Any experienced smoker knows what nicotine withdrawal is. At least once, but he tried to get rid of a bad habit, although the attempts mostly ended in failure. Maybe this is the wrong approach? In this article we will analyze the best way to quit smoking and what exactly needs to be done for this.
How to quit smoking?
The proportion of people who smoke on the planet is huge - it is almost 1/5 of all the inhabitants of the Earth and is constantly growing. At the same time, many people dream of quitting smoking, although far fewer people try to do something about it. Usually, after the first attempt to get rid of a bad habit, a smoker will be severely disappointed: he is faced with manifestations of nicotine addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
Indeed, the craving for nicotine is one of the strongest addictions, because this substance can be integrated into the biochemical processes of the body, and it is not easy to "smoke" it from there.
It is also difficult to lose the psychological need for smoking - a strong desire to smoke in a given situation (under stress, excitement, joy). Hence the large number of failures in attempts to quit smoking.
Most people who suffer from nicotine cravings wonder if it is better to quit smoking suddenly or gradually? Or maybe buy some pills or an e-cigarette or go to a psychologist to find the right motivation. There is no single answer. The approach to smoking cessation must be developed taking into account individual characteristics of character, health and smoking experience. It is quite possible to quit smoking yourself, but only with a short experience and moderate dependence: it is better for heavy smokers to resort to special therapeutic measures. Otherwise, even with a successful failure, the risk of relapse is high, and this will only reinforce the addiction.
Thus, correct smoking cessation should be based on the following:
- Preparation or motivation phase.
- In fact refusal of cigarettes (better sharp).
- Organization of proper nutrition.
- If necessary, substitution therapy, psychological support.
Stages of quitting nicotine
Most often, a person returns to a cigarette because he could not foresee all the nuances of parting with it in advance, did not find clear motivational reasons why he wants to do it andalso did not get the support of those close to him. The intention to get rid of the addiction must be firm, otherwise a breakdown cannot be avoided. There are two main stages in the quitting process, each of which is detailed below.
Preparatory
First you need to understand yourself and find out the reason why the bad habit appeared. For many it helps find the right motivation to give up cigarettes, as someone started "befriending" cigarettes for companionship, others smoked to show their adulthood at a young age. Perhaps the need for such dubious self-expression has already disappeared, and it's time to quit smoking.
You should also write down in a notebook the situations in life that prompt you to smoke a cigarette. Whether it's going out for a cigarette break with colleagues, smoking while waiting for the bus, after eating, during excitement - knowing the problem from the inside and completely getting rid of it is much easier.
The second most important point of the preparation phase is to provide a clear motivation that will make you quit smoking. This is extremely important, because in the absence of a reason, already on the first or second day when you give up a cigarette, a thought will arise like "is this torment really necessary? ". A person must know exactly why he is suffering and the reasons must be important.
Common motivations for quitting smoking include:
- The desire to conceive a child or to save relatives from passive smoking (for example, during a woman's pregnancy, when a baby is born)
- The desire to maintain health or to cure diseases that have arisen, to prolong one's life (this is usually the strongest motive)
- Desire to play sports, gain a normal weight, figure, appearance
- Love, fall in love - many give up a bad habit for relationships if the other half does not smoke
- The desire to save money - sometimes the financial situation forces you to quit smoking
Basic
The ideal option is to quit smoking immediately, although not everyone succeeds. Therefore, for those who smoke for a long time and in large quantities, experts advise to first quit smoking for 48 hours. So it will be possible to understand what awaits a person, and it is important to approach this from the positive side. The benefits will be enormous: at the beginning of the second day, it will become easier to breathe, perhaps the headache will stop, since there will be no momentary vasospasm from the intake of nicotine.
After successful refusal for 2 days, you should think about continuing a healthy lifestyle. Luck will smile only on those who will take all measures to reduce nicotine withdrawal, do not let the bad habit cloud consciousness and win.
In order not to let go, here are some tips for the behavior of an ex-smoker:
- As a depressed mood sets in, which happens to almost everyone who has quit smoking, it is worth remembering motivation and what a state of mind is – contrived, not real. It is necessary to remove bad thoughts from yourself, thinking only about the good - about the future improvement in life, well-being, health.
- When you quit smoking, you better not be alone. This is the greatest risk of catching a cigarette, so you need to engage in an active pastime with relatives, friends and children.
- It is necessary to distract from thoughts about a cigarette. This is possible if you take on household chores completely - do the housework, wash the dishes, cook a delicious dinner, watch an interesting movie - anything, just so as not to sit idle with thoughts of smoking.
- You often have to remember the chosen motivation and reward yourself for each new cigarette-free day, for each small victory over the next craving. The only condition is that it is not recommended to arrange rewards in the form of consumption of sweets or other products.
- We need to find a substitute for cigarettes. If you want to smoke, it is safe and harmless to eat a carrot, an apple, a piece of celery or rhubarb, to click on seeds, to drink herbal tea - mint, willowherb, currant leaf, to drinkcold water in small sips.
Sports can help quit smoking - swimming, running, walking, as well as various relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and even hypnosis. In addition, experts advise brushing your teeth more often, using mint mouthwashes, using aromatherapy in the house to distract from a bad habit. Do not forget to reduce visits to places where other people smoke - no need to provoke yourself unnecessarily, especially in the first weeks after quitting smoking.
"Anti-nicotine" nutrition and weight gain
As you know, when you quit a bad habit, many start gaining weight. But this does not happen at all due to lack of nicotine, but due to a radical change in eating habits. If the hunger of yesteryear could well be replaced by a cigarette break, now it invades a person with a vengeance. In an effort to "capture" the strongest desire to smoke, the majority rely heavily on crackers and chips, sweets and candies, nuts and seeds. Almost all of these foods are high in calories and sometimes downright harmful due to the abundance of transgenic fats and preservatives. Thus, a rapid gain of 8-10 kilograms is the fault of another bad habit that has come to replace smoking.
Ex-smokers often increase their total calorie intake by increasing the number of meals, eating in the evening, arranging a second breakfast and additional snacks. Overeating is often also due to an improvement in appetite, because with regular smoking it is not at its best.
There is only one way out in this situation - to monitor the intake and consumption of calories, to eat only healthy foods, to rely more on vegetables and fruits to quit smoking. Better to refuse chips and crackers in favor of carrots, apples, apricots, cucumbers, fresh prunes, etc.
Certain foods rich in ascorbic acid are necessary to compensate for an acute deficiency in it, and also contribute to improving a person's well-being. These include raspberries, currants, citrus fruits, spinach, sauerkraut, etc.
There are also a few nutritional recommendations that will help you survive nicotine withdrawal easier and faster without gaining excessive weight or feeling unwell:
- Give up too strong tea, an abundance of coffee, replace them with mineral water, fruit juices, so as not to harm the vessels already affected by smoking.
- Do not abuse salty foods, spicy foods, fried and smoked foods due to irritation of taste buds and increased desire to smoke.
- There is more fiber, as this will help to quickly eliminate the breakdown products of cigarette smoke from the body.
- Do not drink alcohol. Alcohol, particularly strong, contributes to the loss of control over the situation, while the risk of smoking is enormous.
What's the best way to quit - abruptly or gradually?
The answer from experts is unequivocal - you need to quit smoking immediately. Of course, heavy smokers, whose experience is calculated over decades, will not be able to cope with this habit so easily, but they should consult a doctor. The doctor will choose the best way to quit smoking, but even in such a situation, the person will most likely be offered a one-time refusal with therapeutic support.
When a person quits gradually, reducing the number of cigarettes per day, switching to light brands, he only prolongs his torment.
The body strongly resists, not receiving the usual dose of nicotine, therefore, you have to fight literally constantly, every hour, feverishly counting smoked and remaining cigarettes for the day. In any case, this will lead to a breakdown or an imperceptible increase in the number of cigarettes, and the fight against a bad habit will not take a step forward. In addition, light cigarettes contain many more harmful substances that replace the somewhat reduced nicotine content, and the bodily harm can be even greater. There is another downside to gradual denial - neither mental nor physical dependence is reduced. So, does a smoker need additional suffering, moreover, it does not bring any benefit to his body?
Separately, it is worth noting electronic cigarettes. This modern gadget, unlike advertising, does not contribute to smoking cessation in any way. Of course, due to the absence of tar and acrid smoke, damage to health is reduced, the lungs are cleansed, the cough stops, and the skin is cleansed.
Addiction to electronic cigarettes remains, as nicotine continues to enter the body, and over time its dose increases due to the possibility of smoking even in the workplace. Therefore, with a strong desire to recover without harm, there is only one option - once and for all to give up cigarettes.
Antinicotinic agents
Many, in an effort to quit smoking, buy nicotine patches, chewing gum and tablets. These preparations contain the minimum amount of nicotine that enters the body and reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. The use of such funds makes sense, but only for heavy smokers. During treatment, you can get rid of psychological dependence - going out for a cigarette break, smoking after eating, during stress. But hoping that the drugs will do everything for the smoker is not worth it.
Sooner or later, a person will still have to give up nicotine itself, which is embedded in the receptors and gives strong physical dependence. Therefore, all pills and drugs are only auxiliary methods of getting rid of a bad habit, nothing more. If you apply them correctly and do not increase the dose, but reduce it, some relief from the spot will be achieved, and with your own desire and willpower you will be fine!