We all know that there are many different methods to stop smoking, some a lot more effective than the others. This article is about stopping smoking all by yourself. Whether you have tried before or you are doing so now for the first time, the following techniques makes it both simple and easy.Now, there are two myths about smoking that I would like to see disappear in a puff of smoke before we get to the 'how to' part of this article. The first is that some smokers put off the idea of stopping smoking thinking that they need to be fully committed to the idea of stopping and totally willing. Well, that is just not true. Most people wanting to stop smoking also feel that another part of them wants to continue, or still enjoys it, or is scared about the idea of stopping. The good news is that as long as the part of you that wants to stop is more motivated than the part that still enjoys it, then you can have success.[]
Secondly, there seem to be a lot of 'good advice' out there about willpower that can help you to stop. Although some will-power is needed to take the initial steps towards becoming a non-smoker, applying too much of your will-power and pushing too hard to never smoke again, will have exactly the opposite effect. Instead, follow the top tips below and surprise yourself at just how easy it can be to relax creatively into the new non-smoking you.
Please note that the more you actively carry out and engage with the tips below, the more you increase your chance of success. Good luck!Be clear about your reasons for wanting to stop.Create a list with your reasons for wanting to stop smoking. What will the benefits be? List all the things that you dislike about smoking or the things that you are fed up with that relates to smoking. This could potentially include things such as the smell, putting yourself out socially as a result, the cost involved, the negative effects on your body, etc.Set a date and commit to it.
Once you know when you want to stop, you can start to organise yourself to get your head around the idea of stopping. There are many things that you could do. Why not share your experience with a friend and ask for their support?Visualise.It will be well worth your while if you practice to see yourself as a non-smoker. Remember that if you can see yourself as a non-smoker, then you are a non-smoker! Twice per day for the first three weeks, sit quietly for a few moments, relax the muscles within your body for a while, focus on your breathing and being calm. Then pretend that you find yourself in all the places/scenarios where you used to smoke, but this time imagine that you are a non-smoker with calm and relax hands. Imagine yourself breathing freely and easily.Expect to feel uncomfortable.
You will be happy to know that cravings do not last. If you have a craving, find the balance between trying to ignore the discomfort and talking/focussing on it too much. Instead, be aware of the discomfort and turn it to your advantage by using the excess energy to exercise or enjoy a favourite hobby. Or you can simply distract yourself. Take it one day at a time.Instead of thinking that you might never smoke again, tell yourself that you are only not going to smoke for one day. Then do another day and another, until you have done your first week.Deal with cravings by substitution.
Whenever you find yourself having a craving, give yourself something to do. This can include anything that is healthy, from drinking water to exercise.Remember, you did not always believe that you were a smoker, but you still believe it at the moment. NOW, you can reverse this believe again and start to believe that you can again become the non-smoker that you have been before.As a smoker wanting to stop smoking, you are in a state of conflict. On one hand, you have an addictive desire to smoke. On the other, you want to stop satisfying it by smoking.Stopping smoking and staying stopped depend on how you resolve this conflict.As soon as you have smoked your last cigarette with the intention to quit, the conflict you feel could be deep and last for several hours. You may question yourself over and over again, asking yourself if you really do want to stop smoking, and whether this really is the right time to do it. You may spend hours trying to figure out a good excuse to justify smoking for just a little bit longer, or just one more...
Don't be surprised by this: it's all part of the process. The way through this conflict is to experience it and resolve it, and not avoid it in any way.In order to resolve this conflict, you simply ask yourself this one, basic question: "Am I willing to accept my desire to smoke in order to stop smoking and stay stopped?" In other words, here you are feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied because you want a cigarette but aren't smoking one; do you think it's worth it to you to feel this way in order to break free from a life of smoking?
Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind.Some people avoid resolving this conflict by ignoring their desire and quite often feel confident that they have conquered their addiction. One of the more unhelpful things about repression is that, at the time you use it, it appears to be effective, and is therefore rarely perceived as being a problem.You can see from your own experience that it is a problem, though, if you have ever stopped before. The first cigarette you smoked when you went back to smoking was preceded by a desire to smoke, even though you may have only been dimly aware of that desire at the time.
A friend of mine, James, who attended a quit smoking program, gave an ideal example of this. He told me that at his last attempt, three years ago, he decided to stop smoking at the same time that he was going to redecorate his house. In other words, his strategy was to avoid as much of the difficulty of stopping smoking as he could by keeping busy painting and hanging paper.He threw his cigarettes away and got rid of anything that might remind him of the smoker he used to be. The plan appeared to work and he managed to stop smoking with very little difficulty. He stayed stopped for a month, with smoking totally forgotten, until something happened that took him by surprise.
He told me that he was at the station where he commuted to work each day and went to the kiosk where he always used to buy his cigarettes. He asked for chewing gum, but the man behind the counter, recognizing him, handed him his usual packet of cigarettes.James took them, paid for them, opened the packet, took out a cigarette, lit it and was halfway through smoking it before he realized what he was doing. He was simply not aware of the desire to smoke that was guiding his actions. When he realized he was smoking he felt devastated, but the damage was already done: he had gone back to smoking again, and was soon smoking his usual number of cigarettes every day.When you stop smoking by avoiding your desire to smoke, you have no way of controlling your automatic reaction once the desire finds a way to break through. If James had spent some time during that month consciously dealing with his desire to smoke, then when he was given cigarettes by mistake at the station, he would have noticed there was a desire to smoke, and would have been able to deal with it.
[Best Way To Stop Smoking]
Secondly, there seem to be a lot of 'good advice' out there about willpower that can help you to stop. Although some will-power is needed to take the initial steps towards becoming a non-smoker, applying too much of your will-power and pushing too hard to never smoke again, will have exactly the opposite effect. Instead, follow the top tips below and surprise yourself at just how easy it can be to relax creatively into the new non-smoking you.
Please note that the more you actively carry out and engage with the tips below, the more you increase your chance of success. Good luck!Be clear about your reasons for wanting to stop.Create a list with your reasons for wanting to stop smoking. What will the benefits be? List all the things that you dislike about smoking or the things that you are fed up with that relates to smoking. This could potentially include things such as the smell, putting yourself out socially as a result, the cost involved, the negative effects on your body, etc.Set a date and commit to it.
Once you know when you want to stop, you can start to organise yourself to get your head around the idea of stopping. There are many things that you could do. Why not share your experience with a friend and ask for their support?Visualise.It will be well worth your while if you practice to see yourself as a non-smoker. Remember that if you can see yourself as a non-smoker, then you are a non-smoker! Twice per day for the first three weeks, sit quietly for a few moments, relax the muscles within your body for a while, focus on your breathing and being calm. Then pretend that you find yourself in all the places/scenarios where you used to smoke, but this time imagine that you are a non-smoker with calm and relax hands. Imagine yourself breathing freely and easily.Expect to feel uncomfortable.
You will be happy to know that cravings do not last. If you have a craving, find the balance between trying to ignore the discomfort and talking/focussing on it too much. Instead, be aware of the discomfort and turn it to your advantage by using the excess energy to exercise or enjoy a favourite hobby. Or you can simply distract yourself. Take it one day at a time.Instead of thinking that you might never smoke again, tell yourself that you are only not going to smoke for one day. Then do another day and another, until you have done your first week.Deal with cravings by substitution.
Whenever you find yourself having a craving, give yourself something to do. This can include anything that is healthy, from drinking water to exercise.Remember, you did not always believe that you were a smoker, but you still believe it at the moment. NOW, you can reverse this believe again and start to believe that you can again become the non-smoker that you have been before.As a smoker wanting to stop smoking, you are in a state of conflict. On one hand, you have an addictive desire to smoke. On the other, you want to stop satisfying it by smoking.Stopping smoking and staying stopped depend on how you resolve this conflict.As soon as you have smoked your last cigarette with the intention to quit, the conflict you feel could be deep and last for several hours. You may question yourself over and over again, asking yourself if you really do want to stop smoking, and whether this really is the right time to do it. You may spend hours trying to figure out a good excuse to justify smoking for just a little bit longer, or just one more...
Don't be surprised by this: it's all part of the process. The way through this conflict is to experience it and resolve it, and not avoid it in any way.In order to resolve this conflict, you simply ask yourself this one, basic question: "Am I willing to accept my desire to smoke in order to stop smoking and stay stopped?" In other words, here you are feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied because you want a cigarette but aren't smoking one; do you think it's worth it to you to feel this way in order to break free from a life of smoking?
Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind.Some people avoid resolving this conflict by ignoring their desire and quite often feel confident that they have conquered their addiction. One of the more unhelpful things about repression is that, at the time you use it, it appears to be effective, and is therefore rarely perceived as being a problem.You can see from your own experience that it is a problem, though, if you have ever stopped before. The first cigarette you smoked when you went back to smoking was preceded by a desire to smoke, even though you may have only been dimly aware of that desire at the time.
A friend of mine, James, who attended a quit smoking program, gave an ideal example of this. He told me that at his last attempt, three years ago, he decided to stop smoking at the same time that he was going to redecorate his house. In other words, his strategy was to avoid as much of the difficulty of stopping smoking as he could by keeping busy painting and hanging paper.He threw his cigarettes away and got rid of anything that might remind him of the smoker he used to be. The plan appeared to work and he managed to stop smoking with very little difficulty. He stayed stopped for a month, with smoking totally forgotten, until something happened that took him by surprise.
He told me that he was at the station where he commuted to work each day and went to the kiosk where he always used to buy his cigarettes. He asked for chewing gum, but the man behind the counter, recognizing him, handed him his usual packet of cigarettes.James took them, paid for them, opened the packet, took out a cigarette, lit it and was halfway through smoking it before he realized what he was doing. He was simply not aware of the desire to smoke that was guiding his actions. When he realized he was smoking he felt devastated, but the damage was already done: he had gone back to smoking again, and was soon smoking his usual number of cigarettes every day.When you stop smoking by avoiding your desire to smoke, you have no way of controlling your automatic reaction once the desire finds a way to break through. If James had spent some time during that month consciously dealing with his desire to smoke, then when he was given cigarettes by mistake at the station, he would have noticed there was a desire to smoke, and would have been able to deal with it.
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