Have you tried quitting smoking before but have failed in your goal? Often smokers get back to the habit after staying away from it for a considerable time. If you are trying to quit smoking, there are surely some reasons behind it and you are fully aware about why you need to quit it at the earliest. When you quit smoking, within a week you are sure to feel the improvements in your health, but as you get back to the habit again, all the restrains you have maintained earlier is gone to waste and your body again has to deal with the poisonous effects of smoking. So, if you are quitting smoking, you should quit it forever, otherwise there is no meaning of staying away from it only for a particular span.
The good thing is that, once you are able to stay away from smoking for a considerable time, you know for sure that you can quit it and live without it, which is sure to make quitting the habit forever much easier. This article will provide you with some ways that can be helpful to quit smoking. If you can put restrain on yourself, you can quit the habit on your own and that is always the best way to quit smoking forever. You can also take the help of Nicotine Replacement Therapies or the quit smoking medications, but in that case, you have to make sure that you will not get back to the habit after you stop the medication or the NRTs.
In this article, first we will discuss on how you can quit smoking on your own forever and then we will get to the treatments that can be helpful to quit smoking forever, only if you are able to restrain yourself from the urge after stopping the treatment.
Quit smoking on your own
Quitting smoking on your own can be actually effective and you should first try to quit it all by yourself before opting for any treatment or therapies. If you are a chain smoker then quitting smoking all together is sure to have some withdrawal symptoms and before you embark on the path, it is important that you are aware about the common withdrawal symptoms. However, keep in mind that you might not develop any of these withdrawal symptoms as well and the extent of the symptom can also vary extensively from person to person.
Common smoking withdrawal symptoms
- Anxiety
- Restlessness
- Inability to concentrate or focus
- Insomnia
- Weakness or lethargy
- Headache
- Nausea
- Stomach disorders
In most of the cases, these withdrawal symptoms can be dealt with proper diet, exercise and a regular and healthy lifestyle.
Here is a step by step guideline on how to quit smoking on your own,
Write down why you need to quit smoking
Writing down why you actually want to quit the habit of smoking will help you to stick to your plan. It will enable you to easily refer to the reasons that have made you to start with the quitting process at the first place and will help to continue with the plan. Write down details about how it is harming your health and how you are becoming dependent on it. Also do not forget to include details about how much money you are wasting regularly on buying cigarettes and how you are also affecting the health of your family through passive smoking.
Come up with a quit smoking plan
Once you have written down about the reasons to quit smoking, it is time to come up with a plan to quit smoking. According to many chainsmokers, who have quitted it on their own, reducing the amount of cigarette might be least effective to quit the habit completely, instead quitting it all together and sticking to your plan even if the urge is high, is the best way to let the habit go off and to come clean of smoking. So, for chain smokers, it is best to quit the smoking all together. The restricted smokers can start with reducing the number of cigarettes they take in a day and then quit it completely within a short span of time.
Announce your resolution
Announcing your plan to quit smoking is vital, because it can make your will stronger and will also let other people provide you with any help that you might need. Letting your family know about your pledge, will make it easier for you to stick to the plan and informing your friends about it will make sure that they do not call you up to have a smoke with them.
Get rid of all your collection
Having cigarettes right at an arm’s distance can be one of the primary causes triggering your urge. So, when you are trying to quit smoking, first of all, get rid of all stock of cigarettes you have at home or at your workplace. Make it difficult in every way possible to get a smoke, so that you can always have enough time in hand to think before having a smoke and you cannot get it right at the moment you feel like having one. Discarding your matchstick collection and your cigarette lighters all together can also be helpful to make a smoke more difficult for you to get.
Avoid triggers
When you are trying to quit smoking, avoiding the triggers can be more helpful than you might think. In many cases, having a drink can work as one of the triggers to boost the urge of smoking. For many, having caffeine or even a dark chocolate can work as a trigger. Hence, when you are trying to quit it, stay away from all of these.
Avoid the company of people who smoke
Leaving your friends only because they smoke, is not certainly what we are suggesting you here, but when you are trying to quit smoking, hanging around with people who smoke can make things even more difficult for you as that is sure to trigger the urge in you. Also avoid places where people smoke; smoking zones, pubs that are open for smokers are not certainly the best place for you to be when you are trying to quit smoking.
Give time for exercise
Physical exercise can be really helpful to fight the withdrawal symptoms of smoking. Exercising releases the feel good hormone in the body, which helps in fighting nicotine craving and the other withdrawal symptoms of nicotine, like anxiety, restlessness and headache. Physical exercising will also help your body to heal the damages caused by smoking more rapidly. It will also work as an engagement that will help you stay away from smoke.
Practice meditation
When you are trying to quit smoking on your own, practicing meditation can be highly helpful. Meditation makes you more aware about your body and yourself and helps you to have more control over your urges. Moreover, meditation helps in relieving anxiety and stress which can be most helpful to fight the withdrawal symptoms of smoking. So, when you are trying to quit smoking forever on your own, meditation can be most helpful for you.
Therapies and medications for quitting smoking
There are also therapies and medications that can be helpful to quit smoking. However, you have to keep in mind that these therapies or medications cannot be continued for long, and slowly you have to be able to live without any of it. If you get back to smoking, after the therapy or the medication has stopped then the whole treatment will bear no sense.
Nicotine replacement therapy
Nicotine replacement therapy involves providing the body a regulated dose of nicotine regularly from time to time without the other harmful chemicals of cigarette. As in this case, your body gets a regular dose of nicotine hence it is much easier to control the cravings and also to deal with the withdrawal symptoms. When you are on NRT it is important to reduce the amount of the nicotine you are taking through NRT considerably within a short span of time.
The most common NRTs in use include, nicotine patches, nicotine gums, nicotine lozenge, nicotine inhalers and nicotine sprays. It is best to consult your doctor to find the best type of NRT for you.
Medications
Currently there are two medications that are used for quitting smoking. These pills do not contain any nicotine and works by blocking the receptors of the brain that creates the pleasantness as you smoke. In this case, as the reward of smoking disappears slowly, hence automatically, you start to become less enthusiastic about a smoke. These pills also help in fighting with the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine. Bupropion SR pills and the Varenicline Pills are highly in use today. Both of these medications are prescription medications and you should be well aware about the side effects of these medicines and their right dosage before using them.
Hypnosis therapy for quitting smoking
Many believes that hypnosis therapy can be effective to fight the urge of smoking and to quit it forever through you own awareness. The hypnosis therapy works on the subconscious mind and helps one to fight the urge of smoking by invigorating the ingrained idea of well being in one’s mind. However, the effectiveness of this therapy is still highly debated.
