Quitting smoking can take a lot out of you. As you try to stop you may find tired, irritable, moody and perhaps you find yourself even wishing that you never stopped. There is a cost to be counted when embracing smoking cessation, but it a battle that you can and must win. The following are among the top tips for quitting smoking.
- Write a list of reasons. Quitting smoking should always be for a reason. Otherwise, you may never convince yourself that stopping is a good idea. Those reasons can vary from person to person, but might include your desire to feel better, live longer or slow down the aging process. You might also consider quitting to benefit other people. For instance, you know that secondhand smoke is harmful and you may desire to keep those you love from getting sick. In addition, you may have decided that you want to live long enough to not only enjoy your own life, but the lives of those whom you love. Write your reasons down on a paper and keep your list in a safe place. You may need to refer to it from time to time, especially when your resolve begins to fail you.
- Make a very public announcement. No, you do not need to get on Facebook and Twitter to tell everyone that you’re planning to quit smoking. Yes, you should tell people that are the nearest and dearest to you of your plans. You have family and friends for a reason: these are the people that support you, are there for you and you are there for them. As you go through smoke cessation, you will need all the support you can muster. Furthermore, that support will come in handy when temptation rears its ugly head.
- Get in touch with your feelings. No, silly — not your emotions. Although understanding the way you feel about things cannot hurt. To explain, you should monitor how your body reacts when you’re not smoking. Those feelings mentioned earlier are common to the way people feel when they initially stop smoking. If the sensation is particularly strong or even debilitating, then seen your doctor for support. He can prescribe to you a mediation to help you cope. Yes, that cough is not a cold — it is your formally obstructed airways renewing themselves, a feeling that will eventually disappear.
- Small steps lead to a long journey. Your battle against smoking is one or loss on a day by day basis. Even if you backslide, you can brush yourself off, resume your quit smoking campaign and move on with your life. It is important that you do not try to take on too much — sufficient for the day are the troubles therein. Seek help from a therapist, pastor or other professional who can aid you in your endeavor.
- Watch your diet. It is true that for some people, they soon become acquainted with foods that now taste much better without nicotine interfering. Your cravings for a cigarette may be substituted for craving for sweets or other nonfoods. Be careful here: you may gain weight as you exchange one graving for another one.
- Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. You may not have been one to do much exercise when you were smoking, but that can also change. Resolve to take up walking, running or some other exercise. It will help you resist those cravings and offset some of your urges to eat more. Make smoking cessation a complete package where you take care of your heart, body, soul and mind.
- Step out as you step it up. The people you are closest to you can be a big help. But they may not be enough to enable you to overcome. Consider a stop smoking club such as Smokers Anonymous and do see a physician if you need some help. Some ex-smokers do just fine with a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, e-cigarettes or some other vapor device.
Moving On
Giving up smoking can seem like such a difficult battle. In many ways, it is. Still, if you get help from others, have reasonable expectations and keep to your promises, then you chances of success are quite good. Remember, smoking is a process, one that can take several steps to move through before you realize that cigarettes no longer have the hold on you that they once had.