Every seasoned smoker knows what nicotine withdrawal is. At least once, but he tried to get rid of a bad habit, although the attempts most often ended in failure. Maybe it has to do with the wrong approach? In this article, we will analyze the best way to quit smoking and what exactly needs to be done about it.
How to quit smoking?
The percentage of people who smoke on the planet is huge - it is almost 1/5 of all the inhabitants of the Earth and it is constantly growing. At the same time, many people dream of quitting smoking, although far fewer people are trying to do something about it. Usually, after the first attempt to get rid of a bad habit, a smoker will be severely disappointed: he faces manifestations of nicotine addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
Indeed, the desire for nicotine is one of the strongest drug 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 desire for a cigarette - a strong desire to smoke in a certain situation (under stress, excitement, joy). Hence the high number of failures in attempts to quit smoking.
Most people who suffer from nicotine cravings are wondering if it is better to quit smoking right away or gradually? Or maybe buy 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 should be formed taking into account individual characteristics of character, health, smoking experience. It is quite possible to quit smoking on your own, but only with a short experience and moderate addiction: it is better for heavy smokers to use special therapeutic measures. Otherwise, even with a successful failure, the risk of relapse is high and this will only strengthen the addiction.
So, the correct cessation of smoking should be based on the following components:
- The preparation, or motivational phase.
- Actually refusing cigarettes (preferably sharp).
- Organizing the right food.
- If necessary, replacement therapy, psychological support.
Stages of quitting nicotine
Most often, a person turns to a cigarette because he was not able to foresee all the nuances of breaking up with him, did not find clear motivating reasons why he wants to do it, and also did not ask for the support of loved ones. The intention to get rid of the addiction must be strong, otherwise a breakdown cannot be avoided. There are two main steps in the process of quitting smoking, each of which is detailed below.
prep
First you need to understand yourself and find the reason why the bad habit appeared. For many, this helps to find the right motivation to quit smoking, because someone started to "hang out" with cigarettes for company, others smoked to show 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 in a notebook what kind of life situations make you grab a cigarette. Whether you're going out for a smoke break with colleagues, smoking while waiting for the bus, after eating, while excited - recognizing the problem from the inside and getting rid of it entirely is much easier.
The next most important point of the preparatory phase is to give a clear motivation that will make you quit smoking. This is extremely important, because in the absence of a motive, already on the first or second day of giving up a cigarette, a thought like "is this effort really necessary? " will arise. A person must know exactly what he is suffering from and the reasons must be weighty.
Common motivations for quitting include:
- The desire to conceive a child or to save loved ones from passive smoking (for example, during a woman's pregnancy, at the birth of a child)
- The desire to maintain health or to cure emerging diseases, to prolong life (usually this is the strongest motive)
- The desire to play sports, to gain a normal weight, figure, appearance
- Love, falling in love - many give up a bad habit for the sake of relationships if the other half does not smoke
- The desire to save money - sometimes the financial situation forces you to quit smoking
basis
The ideal option is to quit smoking immediately, although not everyone succeeds in doing so. Therefore, for those who smoke for a long time and in large quantities, experts advise to first give up cigarettes 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 great: from the beginning of the second day it will become easier to breathe, perhaps the headache will stop, because there will be no momentary vasospasm from taking nicotine.
After a successful rejection for 2 days, you should think about continuing a healthy lifestyle. Fortune will smile only on those who will take all measures to reduce nicotine withdrawal, will not let the bad habit darken the conscience and win.
In order not to become disconnected, here are some tips for the behavior of an ex-smoker:
- When a depressed mood appears, which happens to almost everyone who has given up cigarettes, it is worth remembering the motivation and mood - artificial, not real. It is necessary to remove bad thoughts from yourself, thinking only about the good - about the future improvement of life, well-being, health.
- When you quit smoking, it's good not to be alone. This is the biggest risk to ask for a cigarette, so you should engage in active pastime with relatives, friends and children.
- It is necessary to distract yourself from thoughts about a cigarette. This is possible if you fully burden yourself with household chores - do the cleaning, wash the dishes, cook a delicious dinner, watch an interesting movie - anything, just so that you don't stay idle with thoughts of smoking.
- Often you need to remember the chosen motivation and reward yourself for each new day without cigarettes, for each small victory over the next desire to smoke. The only condition is that it is advisable not to organize rewards in the form of eating sweets or other products.
- We need to find a replacement for cigarettes. If you want to smoke, it is safe and harmless to eat a carrot, an apple, a piece of celery or rhubarb, seeds of seeds, drink herbal tea - peppermint, firewood, currant leaves, drink watercold in small sips.
Sports can help you stop smoking - swimming, running, walking, as well as various relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and even hypnosis. Also, experts advise brushing your teeth more often, using mint mouthwash, using aromatherapy at home to divert attention from a bad habit. We must not forget to reduce visits to places where other people smoke - there is no need to provoke yourself unnecessarily, especially in the first weeks after giving up cigarettes.
The "anti-nicotine" diet and weight gain
As you know, when you give up a bad habit, many begin to gain weight. But this does not happen at all from the lack of nicotine, but because of a sharp change in eating habits. If earlier hunger could be replaced with a smoke break, now it overcomes a person with a vengeance. In an attempt to "catch" the strongest urge to smoke, most rely heavily on crackers and chips, sweets and candies, nuts and seeds. Almost all such foods are high in calories, and sometimes frankly harmful due to the abundance of transgenic fats and preservatives. Thus, a quick group of 8-10 kilograms is the fault of another bad habit that has come to replace smoking.
Ex-smokers often increase their total caloric intake by increasing the number of meals, eating at night, fixing breakfasts and extra meals. Overeating is often also due to improved appetite, because with regular smoking it is not in the best shape.
There is only one way out in this situation - to monitor the intake and consumption of calories, eat only healthy food, rely more on vegetables and fruits in order not to smoke again. It is better to refuse chips and crackers in favor of fresh carrots, apples, apricots, cucumbers, prunes, etc.
Some foods rich in ascorbic acid are necessary to compensate for an acute deficiency in it, and also help to improve a person's well-being. This includes raspberries, currants, citrus fruits, spinach, sauerkraut, etc.
There are also some nutritional recommendations that will help you survive nicotine withdrawal easier and faster without gaining excess weight and feeling unwell:
- Give up very strong tea, an abundance of coffee, replacing them with mineral water, juices, so as not to damage the dishes already affected by cigarettes.
- Do not abuse salty foods, spicy foods, fried and smoked foods due to the irritation of the taste buds and the increased desire to smoke.
- It has more fiber, as it will help quickly remove the decay products of cigarette smoke from the body.
- Do not drink alcohol. Alcohol, especially strong, contributes to the loss of control over the situation, while the risk of smoking is great.
What is the best way to quit smoking - suddenly or gradually?
The experts' answer is clear - you should quit smoking immediately. Of course, heavy smokers, whose experience is counted in decades, will not be able to cope with the habit so easily, but they should seek medical help. 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 lighter brands, he only prolongs his suffering.
The body strongly resists, not receiving the usual dose of nicotine, as a result, you have to fight literally constantly, every hour, feverishly counting smoked cigarettes and remaining 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 move a single step. In addition, light cigarettes contain many more harmful substances that replace the somewhat reduced nicotine content, and the damage to the body can be even greater. There is another disadvantage to gradual withdrawal - 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, electronic cigarettes should be highlighted. This modern gadget, contrary to advertising, does not contribute at all to quitting smoking. Naturally, due to the absence of tar and harsh smoke, the damage to health is reduced, the lungs are cleaned, the cough stops and the skin is cleared.
Addiction to an electronic cigarette remains, because nicotine continues to enter the body and over time its dose increases due to the possibility of smoking in the workplace. Therefore, with a strong desire to recover without harm, there is only one option - to quit smoking once and for all.
Antinicotinic agents
Many in an attempt to quit smoking buy nicotine patches, gum and tablets. Such preparations contain the minimum amount of nicotine that will enter the body and reduce 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 addiction - from going out for a smoke break, smoking after meals, during stress. But hoping that the drug will do everything for the smoker is not worth it.
Sooner or later, a person will have to give up nicotine itself, which is built in receptors and gives a strong physical addiction. Therefore, any pills and medicine are only auxiliary methods to get rid of a bad habit, nothing more. If you apply them correctly and do not increase the dose, but reduce it, a relief of the task will be achieved, and together with your desire and will, everything will work!