Several years back I had the pleasure of visiting Japan and China. Japan is one culture that respects the rights of others. As you stroll down the street you will not see people with a cigarette in hand. The first day I was in Japan I noticed how quiet everyone was on the street. You did not hear people talking with each other. What you saw instead was everyone had a cell phone in hand and was reading and sending text messages. Read more
Maybe you've been smoking for 20, 30 years. You wake up one day and think to yourself that surely life is better than this. You no longer want to be held captive by this addiction–You need to make a change.
The psychology of smoking is easy. Life has many stressful moments in it. Traffic, family, work, relationships and personal stressers such as weight, personality, and self-esteem. Some of us are able to learn how to cope and others need something to help get themselves through these times. These times are called triggers. And holding that cigarette, sucking on it, and breathing in that nicotine helps relieve that insecurity or stress. So the psychology of smoking is finding the triggers, learning how to over coming them and to put the nicotine addiction away forever.
NEWS FLASH!! You have the power within yourself to stop this chain of events. Make the decision to quit and either do it cold turkey and/or use one of these options to help in your triggering a life change:
Cold Turkey-This is common but studies show that in 97% of cases people fail and go back to cigarettes within six months.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy-NRT(gum, lozenges, patches, etc.)If you choose to stop smoking cold turkey one of these products coupled with that assurance that you can quit and an awareness of your triggers and how to overcome them can lead you to being smoke free.
Prescription Medications–Chantix was released onto the market in 2006. It helps the brain to produce a hormone named dopamine which helps to relieve the craving to smoke. It seems to make smoking less pleasureable. Has side effects of appetite changes, nausea, headaches and insomnia. Be sure your doctor knows of any mental illness in your history as the medication can cause suicidal thoughts. Zyban is a medication that is marketed with two brandnames Wellibutrin for depression and Zyban for cigarette cessation. It is available in generic form, Bupropion. Reports on drugs.com say that Chantix is more affective. Side effects include headaches, insomnia, dry mouth, irritability, anxiety, and in rare cases seizures.
E-cigarettes-These are designed to be like smoking and advertised to let the smoker still smoke without the smoke. Reports show that they have other chemicals in them that are not healthy. So you are getting the nicotine with no tobacco and different chemicals to take into consideration. They have not been approved by the FDA.
Inhalers-several products available. There are many good reports from users in their experience with these. In one review a smoker used an inhaler for several weeks, then just used one last nicotine cartridge until it ran out, threw it away and was done with smoking.
Support Groups-Check with your local community hospital or ask your medical doctor. Call Quit now line(1-800-QUITNOW) or go to www.smokefree.gov.
Herbal Therapy– Chewing on Licorice, or taking Oat Straw or Lobelia can be a stimulant substitue and a nicotine replacement. If lack of sleep or stress is the reason for the cigarettes Valeria or St. John's Wort can help to calm you down and help you sleep.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy(CBT)-Helps a smoker to look at the action and overall result of smoking in a different light. Perhaps seeing the long term consequences of smoking.
Aversion Therapy-Is a type of conditioning where the therapist couples the act of smoking with something such as an electrical shock, horrible smell or a medication that induces nausea. In the past this type of therapy has gotten negative press but recently it is being shown as an affective way to stop the addictive habit of smoking.
Acupuncture, Laser, Hypnosis-to help produce endorphins which decrease the cravings. There is no evidence that these are of any real help.
Let’s face it, one (of the many) hard things about quitting smoking, besides the addictive substances, is that it’s a habit. It’s a real challenge to change any of the bad habits we have. Usually, the only way to kick a bad habit is to replace those undesirable behaviors with new behaviors, in other words–to develop new good habits. Read more
I meet my husband not long after his return from Korea. He was working with his Father in the family business. His Father owned a garage that repaired cars and build stock cars for racing. My husband was standing next to a stock car puffing on a pipe. He was wearing a white tee-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had on blue jeans that had the cuffs rolled up. I guess you could have said he looked like Fonzie on Happy Days. I was on my way back to the dorm after spending the afternoon studying with my girlfriend.
He saw me pass and turned around crossing his arms over his massive chest and holding onto his pipe in one hand. He strolled over to where I was walking and asked my name. I was very shy and was raised by my Mother alone after my Father died when I was 12. She sent me away to College and warned me about meeting strange men on the street. I was not sure if I wanted to answer him or just hurry on my way. I finally decided to stop and give him my name. I told him my name was Julie Miller. He had the biggest smile on his face which made me blush. I could feel my cheeks turning red.
During the next several weeks I saw him in the garage when I went by to my girlfriend's house. I had the impression that he knew what time I would pass and was always outside the garage with his pipe in his mouth pretending to work on a car engine. He would make sure he had a red grease rag in his back pocket so he could clean his hands and walk across the street to meet me. He started to walk with me to my girlfriend's house and leave me to study. We finally started to date and were married a year later.
I knew he smoked a pipe when we meet and even after we were married. He was very courteous and never smoked in the house or around our two children when they were very small. He would go out in the garage to work on his car and smoke his pipe. He enjoyed the pipe and a few times I made a comment on why he did not quit. He said that it was enjoyable and he liked the order. When his parents came for the holidays he and his Father would go in the garage to smoke cigars. Now this was one order I cannot stand and the smell would stay with him for days. I did complain about his cigar smoking and told him how bad it smelled. He would laugh and say I only smoke a cigar on special occasions and why should I stop now.
As the years pass he kept smoking his pipe. The children were growing up and my daughter would love to spend time with her father in the garage. She would say to me the garage smells so much like Dad. I had no idea what she was talking about. Then one time I found out what she was talking about. My husband had been gone for several months on deployment and my daughter kept asking when he would be home. One day I was looking for her we needed to leave. I could not find her so I went out in the garage where I knew she would be. She was there sitting on the floor next to the car she was working on with her father. She had taken one of his pipes and had it in her mouth with a piece of sand paper in her hand. Thank God she did not try to light this and smoke it. Now this is funny but when it happened I did not think so. She looked up at me and said "Mom look I am just like Dad". She adored the order of his pipe and the smell it left behind in the garage. When my husband returned, I made him lock all of his pipes and supplies in a cabinet in the garage. I did not want our daughter smoking on this pipe one day.
Several years pass and he continued to smoke his pipe. On one of his deployments he had forgotten to purchase his pipe tobacco before leaving. On his return he stopped at a remote store out in the middle of nowhere and bought a bag of pipe tobacco. He was driving home and light up his pipe to smoke it. He said that the pipe tobacco he had purchased must have been sitting in this store for 10 years. After taking a few puffs of his pipe he was so angry he threw the pipe, lighter, and tobacco out the window of the car.
On his arrival at home my daughter had a present she had prepared waiting for him. She would not tell me what it was. She handed him this present and he opened it. She had purchased him a new pipe with money she had earned collecting coke bottle and taking them back for the deposit. He was so touched and surprised. He swore when he threw his favorite pipe out the window on the drive home he would never smoke again. The pipe our daughter gave to him was never lit and he kept it all of his life. He said he could not get rid of the pipe and put it with the other ones that people had given him.
After this day my husband never smoked a pipe or a cigar again. I have never been a smoker but from what I heard it normally is not that hard to quit. For my husband he smoked a pipe and this was something he said he enjoyed. For him to quite like he did was amazing to me. I had been after him for years to give up this pipe. His clothes smelled of the order when he smoked and I did not think it was good for our children to be around him when he smoked. The day he stopped smoking was once to celebrate. I decided that we would all go out to eat this evening to celebrate his return and the decision he made to stop smoking a pipe or cigars again.
We had many happy years of marriage and he lived a long life. He was 81 when he died and it was not from cancer smoking his pipe. I am thankful that he gave up his pipe so many years back and never smoked again. After my husband stopped smoking he was out in the garage one day and found a package of pipe tobacco he had forgotten was there. He opened the bag and started to laugh. I had no idea what was so funny. He said look Julie this is why I quit smoking. He brought the sack of tobacco over to show me. He said to smell this. When I did you could smell the stale order it had. He then explained to me this was the same smell as the tobacco he purchased so many years back. This tobacco was more than 15 years old. Now looking back I can say that I am happy he forgot to purchase his tobacco before leaving. If he had of purchased it I think he would never of given up smoking his pipe.
The top answer to “why do you smoke?” is “stress.” It is crucial to attempt to take care of your problems as well as practicing smoking alternatives. You cannot do just one of them. Focusing on taking care of the stress is something I understand is hard and very important so I’ve compiled messages that you may find helpful to tell yourself. If you are strong in the aspect of stress management, then I know you’ll be strong enough to put the cigarettes down and away forever.
I have stress awareness.
I will relax and take control when I feel discouraged.
I will re-visit good feelings to handle the situation wisely.
I will ponder good thoughts to stay peaceful. I can manage stress.
I am comfortable in my own skin.
I can live worriless by changing my perspective.
I understand things do not go as planned. I will find a substitute reaction to negativity.
I will monitor my stress level.
I will schedule things to do that bring me joy. I will manage stress.
I will quit smoking.
Words have more power than many things in this world. Self-confidence is key to building up the courage, strength, and confidence to make a change in your life like to quit smoking. So I want you to say these words out loud, not because you are striving to become these sentences, but because this is a reminder! You can whisper them, mumble them beneath your breath while you read—but isn’t this something you want to shout about? Something that needs to be heard? Enjoy.
I believe I am stunning.
Time and time again I am impressive.
I dare to improve who I am, to become self-satisfied.
I’ve worked hard and I’ve earned the strength to handle challenges.
I am self-confident. Confidence is in the heart and mind.
I have the biggest heart, people appreciate my presence.
I am mentally fit to say yes I can.
I am physically fit to be what I want to be. I am a champion to the T.
I love myself more and more each day.
I possess potential beyond measure. I own my life and I can succeed in this world and quit smoking.
I will never smoke again.
Sometimes to achieve one goal, it is tactical to focus on another goal that will in turn help out your original goal. For example, smoking is a stimulant and can cause uneasy sleep. So if you look at sleep being more important than smoking, and take action towards acquiring proper sleep. You may catch yourself smoke-free for the greater good, for better rest. Trusted medical information and support Patient.co.uk suggests not smoking within six hours before bedtime, and as a result you will sleep better. Trust the professionals and kill two birds with one stone. Below I have listed a few inspirational and motivational sentences that will help you take control.
I will get restful sleep, so that I may perform with excellence.
I will make a commitment and reap the benefits of better sleep.
I feel good about tomorrow. Sleeping is therapeutic; I can imagine the comfort I will feel once I climb into bed.
Being well rested means I will be productive.
I will rise from bed in the morning and rise to the top. Sleep is my mental work out.
I understand the power I have to strengthen my muscles, mood, and mind.
I will manage how much sleep I get. Getting the proper rest is important to me.
The well-known British actor Richard Briers died last month, at the age of 79, as a result of the smoker’s disease, emphysema . He was a very popular actor with a career spanning around 50 years, and had starred in many diverse roles, in TV, films and theatre. He was diagnosed with the lung condition emphysema in 2008, which eventually led to his death, although he had actually given up smoking about 10 years ago. Unfortunately the damage had already been done. Read more
For those who are ready to quit smoking, whether it is for the first time, or you had trouble quitting and you just want to stop for good, one of the best ways is through your medical doctor coupled with counseling. Check your internet search engine for smoking cessation counseling groups in your area.
All the quit smokinging group web pages are free. They provide you with their own quit smoking hotline to call. They give you names of counselors of the quit smoking groups in your area. Once you get a counselor, you get placed in a quit smoking group therapy session and a sponsor assigned to you. Your sponsor is an ex-smoker who successfully quit through the program that you are now in.
Your medical doctor will be able to get you a smoking medication (approved by the FDA) while you are quitting, if you need it. This, combined with your counseling website and counseling, creates a better chance to stop for good. When withdrawal symptoms get bad, instead of turning to another cigarette, you call your sponsor. You can also call the group members that you have confidence in. They help you and you help them in their quitting.
Group support goes a very long way in quitting for good. Each of counseling quit smoking programs, runs a three tier program or something similar to it, where you make goals to re-learn your life without cigarettes. You make a date and time for each short term goal to get there. You reward yourself as you successfully completed them. Set your first goal to live a whole week without touching a cigarette. When that is completed, reward yourself by walking for a mile.
Your group celebrates with you, and you celebrate their victories with them. Enlist family support if you can while you are quitting. With this, you will be more empowered to reach the long range goal to where you never want to return to the cigarettes.
Ref: Become An Ex.
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Another reason to quit smoking is to pay yours and your family’s bills. What good is a pack a day habit when you are behind on your rent? You’re in danger of your electric or your phone being shut off? You can’t afford food to put on the table for your family? You’re not just killing yourself. You’re also killing those around you in more ways than one. This is one of them.
Not being able to pay your bills causes depression and stress for your family as well as you in this case. For smokers, this might mean that they are smoking more to try to get rid of that depression and stress rather than dealing with it. Smoking a pack a day in the US, means that you spent $210. a month on that. That comes out to around $2520. a year. You could have paid rent two months’ rent with that in most places. In twenty years, you could buy a house outright with the money saved.
Quitting is very hard for smokers. Smoking the electronic cigarettes until you are able to stop, works. You save better than half the money that you spent before. On the down side, current health claims are starting to be found by scientists, about the metals and the battery acids in the electronic cigarettes providing toxins to your body and the air. That is another blog. It’s still the safer and the lesser expensive way to quit. This still leaves more money to pay the bills and put food on the table. This is another way that everyone will be breathing more freely too.
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