8 ways to quit smoking
Here are a few steps, which will help you to stop smoking with ease.
1. Take deep breath
When people smoke, more than half of what they breathe is fresh air – pulled through the cigarette right down into the lungs. So if you feel any cravings you can instantly overcome them by taking three deeper breaths.
2. Remove all tobacco products from your environment
Also, your mind is very sensitive to associations, so it’s very important that you have a clear out and remove all tobacco products from your environment. Move some of the furniture in your house and at work. Smokers are accustomed to smoking in certain situations. So, for example, if you used to smoke on the telephone at work move the phone to the other side of the desk. Throw away ashtrays, old lighters and anything that you used to associate with smoking. Make your environment conducive to stopping smoking.
3. Recall the moments when you felt disgusted about smoking
Recall 4 times when you thought to yourself ‘I want to quit’, or that you felt disgusted about smoking. Maybe you just felt really unhealthy, or your doctor told you in a particular tone of voice ‘You’ve got to quit’ or somebody you know was badly affected by smoking. Take a moment now to come up with 4 different times that you felt that you have to quit or were disgusted by smoking.
4. Write sown the positive and negative results of smoking
Next, think now of all the reasons you don’t like smoking, the reasons that it’s bad and the reasons you want to stop smoking. Write down the reasons on a piece of paper. For example, you experience breathlessness, it’s dirty, filthy and your clothes smell, your friends and family are concerned and it’s expensive, unsociable and so on. Then, on the other side of the paper, write down all the reasons why you’ll feel good when you’ve succeeded in stopping. You’ll feel healthier, your hair and clothes will smell fresher and so on. Whenever you need to, look at that piece of paper.
5. Think of the consequences
Imagine, what will happen if you carry on smoking. What are the consequences? Imagine yourself in 6 months time, a years time, even 5 years time if you do not stop smoking now. Think of all the detrimental effects of not stopping right now and how a simple decision you make today can make such an impact on your future. Next, imagine how much better is your life going to be when you stop smoking. Really imagine it’s months from now and you successfully stopped.
6. Drink a lot of fruit juices during breaks
Smokers sometimes use their habit to give themselves little breaks during the day. So during breaks do something different. Walk round the block, have a cup of tea or drink of water, or do some of the techniques on this program. In fact, if possible drink a lot of fruit juice.
7. Get social support
Your commitment to stopping smoking for the rest of your life can be made much easier by talking about it to friends and family and letting them support you. They will congratulate you on doing so well too! You really did stop smoking.
8. Reward yourself
Reward yourself. Congratulate yourself. Feel how good it feels to stop smoking and be a non-smoker. Treat yourself each time you get past a certain milestone; the first week or first month, the six month target. Let yourself know that you did something really special here.
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