Any experienced smoker knows what nicotine withdrawal is. At least once, but he tried to get rid of a bad habit, although attempts most often ended in failure. Maybe it's all a question of the wrong approach? In this article, we will look at the best way to quit smoking and what exactly you need to do for it.
How to quit smoking?
The percentage of people who smoke on the planet is enormous: 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, even though 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 has to face manifestations of nicotine addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
Indeed, the craving 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 huge number of failures in attempts to quit smoking.
Most people who suffer from nicotine cravings ask themselves whether it is better to quit smoking all at once 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 should be formed taking into account the individual characteristics of the character, health, experience of smoking. 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 resort to special therapeutic measures. Otherwise, even with successful failure, the risk of relapse is high and this will only strengthen the addiction.
Hence, proper smoking cessation should be based on the following components:
- Preparation, or motivational phase.
- Actually refusal of cigarettes (better sharp).
- Organization of proper nutrition.
- If necessary, replacement therapy, psychological support.
Steps to quit nicotine
Most often, a person returns to a cigarette because he has not been able to foresee all the nuances of parting with it in advance, has not found clear motivational reasons why he wants to do so, and also has not gained the support of loved ones. The intention to get rid of addiction must be firm, otherwise exhaustion cannot be avoided. There are two main steps in the smoking cessation process, each of which is detailed below.
Preparatory
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 give up cigarettes, because some have started to "make friends" with cigarettes for company, others have smoked to show their adulthood at a young age. Perhaps the need for such dubious self-expression has already disappeared and it is time to quit smoking.
You should also write in a notebook what kinds of life situations make you take a cigarette. Whether it's smoking a break with colleagues, smoking while waiting for the bus, after eating, during arousal, knowing the problem from the inside and getting rid of it completely is much easier.
The next most important point of the preparatory phase is to provide a clear motivation that will make you quit smoking. This is incredibly important, because in the absence of a reason, already on the first or second day of quitting a cigarette, a thought such as "is this torment really necessary? "A person must know exactly what he is suffering for and the reasons must be heavy.
Common reasons for quitting smoking include:
- The desire to conceive a child or save loved ones from secondhand smoke (for example, during the wife's pregnancy, at the birth of a child)
- The desire to stay healthy or cure appeared diseases, to extend one's life (usually this is the strongest reason)
- Desire to play sports, 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 doesn't smoke
- The desire to save money - sometimes the financial situation forces you to quit smoking
Basic
The ideal option is to quit smoking immediately, even if not everyone can do it. Therefore, for those who smoke for a long time and in large quantities, experts advise first to quit smoking for 48 hours. Then 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 be easier to breathe, perhaps the headache will cease, because there will be no momentary vasospasm from nicotine intake.
After a successful rejection for 2 days, you should think about continuing a healthy lifestyle. Luck will only smile to 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 go wild, here are some tips on the behavior of a former smoker:
- When a depressive state of mind sets in, which happens to almost everyone who has quit smoking, it is worth remembering the motivation and what the mental state is: artificial, not real. It is necessary to drive out bad thoughts from yourself, thinking only of the good - about the imminent improvement of life, well-being, health.
- When you quit smoking, it's best not to be alone. This is the biggest risk of taking a cigarette, so you need to indulge in an active pastime with relatives, friends and children.
- It is necessary to be distracted by thoughts about a cigarette. This is possible if you are fully loaded with household chores - do the cleaning, do the dishes, cook a delicious dinner, watch an interesting movie - anything, just not to be left idle with the thought of smoking.
- You should often remember your chosen motivation and reward yourself for each new cigarette-free day, for each small victory over the next urge to smoke. The only condition is that it is advisable not to organize rewards in the form of the 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, apple, piece of celery or rhubarb, click on seeds, drink herbal tea - mint, fireweed, currant leaf, drink cold water in small sips.
Sport can help you stop smoking: swimming, running, walking, as well as various relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and even hypnosis. Also, experts recommend brushing your teeth more often, using mint mouthwashes, using aromatherapy at home to distract yourself from a bad habit. Don't forget to cut down on visits to places where other people smoke - there's no need to provoke unnecessarily, especially in the first few weeks after quitting.
"Anti-nicotine" nutrition 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 because of the lack of nicotine, but because of a sharp change in eating habits. If previously hunger could be replaced by a break to smoke, now it takes over a person with a vengeance. In an effort to "catch" the strongest desire to smoke, most rely heavily on crackers and chips, sweets and candies, nuts and seeds. Almost all of these foods are high in calories and sometimes frankly harmful due to the abundance of trans fats and preservatives. So, a quick set of 8-10 kilograms is the fault of another bad habit that has come to replace smoking.
Former smokers often increase their total calorie intake by increasing the number of meals, eating in the evening, arranging second breakfasts and additional snacks. Overeating is often also due to an improvement in appetite, because with regular smoking it is not in the best shape.
There is only one way out in this situation: monitor your calorie intake and consumption, eat only healthy food, rely more on fruits and vegetables to not smoke again. It is better to refuse chips and crackers in favor of fresh carrots, apples, apricots, cucumbers, plums, etc.
Certain foods rich in ascorbic acid are necessary to compensate for an acute deficiency and also help improve a person's well-being. These include raspberries, currants, citrus, spinach, sauerkraut, etc.
There are also some nutritional recommendations that will help you survive nicotine withdrawal easier and faster without gaining weight and feeling sick:
- Give up too strong tea, an abundance of coffee, replacing them with mineral water, juices, so as not to damage the vessels already affected by cigarettes.
- Do not abuse salty foods, spicy foods, fried and smoked foods due to irritation of the taste buds and increased desire to smoke.
- There is more fiber, as it will help to quickly remove the breakdown products of cigarette smoke from the body.
- Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol, particularly strong, contributes to the loss of control over the situation, while the risk of smoking is enormous.
What is the best way to quit - abruptly or gradually?
The answer from the experts is unequivocal: you need to stop smoking immediately. Of course, heavy smokers, whose experience is calculated over decades, will not be able to cope with the habit so easily, but they should seek medical assistance. The doctor will select 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 gradually quits, reducing the number of cigarettes per day, switching to lighter brands, it only prolongs his torment.
The body strongly resists, not taking the usual dose of nicotine, as a result, one has to literally fight constantly, every hour, feverishly counting the cigarettes smoked and staying 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 single step. In addition, light cigarettes contain much more harmful substances that replace the somewhat reduced nicotine content, and the harm to the body can be even greater. There is another drawback to gradual rejection: neither mental nor physical addiction is reduced. So, a smoker needs extra suffering, also, does it bring any benefit to his body?
Separately, electronic cigarettes should be noted. This modern gadget, contrary to advertising, does not contribute to smoking cessation at all. Of course, due to the absence of tar and acrid smoke, damage to health is reduced, the lungs are purified, the cough stops, and the skin is cleaned.
The 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 even in the workplace. Therefore, with a strong desire to recover without harm, there is only one option - to give up cigarettes once and for all.
Antinicotin agents
Many in an attempt to quit smoking purchase nicotine patches, chewing 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 break to smoke, 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 a strong physical addiction. Therefore, any 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, you will get some relief from the task and, together with your desire and willpower, everything will work out!