Stop Smoking With Proven Methods That Work

Stop Smoking With Proven Methods That Work

Trying to stop smoking is an intimidating chore for even the toughest of people. The reality is that even people who really are interested in quitting smoking feel like they get something from smoking. If you finally want to kick the habit for good, then read on for tips and suggestions that will put it all into motion for you. Stop smoking as soon as you can. Never choose to quit smoking by going cold turkey. This method enjoys only a 5 percent success rate. Try strategies such as medication, therapy or a patch. Using these aids will make your efforts at kicking the habit much easier than it will be without them. In order to succeed with your goal of quitting smoking, you should do so in as easy of a method as you possibly can. It is not usually wise to try and quit cold turkey. There's about a 95% chance doing this will be unsuccessful for you. Nicotine is so addictive that a method like therapy, the patch or medication is recommended. These will help you through those initial withdrawal stages, which should make quitting smoking easier. If you need to smoke, try delaying it. Tell yourself you need to go for a walk first, or maybe that you need to drink a glass of water first. Sometimes, taking this time to let your mind think of other things will be enough to ward off thoughts of your taking a puff. If you do end up giving in anyway, at least that was a little longer that you were able to be smoke-free. Smoking is a step-by-step process that should be done day by day. Focus on giving up cigarettes for the day rather than for the rest of your life. Having a shorter time horizon makes it easier physically and mentally. As each day passes, extend your timeline a little more into the future. Your primary care physician can be a great resource if your are not able to quit smoking by yourself. Different medications, including antidepressants, can make quitting easier. Not only will your doctor be able to offer you medicine, they can provide information on support groups and help hotlines that can enhance your ability to succeed in quitting. Rest is key if you want to seriously quit smoking. For many individuals, staying up late at night leads to increased cigarette cravings. This is also an easier time to sneak in a cigarette. Sleeping eight hours each night will make it easier to focus and control nicotine cravings. Ask your friends and loved ones to be supportive about your decision to quit smoking. It is important that you let them know you need their support and that you do not need them to be judgmental. Let them know that you might be a bit grouchy at first, and that you might not be quite yourself. Quitting smoking can be very difficult, so it's critical that you have the support of those who are close to you at this time. To prevent yourself from gaining weight after quitting smoking, snack on fresh fruits and vegetables instead of sweets or carb-laden foods. This will help control your weight at this crucial time. Your body will likely crave food as you quit smoking, so allow yourself to snack using healthy treats to keep your mind and body in top shape. When you quit smoking, avoid any triggers that are linked to your habit. Change your behavior, so you aren't tempted, for example, go to new restaurants that do not allow smoking. Look for a distraction in these situations. If you want to kick your smoking habit, enlist the support of your friends and loved ones. Tell them that their support will be critical in helping you stick to your program. Ask them to not be judgmental. Initially, you may suffer from mood swings and cloudy judgement and the people around you should be aware of it. Quitting is hard, but if you have the support of your friends and family you'll be able to make it through a little easier. Plan out your stress coping mechanisms as soon as you quit smoking. Most people who smoke will light up when they're stressed out. If you've laid out a plan, it is easier to stay away from cigarettes. Having multiple ideas to fall back on in the event the first one does not help enough is an even better plan. There are wonderful supplements in the form of nicotine patches and even gum to help you stop smoking if you need some help. When you use these medications, you replace the nicotine from cigarettes with nicotine from the products. This helps you avoid nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Thinking about the impacts that smoking has on your family can serve as a serious motivator to stop smoking. Statistics say that one in five deaths in America alone are tied to smoking cigarettes. Do not become a statistic.

Nicotine Replacement

The first week is always the hardest when you stop smoking. The first two days without smoking is when the body rids itself completely of all the nicotine you've been consuming. After you eliminate the nicotine from your body, you just have to deal with psychological reasons for wanting to smoke. It's just as hard to fight, but there are many techniques which will help you to achieve success. You may want to try nicotine replacement therapy. Withdrawal symptoms include depression, lethargy, and irritability. Cravings for a cigarette can be very powerful. Nicotine replacement therapies may help you overcome these cravings while reducing the amount of nicotine in your body. Studies show that nicotine gum, lozenges or patches can increase people's success when quitting. It is not recommended that you use a nicotine replacement product and smoke at the same time, though. Stop smoking cigarettes as soon as possible! You do not need to set a quit date for the future; simply choose today to quit smoking. By quitting immediately, you lower your chances of succumbing to a possibly fatal disease. This will save your family from the health perils of secondhand smoke, as well. The first step of any program to stop smoking is making the commitment to see it through. Most people who quit do so because of a lack of willpower. Remember the reasons that caused you to stop in order to stay motivated. Try to maximize exercise and lifting during the course of the day. Exercising can make quitting smoking much more attractive when you notice the immediate improvement of lung capacity. Keeping active will help you keep from gaining weight too. The endorphins exercise produce are no substitute for nicotine highs, but they help take the edge off of withdrawal. Set a series of intermediate goals as part of your program to stop smoking. As you achieve each goal, reward yourself. If you can go for a full week without smoking a single cigarette, reward yourself with a new shirt or a movie ticket. After one tobacco-free month, reserve a spot at a restaurant that you rarely get to enjoy. After this, slowly increase your reward until the point has been reached that you don't think about smoking anymore. Get rid of anything that reminds you of smoking as you approach your quit date. Things you should eliminate includes removing ashtrays and cigarette lighters. Wash your house and clothes thoroughly so that they no longer smell like smoke. The smell of smoke will trigger physiological cravings, so this spring cleaning serves as a preventative measure against temptation. Cravings seem to come most often when an individual is feeling stressed. To keep yourself from falling victim to this, find a healthy alternative for stress relief. Perhaps you could go to the gym during the time that your cravings are at their worst, or you could get a new hobby. You should do your best to fill any free time with pleasurable and fulfilling activities. You can take this time to catch up on with old friends or reading, too. There are many counselors who offer services to help you quit smoking. There are often emotional issues lurking behind the urge to smoke. Dealing with such issues may also help your urge to smoke disappear. Talk to your doctor about counseling, and he or she should be able to send you to a good therapist. As you've read, it doesn't have to be impossible to quit smoking for good. You can do it with willpower and fierce determination, so start planning your program to quit with the helpful tips from this article today. You might just surprise yourself by what you are capable of when you really put your mind to it! Make up a mantra of your top reasons for quitting. Repeat your mantra to yourself when you feel a strong craving. This is a great way to focus your attention away from withdrawal and towards positivity.