoulder blades. If you’ve ever had pneumonia, you know what I’m talking about. After 5 minutes of coughing, there was not a chance in the world that I was going to try that again. It was much too painful! That one very bad experience helped me through the rest of the healing process without yielding to the temptation to light up. After several weeks of not being able to smoke, I knew that this was my chance to quit and I seized the opportunity. Through sheer willpower (and a little help from pneumonia) I was successful in quitting cigarettes. I’m actually proud of my success in quitting but I’m sure that you are not yet feeling encouraged about how you might kick the habit. The good news is that the story is not over and I do have some great recommendations that will help you to get that monkey off your back once and for ever. What I Learned About Habits The first thing I learned was about the habit (versus the addiction). At first, I did not know what to do with my hands. They were always busy with a cigarette before. What do I do to keep my hands busy? It was agitating to not be able to always have something in my hands. This was part of the habit of smoking and had nothing to do with nicotine addiction. I honestly don’t remember everything I did to help with the “empty hand syndrome” but try squeezing a tennis ball or carrying a pen. I know a pen helped me. All I remember is that it was a problem and it takes a few weeks to get past it. And, that’s the first thing I learned when I quit smoking – it takes a few weeks to get through the initial stages of the behavior modification phase. But only a few weeks. It does not last forever. Once you get past the “kicking the habit” phase, it gets a lot easier because then you are only dealing with the addiction. When you quit smoking, you will want something in your mouth all the time. This is another habit that you will have to break. Again, a pen is a great distraction. You might develop a bad habit of chewing your pen. But, ballpoint pens are a much easier habit to break than cigarettes and it’s a good trade off. The good news is that habits can be modified in relatively short order. Remind yourself of this frequently when you first quit smoking. The first few weeks are the hardest because you are fighting both the habit and the addiction. Know that the habit will pass before long. What I Learned About Addictions Any smoker who has tried to quit smoking knows the feeling of really wanting a smoke. But, to my tremendous surprise, I learned that those cravings take a long, long time to go away. And, it may never go away completely. My experience was that I had to fight those cravings dozens of times every day for about a month or two. Then I noticed a substantial reduction. But, I still had daily cravings for more than a year. That’s an addiction! I know that you don’t want to hear the bad news about how long it takes to kick an addiction, but I want you to be armed with the truth. The good news is that after about a year it just becomes an occasional craving that is much easier to ignore. That’s a long uphill battle. But now you can be mentally prepared for what’s ahead. If you thought it would just take 6 to 8 weeks to quit smoking, you would be very discouraged in week 15 or week 30 when you were still struggling. That could trigger your failure. Mentally prepare for a long battle and you can be successful. There are many products on the market today that were not available when I quit smoking. There are medications that help with the cravings, nicotine patches, lozenges, nasal sprays, and even some new pharmaceuticals that prevent the brain from experiencing the nicotine rush. I’m sure that they are helpful and you would be well advised to use any tool available to help you through the struggle. However, the point is that if you use a nicotine patch for 4 weeks and think you will be free from the nicotine demon, you are going to be disappointed. 30 days of taking a prescription will not get you free. This addiction lasts much longer than that and you need to be aware of the long term battle. My opinion of patches is that they just delay the beginning of the long term struggle. But, if you need the help getting started and getting through the “kick the habit” stage, that’s OK. Do whatever you need to do to get to the next step of dealing with the long-term addiction. Quit smoking at all cost and use the tools that are available. Get A Checkup From The Neck Up I know that I’ve painted a grim picture but do not be discouraged. Knowing what to expect equips you for success. Many people have kicked this habit and you can too. There are several things that I’ve used to help get me through when the cravings are hard to resist. Try these for yourself and I think you will find them helpful. If you’ve never heard of Zig Zigler, he is a great motivational speaker and writer. He talks about getting a “check-up from the neck up.” That’s great advice. I think the very best thing you can do is to recognize that a large part of the battle is in your head. How do you see yourself? Are you a smoker who is attempting to quit smoking or are you a non-smoker who battles with occasional cravings? It’s an important distinction. Make up your mind that you are a non-smoker and that you are not going to become a smoker again. Without going into the psychological mumbo- jumbo, you are what you think you are. Decide that you are a non-smoker and convince yourself that this is true and the battle will get easier. Get that check-up from the neck up. Get your head right! Also, you need to be convinced of what a nasty habit it is to suck on those cancer sticks. Have you ever smelled an ashtray? Remember that smell. Is there anything more nauseating? This really is one of the most disgusting activities in the whole world. Remember that fact and use it to your advantage. This is more of getting your head right. Another mental tip is to remember that the cravings will only last a few moments. When the urge strikes, it can feel overwhelming and almost impossible to resist. But, tell yourself that it will be gone in a few moments and that reinforces your resolve. Purposely find something to occupy your thoughts and get your attention off the urge. The craving will be gone in no time. Now, it might come back again in 5 minutes – but you just do it all over again and eventually it will be 10 minutes – then 30 minutes – then 60 minutes, etc. When you quit smoking, you are dealing with an addiction. But, it's a mental struggle too. Best Friends Let’s get on with some more practical advise. Not that getting your head right is not important – it is critical. But, here are some things you can actually do to get you through the ordeal. First of all, you can make a Bic pen your best friend. Not only does it keep your hands busy during the fretful first few weeks, it can keep your mouth busy too. Try smoking a Bic pen - just don’t light up. It helps with more than the hands, mouth, and the physical motions. Inhaling is a big part of the habit. Drawing on a pen gives a similar sensation. Plus, everyone chews on a pen, right? It’s socially inconspicuous and you can do it almost anywhere. Even if someone thinks you have an oral fixation, don’t worry about it. You’re doing something good for yourself and who cares what someone else thinks about it. Remember, quit smoking at all cost. Use every tool available. One of the best techniques that I’ve learned is a combination of a mental exercise combined with a physical trick. When I get an urge for a cigarette, I first get a strong mental recollection of how disgusting an ashtray smells and how nasty the habit is. I then remind myself how hard it is to quit and I don’t want to go through that again. Then, I pucker my lips to create some resistance as I draw in a nice deep breath while reminding myself how nice it is to have clear lungs and being able to take a nice deep breath without coughing. The deep breath is similar to the Bic pen trick and actually satisfies the urge to inhale. It takes longer to describe this technique than to actually do it. But just one or two deep inhalations usually satisfies the urge. The next area to address is the social aspect when you quit smoking. Get some support. There are support groups that meet in person and also on- line groups that are available 24/7. These are great and can only help when you quit smoking. But, even better is to find some other friends or family to support you by also kicking their own habit at the same time. In all of our social networks, people fall into different categories. You have work friends, old school friends, neighbors, etc. Then, there are the subsets of these groups - the people that you smoke with. You need their support. It would be a great idea to enlist the help of a friend (or two or three) that will commit to quit smoking at the same time. You will not be able to hang around the smoking area any more (too much temptation) but you might be able to have the support of some friend(s) who are facing the same thing together with you. A good way to kick off your new resolution might be to have them read this article and then join you in the battle. Another thing that really helped me when I quit smoking was exercise. When I quit smoking I had a good friend who was always willing to help me when a craving would strike. We would grab a Frisbee and head outside. It was a great distraction but I feel that the exercise also helped. Using those lungs for something else was helpful. Find something that works for you. Maybe some isometric exercise or some breathing exercises. Slip-up’s Are Forgivable When you quit smoking, it's not a short term endeavor. You are attempting a life-long change that will reward you with years of benefits. So, what happens if you fall off the wagon? To put it very simply – you start over again! Now, I’m not saying that it will be as hard as starting from scratch. If you quit smoking for several months and then, in a moment of weakness, you have one cigarette – it’s not like you are starting from square one. What it will likely do is knock you back in your progress. For example, if you have gotten to the point where you are only having a craving about once per day – you will have hourly cravings for a day or two. But, if you are diligent to stop after that one mistake, then you will quickly return to your once a day cravings and get better from there. Don’t forget – it’s an addiction. You can’t play around with it. But you can quickly recover from a one time mistake. Don’t punish yourself too much. Slip-up’s are forgivable. But don’t forget that you are playing with deadly fire. Literally – on the end of a stick! Resolve yourself to start from square one and renew your commitment to quit smoking. Talk to your support group but don’t drag them into temptation. If you are 3 packs down the road to smoking again – you’ve already got the habit back. Don’t get your friends off track. Let them help you get going again. Throw away that pack & don’t wait until it’s gone to quit. Telling yourself that you will quit smoking again when this pack is gone - that’s a never ending lie that we addicts like to tell ourselves. Make up your mind and get rid of it now. Conclusion How do I know so much about slip-up’s? Because, even though I did quit completely for a 10 year stretch, I’ve relapsed several times. Sometime for only a day and sometimes for a month or two. What I’ve learned is that the longer the relapse, the harder it is to quit smoking again. It’s not hard to quit again after one or two cigarettes. But, it’s very hard after a few weeks. Please do not tell yourself that you can have just one and then quit. Don’t ever forget that it’s an addiction. And once addicted, it’s easy to fall back into it again. Be smart. Be diligent. Be smoke free. And, enjoy a deep breath. Now, doesn’t that feel good! Best wishes for a long and healthy life. PS – I did not include anything in this article about hypnosis to stop smoking. I don’t know if it works or not. Can directly accessing the subconscious mind stop an addiction? Maybe...maybe not. I suspect that it can help with the habit better than with the more difficult physical addiction. Personally, I’m not letting anyone mess with my subconscious. Also, electronic cigarettes and Nicoderm had not been invented when I quit smoking. So, I’ve never tried them but they sound like great products. If an electronic cigarette was available back then, I would have definitely given it a try. Related Articles Inflammation and Chronic Disease Unseen inflammation is causing an epidemic of multiple diseases. Find the cause and the cure. Serrapeptase for Heart Health Heart disease is the #1 killer. Learn a simple way to improve your heart health while improving your overall health too. A Bad Rap for Omega 6 I keep seeing conflicting reports. 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