Useful Tools To Help You Stop Smoking

Useful Tools To Help You Stop Smoking

Unless you are truly prepared to stop smoking, you will find it almost impossible to succeed. You must be knowledgeable about the process and what it entails. Like with anything, the more knowledge you have, the better the process. The tips in this article will assist anyone who really wants to stop smoking. Find the method of quitting that will be easiest for you. You should never attempt to just quit cold turkey. If you try it this way, there's a 95% chance that you will fail. If you do fail, talk to your doctor about using a nicotine patch or prescription withdrawal treatment. This will bring you along during early withdrawal and will help you quit more easily. Many ex-smokers have found that hypnosis works when quitting smoking. Seeing a licensed hypnotist can be effective and has proven successful for many people. When you visit a hypnotist's clinic, you will be put into a trance state and positive affirmations about quitting will be embedded into your mind. The effect is that smoking does not seem so powerful and appealing once you awake from the trance. This makes quitting for good much easier. When you are close to giving in to your cravings for a cigarette, think of a delay before you are allowed to indulge. Tell yourself that you have to take a walk before you can smoke, or even just finish a large glass of water before you smoke. Sometimes, these delaying tactics provide enough time for the craving to pass before you ever light up. Even if you eventually relent, this method can help you to cut back considerably. When you quit smoking, it is a day-to-day event. Kicking your habit for good is not an overnight thing; it is a long-term process. Take things step by step to maximize your chance for success. Take each day as it comes and concentrate on not smoking that day, which will help establish a habit that will help you over the long term. Remember that quitting smoking is a day-by-day effort. Instead of focusing on quitting forever, just focus on quitting for today. A short timeline can help you stay on track instead of worrying about what is coming next. After you have adjusted to the idea of not smoking and feel more confident, you can then look at a longer commitment. Take things day by day. Just work on avoiding tobacco today, forever will take care of itself. With a shorter time frame, it will be an easier mental and physical task. Once you are comfortable with the level of commitment you have towards quitting, you can set long term goals. As you work on quitting, steer clear of the things that you mentally link with smoking. For instance, if your triggers include smoking while driving, the end of a meal or driving, try to find alternatives to the cigarette to replace them. Get involved with something else during those times, to keep your mind off of your desire to smoke. If you want to kick your smoking habit, enlist the support of your friends and loved ones. You need to let them know that you want their support, not their judgment. You will also want to let them know you will most likely be in a lousy mood initially, and you may not exactly think clearly at that time. Quitting smoking is a real challenge, and you're going to need support to succeed. Don't do it by yourself. Let your family and friends know that you have decided to quit, so that they can support you through the process. Also, try to reach out to a support group for advice and counseling. Sometimes by talking to others who are dealing with the same withdrawals and issues that you are will help you be able to lean on each other and finally stop the habit. In your process to quit smoking, grant yourself rewards along the way to enjoy at the milestones towards your goal. You can go to a movie or buy something that you wanted, after not smoking for a period of time. If you can quit for a month, treat yourself to dinner at the most delicious restaurant in town. After that, lengthen the time between rewards until you no longer want to smoke. To avoid cracking under the pressure of cravings and nicotine withdrawal, find healthy ways to deal with the resulting stress. You may find that some effective alternatives include exercising, keeping a journal, or treating yourself to a spa visit whenever your cravings are at their peak. Give yourself enjoyable distractions to keep you away from smoking, such as playing with your pets or kids. Try to plan out how you will cope with the stressful times. A lot of people that smoke are used to smoking a cigarette when they get stressed. If you possess a backup plan of options available, you will be less likely to light up. Having multiple plans in place is ideal, in case one plan does not work out. Reduce smoking. This is the first step to reaching your goal of a smoke-free life. Upon waking, wait one hour before having your first daily smoke. Another method to use is to smoke only half of your cigarette to help you cut back gradually. To increase your motivation to stop smoking, keep in mind that your loved ones would be negatively impacted if you became sick as a result of smoking. Statistics prove that a high number of deaths in America can be attributed to smoking every year. No one wants to be known as just a statistic. If you want to stop smoking, you need to be okay with quitting more than once. Most people are not going to be successful at quitting on their first try. Quit smoking, and just plan on going as long as you can without starting back up. If you do fail and have a cigarette, quickly set a new quit date. Just keep at it and try to extend the amount of time you quit, while you learn what triggered you into smoking again each time. Eventually, you'll get so good at it that you'll quit one time and just not go back. Make "NOPE, not one puff, ever" your mantra. At times, you may think that one little cigarette will be fine, but just a single puff can make all of your progress go to waste. Understand that even one cigarette can ruin your quitting plans. The best advice you can get for quitting smoking is just to stop. Stopping is the only way to start the quitting process. Quit cold turkey--stop altogether and never pick up a cigarette again. This method may appear somewhat harsh. It is really the best way, over the long term. Eliminate items, smells or behaviors that trigger memories of smoking. So get rid of any lighters or ashtrays from your home. Clean everything in your home and wash your clothes to get rid off all hints of the smoke smell. Doing this can ensure you aren't reminded or triggered to smoke. For anyone that tries to quit smoking, the first week is always the most difficult. The initial 48 hours is when the body tries to get rid of all the nicotine it has held onto. After this point, nicotine cravings will be primarily psychological in nature. Although still difficult to endure, psychological cravings are much less traumatic, when compared to physical cravings. As a smoker, smoking was probably your primary coping mechanism during periods of high stress. If this is true, you must find a suitable replacement, so that you can still relax when you feel stressed. Yoga or meditation are known to relieve stress and are so much healthier than smoking. If you have already attempted to quit and have not been successful, do not feel discouraged. Quitting smoking is hard, and even a well-prepared effort may fail on occasion. Figure out what went awry and learn from the episode prior to beginning your efforts all over again. Next time you face a similar situation, you may be ready to succeed. Instead of smoking a cigarette, get some exercise. Exercising releases endorphins, which can improve your mood and help you focus on something else than your cravings. Also, when you exercise, your body's metabolism is offset which can help keep your weight in check because when you stop smoking, your body reacts by decreasing things like your metabolism. Don't surround yourself with reminders of your smoking days, if you're trying to quit. Throw out or give away all your lighters and ashtrays. Clean your carpets, drapes and furniture as well as your linens, towels and clothing to remove the stench of smoke. By doing this, you will eliminate the smell that can give you cravings. You will be able to quit smoking if you educate yourself. As soon as you learn what works and what doesn't work, it will be easy to stop smoking. Take the advice that has been provided to you here, and you'll be quitting as soon as you are mentally prepared to. Rally the support of your loved ones. Inform your loved ones that you are attempting to quit smoking. They can provide you with important encouragement. In addition, you might want to think about obtaining behavior therapy or joining a support group to help you quit.