Stop Smoking Help

Where in earlier years it seemed like just about everyone was smoking and it was not only ok, but created anything from a rough-and-tough to a sophisticated, even sexy image. Times have certainly changed! Nowadays, with a growing awareness of the bad effects smoking has on smokers and those around them, the unfortunate tobacco-addicted individuals out there are under increasing pressure.

Ousted out of public spaces, they find themselves lurking in stuffy smoking-corners and weather-exposed back doorsteps of office buildings – wondering how long they can keep it up under such conditions, ever hinting that they are unsightly.

If only your craving wasn’t so strong… Then you would have immediately chucked that cigarette out into oblivion. The urge just seems so unpredictable. It comes out of nowhere and temps you with that illusory promise of feeling satisfaction and relief. But it never lasts…

There are various things that can awaken the Great Longing. It can be nicotine withdrawal or stress, a familiar smoking scenario or pleasant reminder. Merely by reading about smoking – like you are doing here – or seeing someone else smoke, in life or on screen, can make the craving to smoke well up like a tsunami and smash all your plans of finally getting the best of your smoking habit to pieces.

Is there no more advice left for you? Take heart, there really is. The secret lies plainly in confronting your triggers (with the help of any moral support or good product) and standing up to them in the tried and tested methods we will discuss in this blog…

The most cases that you feel you HAVE to smoke are short lived. They build up and reach their climax within a few minutes, just to fade again within ten to thirty minutes thereafter.

As soon as the urge starts mounting, it’s imperative to remember that you must concentrate on your craving like you are experiencing it in THAT moment, and not on how bad it will become in the near future. In reality people are better able to control their present urges and tend to exaggerate how bad it will become in the future.

And by exaggerating the urge, you worsen your level of stress to the point where you feel like you’re out of control. Thus, tune yourself in to how you feel in the moment and try to handle and control your craving to smoke as quickly as possible. In following posts I will discuss strategies that can help you with this.

One of the most effective plans for cigarette craving control is to breathe gently and deeply – from five to ten times. This is effective seen as oxygen both strengthens and relaxes the brain, which brings about a state of “controlled relaxation”, just like nicotine does.

Breathing exercises is a control mechanism that can be applied anywhere, at any time. Just remember not to see it as duty, but rather as something enjoyable and relaxing to do.

Fill your lungs with air from the bottom up towards your shoulders and concentrate on exhaling the air again in the opposite sequence. Your ribcage really needs to expand and contract. After a few such breaths, you will already start feeling different – a sign that your craving is subsiding.

If you start feeling dizzy or see white dots in front of your eyes, you are busy hyperventilating (taking in too much oxygen). If this ever happens, stop the deep breathing immediately and breathe normally.

It’s not unusual for people who are quiting smoking to cough up phlegm during breathing exercises in the beginning. Although it might be a bit uncomfortable, it is truly a sign that your lungs are busy getting rid of years of tar and junk.

Another effective strategy against nicotine cravings is a plan borrowed from Alcoholics Anonymous.

In the early years of the A.A., members realized that certain situations can occur that will make rehabilitated alcoholics grab for the bottle again. And because it can happen so often, they even posted banners in their meetings to remind members to “H.A.L.T”, which simply stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired.

The meaning is pretty self-explanatory: make sure to avoid situations where you might become hungry, angry, lonely or tired – good advice too for the “rehabilitated nicotine-adicted”.

So eat when you are hungry and forget about your weight for the moment – I’m not saying to start eating uncontrollably – but successfully quitting smoking is more important right now. You can always lose the extra weight later, if you happened to gain any, once you don’t have to fight so hard against the cigarette craving anymore.

Another penny for your thoughts: if smoking so badly messes with your appetite, that it easily becomes a substitute for healthy food. You would, for example, be satisfied with a coffee and a cigarette rather than a well-balanced breakfast. It becomes just another way that cigarettes are ruining your health.

When you feel angry or lonely, call a friend or take a walk, read something motivational or write in a diary. You can always get online and chat with one of the numerous other people in the world that is in this fight together with you – search for groups in places like Yahoo or Google Groups. Who knows, there might even be one in your area…just do SOMETHING to distract you from these dangerous emotions!

And certainly be sure to get enough rest. There is nothing worst than fatigue to worsen symptoms of stress, anxiety, anger and numerous other conditions that will make us want to use cigarettes and caffeine to get us through the rest of the day.

So in conclusion of the previous three posts, with some basic self-care you can put a leash on that drive to smoke.

Your health will speedily improve. And with exercise and deep breathing, and by making time for rest and relaxation – and, yes, the embrace of loved ones – you are going to improve your quality of life so much for the better that you will be utterly pleased to be known as an ex-smoker!

Go on, leave those cigarettes. It’s truly is garbage.