Natural Remedies for Quitting

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I’ve already written an article that speaks of the many benefits of using herbal remedies to help you quit smoking, and listed a few. Actually, there are more, and their use is a bit different. Furthermore, the ones I will be listing are natural remedies, not necessarily oils per se, like the last article, so some people may find this type of remedy much easier to work with, and maybe even less expensive as some oils do come with a hefty price – especially the ones meant to be used for oral consumption.

Also, remember that a craving for a cigarette lasts around two to ten minutes only. If you can stay focused on something else during that time and work with these remedies – especially when used as prevention – you can curve your cravings and let go of the habit that you need to stop (these remedies can help with other cravings as well).

So, without further ado, here are the ones I found while browsing the internet.

Cayenne Pepper: this spice works well at desensitizing the respiratory system to tobacco and the chemicals in the cigarette. This, therefore, makes you want it less. Please note cayenne is also good if you have cold.

Lobelia: this is a plant that has been known to help fight the effects of withdrawal and is the active ingredient in several anti-smoking products.

Ginger: this is a root that is used for digestion. People who stop smoking, at times, have stomach and digestion discomforts and issues, and this is used to reduce cramps. It is also good to help alleviate nausea.

St. John’s wort: this is an herb that has been used for a long time to promote a positive way of thinking. This is especially good at the start.

Korean or tiger ginseng: ginseng has long been used to reduce the effects of stress and to help deal with fatigue.

Peppermint: this herb is very relaxing for the digestive system, helps reduce flatulence, and stimulates digestion in general.

 

 

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All You Need is to Exercise… Your Will Power?

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We know that most smokers want to quit. Ii’s nothing new. The same goes for other bad habits. But why is it so difficult to do? Why do people hurt themselves, at times their own friendships, and other relationships, for the sake of addictive and damaging chemical substances?

The truth is, bad habits are hard to break. Okay, so I’m preaching to the choir. But why are they so much work to get rid of? First, we need to understand how we create them. Exchanging them for healthy habits is what we need.

Repetition is typically the way habits are built. We don’t need to get a reward to create routine toward our other daily habits, such as showering or brushing our teeth. However, the bad habits often require an incentive to break them. Why else would we want to?

Remember hearing the word ‘dopamine’ in biology classes in high school? Remember how your health ed teacher used to say that this is why we get hooked on drugs? It’s the same thing for any pleasurable habit, which makes the bad ones hard to get rid of. Dopamine is a naturally addictive substance that our body makes to tell us that what we are doing is fun, and when the feeling stops, our body starts asking for it again, up to the point of craving it. This is why we sometimes crave something, like drugs or food, even if the feeling of hunger or the initial buzz is no longer there.

The most common cure for this sort of dependance, called cravings, is simple. It's called willpower. Yes, this is the main ingredient in your how-to-quit recipe. And, for those who have already tried to quit smoking and lacked this essential part, hope is not lost.

You see, this is a part of our inbred mechanism that needs exercise. If you feel like you currently lack willpower, start small. Self-control, like any other aspect of human psychology, is good only if it’s trained. We all have it–some of us just need to develop it, the same way we can develop self-esteem and courage.

The trick is to start small. If smoking is still much to large task to take on, try reducing the number of cookies you eat after every dinner. Work on that for a few days. Then add to it: get five minutes more exercise tomorrow; eat more vegetables the day after; smoke one cigarette less per day.

Now, some people suggest that you break your nasty habits by trying to replace them with something else. This can work for some people, but psychologists warn to stay away from any nasty habits, such as replacing smoking with sucking on a lollipop. The reason is simple: now you have another bad habit that you need to break. Instead, why not immediately replace it with something healthy, thus avoiding the need to repeat another entire process of reducing your dependancies? Instead of reaching for a candy, pick up a celery stick. Go for a long walk outside, away from any smokers (especially those you know well).

And one more tip: stay away from anyone who tried to tempt you back in, at least for the time it takes you to officially quit and feel like you are over your bad habit. You need twice the resolve to fight against both those individuals, and the tricks your own mind tries to play on you. You might as well not let yourself get sucked in by someone who does not have the same level of will power you do.

 

 

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From Ritualistic Aid To Modern Cancer Stick!

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It may seem very strange to us nowadays, but during the early history of smoking tobacco, it was initially considered to have a lot of health benefits.  Even so, there were some detractors of smoking at the time, but they were mainly in the minority. Read more

Positive Psychology

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Addiction is often considered an actual condition, as though it was a disease or illness of sorts. Others claim that everyone has full control over the addiction they got themselves in, and should all be able to stop – without medical help. Depending on how you see it, there is one Read more

Take Your Freedom Back and Still Be Fooled

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Take our freedom back? Our habit, our cigarette. I just watched this commercial on TV about the new electric cigarette called BLU. Sure, it's tobacco-less and all, but it still is a way of taking nicotine into the body. Nicotine is a terrible poison that will end up killing you.

Did you know that even more nicotine has been found in cigarettes over the last few years? But an electric cigarette is just another way to get pure nicotine (in liquid form) into your body.

You figure, you take anywhere from four to fifteen puffs per cigarette. Each puff delivers one milligram of nicotine to the brain. With twenty cigarettes in a regular pack, that adds up to between 100 and 300 doses of nicotine per day. Who knows how much you smoke with the electric acquivalent.

The dose is taken through the lungs, and within seconds of inhilation, it hits the brain. Thus the behavior of smoking is reinforced with a nicotine dose. The behavior itself is also addictive just through sheer repetition, whether electric or otherwise. So what if there is no tabacco? So you aren't exhaling smoke into another's space, and it is more socially exceptable?

Did you know that nicotine can enter the body through the skin or mucous membranes as well as being inhaled into lungs with a cigarette? This is another reason second hand smoke is so deadly. Electric cigarettes are a miraculous find toward eleviating that.

Nicotine fools the body into thinking there is more glucose in the bloodstream, which gives a smoker the feeling of not being hungry. We all know what going without meals and nourishment can do to us (like making us cranky and tired).

When nicotine hits the brain, it prevents the neurons from transfering information throughout the chain that helps it receive needed information that helps with muscle movement and energy level. Because it makes the brain release more chemicals than it would normally, it makes the person feel more alert and even relaxed. Nicotine even fools the brain into making you feel happy, due to other chemicals being released. This is a good part of the reason for addiction.

So it all comes down to this: Do you want to become even more addicted to nicotine and have a heart attack even sooner? Are you more concerned with the social aspects of smoking? Aleviate that and you're free and clear! How much more fooling is your body going to take, before it's heart breaks down and you have a heart attack? How much longer?

Or do you really want to be healthy and live longer? They say you take about seven minutes off of your life every time you smoke a cigarette. So if you smoke just one pack a day (electric or tabacco) you are losing over two hours of life each day.

 

Smoking in the Elements

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I didn't realize just long I'd been away from this lovely community until Breathing Happy sent me an email wondering about my two week absence. It wasn't that I'd forgotten; I've felt my lack of blogging. Life just keeps intervening.

My grandpa is now home from the hospital (thank you for all the kind thoughts, by the way), his healing process is being really slow, so we've all been trying to take care of him the best that we can. That, plus the fact that I'm a full time college student and a part time cashier makes life a little stressful.

However, this doesn't mean that Breathing Happy hasn't been on my mind.

I was actually talking to one of my managers where I work about my plans for the future, which lead to my passion for blogging, and, specifically, this blog.

When I told him that I was blogging here and what Breathing Happy is, he said, "But you don't know anything about smoking! You don't know what it's like to try to stop doing something like that."

And, he's right. I don't understand, but I have empathy for people who are trying to quit, and I can give advice based on research and what people I know who do, or have in the past smoked, tell me.

Here, in Kentucky, it's been super cold all day, and it wasn't until I started working on my laptop and bundled up on the couch that I actually felt truly warm.

While walking in the cold and wind between classes, I thought, "Smokers must be miserable right now…" If you quit smoking, one less thing that you'll have to worry about is having to stand outside in nasty weather to soothe your craving.

Besides that, the very fact that you have to go outside in some situations must get old.

In the city I live in, there was a law passed that made it to where all public places are smoke free. Now, I'm happy that I don't have to worry about secondhand smoke, but I have plenty of customers who are upset when they discover that we don't have a smoking section. This is understandable; I wouldn't want to stand outside because of my addictions.

So, if you quit smoking, you not only loose the annoyance of being forced outside of public places in some situations, you also don't have worry about having to stand in the cold, the snow, the rain, etc. to feed your addiction.

Take care and never give up.

Getting Burnt?

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Only a headless turkey would sunbathe without protection. Why then would reasonable people put themselves in harms way and bake in the sun? We all know that over exposure to the sun causes skin cancer and wrinkles.  

On the same note, it only makes sense to not contaminate yourself and those around you with toxic tobacco or marajuana smoke (yes 420 friendly smokers are at risk, too).

Of course, this turkey could swath itself in sunscreen and limit exposure in short incriments of time. This would allow for a protective suntan, which is healthier and more comfortable than a blisterining sunburn. 

What about smoking? The only protection any of us have to avoid it, to not partake in administering the poisons and sufficating smoke into our systems.  Drinking more water or eating more vegetables and fruits, even getting more excercise and fresh air won't make up for or elieviate the detrimental effects of draging on a cigarette or joint.

Buy a pacifier and tug on that for a while instead of the butt of a smoke.  It might look silly, but it would be a lot smarter.

Only turkeys taste better when they are smoked!

 

 

THE MANY DEATH TRAPS OF SMOKING

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Kudos to goodblogs.com for creating a blog of this niche. I have longed yearned to write as per this topic. In this series, I will be addressing the many death traps been made available to smokers which they may or may not be aware of. On cigarette wraps all we see is "smokers are liable to die young", from what type of death and how long it will take to kill them, all this are not specified. In this series of mine I will be writing on the many diseases attached to smoking and how it affects the human body system.

In my part of the world (West Africa sub region) people who fall prey to smoking are young ones between the ages of (14-29) years and adults ages (30-60) years. I have seen smoking kill many young people and financially wreck many adults. This points to the fact that smoking does not only kill the body, it also kills bank accounts.

SMOKING is an ATTITUDE of burning a substance (commonly a tobacco cigarette), after which the smoke produced from that substance is tasted and inhaled. The pleasures of smoking last for only a few minutes, but they lead to life threatening issues in the long run. Smoking consistently over a long period of time could be detrimental to a smokers health as his/her body is prone various diseases which may either kill them or leave them with a bad health condition.

Diseases caused from smoking can affect every part of the body from top to bottom. Commonly known diseases caused from smoking are: Lung Cancer, Bronchitis, Asthma, Emphysema, Coronary heart disease, Stroke, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis (buildup of fatty substances in the arteries), Impotence. In subsequent series, I will be talking on each disease and its effect on the human system.

I will also like to highlight possible risks attached to each part of the body as caused by smoking, starting with the head.

HEAD Regular headaches Risk of Alzheimer Stroke Multiple Sclerosis

EYES Macular Degeneration Negative effects on sight

MOUTH Gum Disease Poor Dental health Oral Cancer

NECK AND THROAT Cancer of the Pharynx and Larynx Thyroid Disease

CHEST Lung Cancer Asthma Esophageal Cancer COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Colds

HEART Coronary Artery Disease Atherosclerosis High Blood Pressure Elevated Cholesterol Level

ABDOMEN Heartburn Abnormal Aortic Aneurysms Poor Digestive System Peptic Ulcer Pancreatic Cancer

REPRODUCTION (WOMEN) Early Menopause Infertility

REPRODUCTION (MEN) Impotence Erectile Dysfunction Kidney Cancer Prostate Cancer Infertility

BACK Osteoporosis Fibromyalgia Rheumatoid Arthritis Peripheral Vascular Disease

These are few of many effects of smoking on the human body. They are death traps which manufacturers will never alert the the customers to. In my next writing I will be talking on the possibility of STROKE as a smokers death trap.

 

 

 

I hope you find this piece useful to you. Thanks.

Green Tobacco Will Make You Sick

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The more research I do about smoking, the more I find how universally harmful it is, and the more the reasons keep stacking up for why everyone should quit! I have recently discovered that the harvesting of the tobacco (called green tobacco, when it first comes out of the fields) is poisoning the pickers, and in particular children, who are doing this job. Read more

Quitting Naturally

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There are some forms of naturopathic care that can help alleviate the task of quitting smoking. Although some people swear by things like Nicorette and the patch, others would prefer to search for alternative treatments that are natural and healthy.

Tobacco Absolute is one that is available and smells just like tobacco, which could be sufficient for those who only require a similar scent to help alleviate the cravings. You only need to put a drop on a paper tissue and bring it up to your nose like you would for a cigarette.

Black peppercorn is another one that is excellent to help reduce cravings by making you more alert and energized. Mix it with other oils if you want, or use it alone, in a diffuser or on a paper tissue left in the corner. This type of oil is also good to help improve blood circulation and you can dilute it in a large quantity of almond oil and rub it on your aches and pains.

As well, you can use the following oils for these symptoms:

Anxiety: bergamot, clary sage, frankincense, sandalwood, lavender, rose, mandarin

Calming: lavender, chamomile

Depression reduction: rose, sandalwood, orange, bergamot, clary sage, lavender, ylang ylang, grapefruit, frankincense, lemon, jasmine, neroli

Insomnia: chamomile, clary sage, bergamot

Stress reducing: clary sage, lemon, lavender, chamomile, bergamot, geranium, frankincense, grapefruit, jasmine, ylang ylang

These are only some of the oils and their properties. You can mix them together for better result and use them either in a diffuser, in a bath, or on a tissue left on a table nearby. To help you sleep, you can put a couple of drops on your pillowcase.

 

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