Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Most people are already aware of the dangers of smoking, including smokers. If you have decided to quit smoking and failed in your attempts, then here are some tips that can help you out:

1. Discover your motivation

Firstly, you need to have a good motivation for quitting smoking. Ask yourself why you want to quit the habit, apart from the very obvious reason that it is a bad habit. You need to have a more powerful and personal reason to get motivated enough to quit. It may be because you want to avoid your children and family from getting too much exposure to secondhand smoke. The thought of suffering from cancer and other serious diseases and conditions may also be a good source of motivation. Cigarette smoking for several years is known to make people feel older and cause wrinkles and age lines on the face, so stopping that and keeping your face ‘young’ may be another compelling reason to quit.

2. Do not stop smoking immediately

A lot of smokers quit smoking cold turkey, so it may be tempting to try it out. However, it should be noted that 95 percent of people who attempt to quit smoking without any help relapse within a few days, weeks, or months. The reason for this is that nicotine, which is an addictive chemical in cigarettes, makes it difficult. The brain begins to crave for it, and the withdrawal symptoms may not be good, especially for long-time chain smokers.

3. Nicotine replacement therapy

As mentioned above, the absence of nicotine when quitting smoking can be difficult to overcome. The withdrawal can make people feel irritable, restless, and depressed. The need to smoke ‘one last cigarette’ often overwhelms people and triggers a relapse. This is where nicotine replacement therapy comes into the picture. Nicotine patches, lozenges, and gum can increase your chances of successfully quitting smoking, but they should not be used while you are still smoking because it can fuel the addiction further.

4. Seek help from your doctor

If you are a long-time chain smoker, you make need to seek your doctor’s help to quit the habit. Ask your doctor about medicines that can reduce cravings by directly affecting the chemicals in the brain. Some medicines make smoking less appealing, which eventually makes the smoker quit all on his/her own. If your withdrawal symptoms are really bad, your doctor may also recommend medicines that reduce symptoms, such as concentration problems and depression.

5. Talk to your friends and family

Quitting smoking is often a very difficult experience, so it helps to have friends and family by your side through the ordeal. Share your feelings and thoughts with them, as their encouragement can help you a lot. If required, you could seek help from a professional counselor or join support groups. Behavioral therapy is another way of getting through the whole experience, and it helps you identify the best quitting strategies. In fact, both nicotine replacement and behavioral therapy can help most smokers effectively quit their habit once and for all.

No comments:

Post a Comment