You must have heard smoking is injurious to health. However, you don’t often pay heed to it. You always fail to realize how dangerous smoking can be and how important it is to quit. Smoking causes several diseases, like breathing problems, asthma, and terminal diseases like cancer. Smoking is a way of cutting your life short or basically, decreasing your lifespan. Let me now enlighten you on the steps you must follow to quit smoking once and for all.
1. Make a Resolution
A solid resolution is the first thing that can make you quit smoking once and for all. It will work only if you, yourself want to quit and not when others advise you to. Once you think of quitting, you need to start analyzing what you did wrong and accept the harmful effects cigarettes have had on your body and family. You also start thinking about the harmful effects of passive smoking. All these thoughts will help you resolve to give up smoking, which will urge you to follow the rest of the steps to quit smoking. (Also read 14 Disastrous Health Effects of Smoking)
2. Reduce Consumption
After you have made a solid resolution to quit smoking, the next step is to reduce the amount of nicotine consumption. You cannot stop smoking all at once, so you need to do it little by little at your own pace.
- If you have 50 cigarettes a day, reduce the amount to half, which is 25.
- You will gradually get used to smoking 25 cigarettes a day, which is when you further reduce it to half.
It will help you continuously reduce the amount till one day you realize that the habit of smoking is long gone. It is a difficult but effective process. All you need to do is to commit to it. (Also read 13 Psychological Reasons People Smoke Cigarettes)
3. Maintain Willpower and Determination
Smoking is pretty much an addiction, and letting go of one’s addiction is not easy. However, it is not impossible either. When you reduce the number of cigarettes per day, you will find it exceedingly hard to maintain this reduced amount. You must know that you cannot exceed even a little bit. Exceeding it will bring you to square one once again. This is when your determination and willpower come into play. You need to be determined and committed to the process to quit smoking once and for all. (Also read 15 Nicotine Facts Everyone Ought to Know About)
4. Find a Healthy Alternative
Finding a proper healthy alternative will help a person quit smoking once and for all. Healthy alternatives can include switching to some kinds of fruit, chewing gum, and many more. Chewing gum can be carried everywhere, and it stays in a person’s mouth for a long time. Therefore, the urge to smoke decreases.
It is to be noted that switching to alternatives such as fast food or hard drinks is not a healthy alternative and should be avoided as it would worsen your health. (Also read 12 Health Benefits Of Green Apples)
5. Exercise Regularly
People generally start smoking because of depression, negative thoughts, work pressure, and anxiety. You can prevent these triggers through regular exercise. Exercise keeps you healthy, clears your mind of clutter, and helps you think and decide clearly. It also contributes towards the positive health of a person. Yoga is one such method. Check out why some people never exercise.
6. Make a Note or List
It might seem odd to make a note or list about quitting smoking, but this method has proven to be highly effective. Many therapists highly recommend it. If you write something down and continue looking at it, you will consciously start following it. Written records are much more effective than abstract and dispersed thoughts. You have to write down the harmful effects of smoking and then jot down what you are willing to do to quit smoking. You will automatically become more motivated to follow it all the way through. (Also read What does it feel like to achieve your dreams?)
7. Visit Rehabilitation Centers
One of the most effective ways to quit smoking once and for all is to visit a rehabilitation center. A rehab program will allow you to quit smoking at your own pace. Additionally, the center makes sure that you do not come into contact with a cigarette. If you feel like it is becoming impossible to get out of smoking by these simple methods, you can admit yourself to rehab to ensure that you overcome this ugly addiction. (Also read 6 Negative Health Effects of Self Harm and Cutting Habits)
8. Join Therapeutic Clubs
Therapeutic clubs are clubs run by therapists where people suffering from the same problem visit and discuss their experiences, problems faced, and situations. By sharing your addiction story and hearing theirs, you can understand that you are not the only one fighting this problem. Others have succeeded, and some of them are still struggling. You can look up to those people who have succeeded and follow in their footsteps to reach that one common goal of quitting smoking. People from all age groups can try out this particular method. (Also read Why do humans join groups?)
9. Recognize & Accept Relapse
Relapse is a widespread occurrence among people trying to let go of an addictive habit such as smoking. Some people do not realize when they start relapsing or using the substance or smoking again, in this case. It is extremely dangerous and can put your months of effort to waste. You can identify a relapse with the help of the following signs:
- Irritation and anxiety without reason
- More cigarettes than the average per-day amount
- Excessive frequent smoking
- Agitative behavior
These are signs of relapse that need to be identified and immediately rectified. Rectifying these will prevent relapse and ensure that you quit smoking once and for all. (See Psychology Behind Vicarious Embarrassment)
10. Follow Your Hobby
Hobbies are essential for relaxing and can also be used as a distraction. Hobbies can be something you like or something you are willing to do. So, invest time in your hobbies rather than just ignoring them and treating them as a waste of time. If a person is involved in their hobby, they will have less time to think about having a cigarette. Staying busy is more effective than it sounds. It, if applied regularly, will be an efficient method. (Also read Learn How to Zentangle)
11. Check Your Beverages
Here’s what you should and should not drink to quit smoking once and for all:
- There are several beverages whose consumption increases the urge to smoke. Alcohol is one such example. Hence, these beverages should be avoided entirely.
- On the contrary, some drinks can help you stop smoking. These include milk, ginseng tea, and fruit and vegetable juices. Cigarettes prevent our body from absorbing important nutrients, which are replenished by fruit juices in a way that reduces the impulse to smoke.
- In addition, ginseng tea reduces the effect of smoking, thus decreasing its need. (Also read What are the health benefits of drinking Green Tea?)
12. Change Your Friend Circle
A person is influenced a lot by the activities of his friend’s group. So, if your friends are chain-smokers, then it would be in your best interest to keep your distance from them. Some people also start smoking due to peer pressure. If your friends encourage you to smoke and prevent you from quitting, that friendship ruins your health and may ultimately lead to your death. If it is not possible to completely cut them off, try to separate yourself from them.
Make friends who will encourage you to achieve your goals while not negatively impacting your health. This is a prime rule that you need to follow to quit smoking once and for all. Also, keep in mind why making friends on the web is dangerous.
13. Take Prescribed Medication
In addition to the simple and ordinary domestic methods, several medications help people quit smoking. These regulate brain chemicals in a way that reduces the pleasure sensations of smoking. This, in turn, will reduce your urge to smoke. Medicines such as this should not be taken in large amounts and should only be used after consulting a doctor.
All medicines have side effects, especially those that affect the brain, so this should be a last resort. You may want to look at the different types of medications that will help you quit smoking once and for all. (See Are Nootropics Safe?)
Addiction of any sort is dangerous, be it smoking, alcohol, or drugs. People addicted to cigarettes should not feel ashamed or uncomfortable asking for help. You should also try to reach out to people struggling to quit smoking once and for all. Offer them your support as much as possible. (Also read 17 Harmful Effects of Internet Addiction)
