Giving something up, or even cutting back on something, let's say sweets or even coffee is difficult. When cigarettes come into play it becomes a mountain you have to climb, and seemly without any assistance, and then the air up there gets exceedingly harder to breathe.
Choosing to quit is in itself a great achievement because it implies that you are ready to take on a challenge. Even if you relapse and smoke again, don't get discouraged but try again.
When you set your mind to do something you can overcome anything, a cliché but true. You don't have to necessarily succeed the first time; you just need to continue to keep trying. Whether your first attempt is one week or two months, you just need to build up your time and eventually you become smoke free. Quitting smoking is extremely difficult because you are addicted to nicotine and the habit of smoking, meaning the daily routine smoking itself.
Nicotine triggers the release of dopamine in your brain and gives you an overall good feeling and leads you to continue to want to smoke. And eventually you are addicted. To overcome this addiction you often need to resort to a product that gives you a small dose of nicotine until you can slowly rid nicotine of your system. There are a number of options to choose from in your selection of a nicotine replacement product, whether it is a nicotine patch or gum, you still need to have a strong mental focus - striving to achieve your goal of quitting.
The smoking routine is the other element that makes quitting smoking so difficult. By smoking you have created strong associations in your daily life that have been surrounded by smoking. There are many times when you tell yourself you’re going to have a cigarette, but often, the smoking you do is just out of habit.For instance, you might have become accustomed to smoking at work during breaks, with coffee in the morning, or while having a drink when socializing with friends. These events become triggers, whenever you are in one those situations you usually want to light up. To break these smoking associations you must begin by not smoking during those instances.
In the initial stages you don't have to completely quit cold turkey. Set a quit date and begin by not smoking during those times when you usually smoke, 'those engrained daily rituals'. Essentially your favorite situations in which you smoke, with friends, while drinking, or when stressed out or bored. These events, the bar and a drink come to equal a cigarette and a lighter, the location or setting a green light for a smoke. Your goal is to break these associations and to eventually completely quit smoking.
One of the greatest things about giving up smoking, besides, obviously improving your health and saving your own life - and those around you if you smoke at home, is the fact that you will learn a great deal about yourself. You will learn that you have used smoking as a crutch in a way. You will come to find that you have more spare time to do things that you have always wanted to do. Also, think of all the money that you will save by not having to buy anymore cigarettes.
When quitting smoking you must stay active and positive. It is a good idea to create a list of things that you would like to accomplish after you quit. Many of these things you will find you can begin while you are going through the quitting smoking process. Taking up a new hobby or new sport, in conjunction with quitting smoking is a good idea--exercise for example will give you the same type of high that you get from a cigarette. Keeping busy includes keeping your hands busy and your mouth. While smoking you create a hand to mouth repetitive habit that is difficult to break. Chewing gum or sucking on a piece of candy can alleviate these cravings.
Also, doing small chores around the house or taking on a project, building something, creating something, and caring for something else will keep you side tracked and allow you to relax and not crave that cigarettes so much.
Quitting is not easy. You will have days that are more difficult than others. The key is to be prepared for those situations. Map out a plan when you begin to near your quit date (the day you stop completely, leading up to this day you should be slowly decreasing the number of cigarettes you smoke) that is made up of people you can call or things you can do rather than smoke when you feel like you are about to break down shouting 'I have to smoke!' This is when you call a friend or go for a walk.
Again, you are now on your way just by reading this article and thinking about quitting. You will breath easier, have fresh breath again, cloths that smell clean rather than like tobacco, and basically new set of lungs and heart that beats easier now that it's not competing with nicotine.
