QUIT SMOKING
In previous discussions I talked about breaking the physical addiction to smoking. That is the easy part of quitting. The more difficult part is breaking the psychological addiction. This is the hardest part of quitting.
Every smoker has the same psychological addictions when they think they need a cigarette. Below are some of the traditional times you reach for a cigarette. The addiction is the same for everyone and the reality is that there is really no bad time for a cigarette when you are an addict.
People smoke when they:
- Wake up in the morning with their coffee (always was my favorite of the day)
- Drive a car
- Have a cocktail
- After a meal
- During any stressful situation
- Are bored
- Are scared
- Are tired
- Celebrate an accomplishment
- Visit friends
- Get ready for bedtime
And you thought you were unique. The addiction affects everyone the same. That is why most smokers inhale a pack of cigarettes or slightly more each day. That is how much your body needs to maintain the addiction. Typically if you observed most smokers you will notice that about every 30 minutes they require a cigarette. It they are at work and can't smoke they will typically make up for it by smoking multiple cigarettes during a break or lunch.
The challenge when you are quitting is that you associate every activity in your life with smoking. Get up and have a smoke, get in the car and have a smoke, eat a meal and have a smoke. Now when you stop you need to break the psychological addiction. Believe me the first time you get in your car after quitting you will instinctively reach for a cigarette.
The good news is it usually only takes one time to complete a task without smoking to conquer the psychological barrier. So the first time you get in your car without a cigarette you will think about smoking the entire time you are in the car. The next time you will probably not think about it more than once if at all.
The bottom line is once you quit, you will need to complete every task that you associated smoking with, but without smoking. Once you do it, you will no longer have to fight that battle. Eventually you will complete everything you ever did as a non smoker and will have broken all psychological addictions.
Congratulations you are on your way. One word of caution - you will at some time in the next couple months encounter a situation that you associated smoking with and you will have a massive crave. For me it was going to Las Vegas where I always smoked and gambled. I was 7 months into my quit and all I could think about was smoking that entire weekend. Fortunately I never gave in and today I can go and enjoy Las Vegas and all it's attractions without that little cigarette.
TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
