What Can I Do To Help Myself Quit Smoking?
Smokers are often aware of all the dangers of smoking tobacco, and many of them have tried to quit but failed. If you are one of those people, please don’t give up! Know that many smokers fail several times before quitting successfully. Know that your past failures are not a lesson that you are unable to quit. Instead, view it as part of the normal journey toward becoming a non-smoker.
There are many tools to help smokers quit. Smoking is more a psychological addiction which is why Hypnosis has proven to be so successful with this habit. In experiments, Hypnotherapy has proven more effective than drugs, nicotine chewing gum or patches, plus there are no harmful side effects. Below are some behavioural modifications you can make to help you prepare to be a nonsmoker.
First, decide to clean and store away all ashtrays. Then aim to exercise if you feel any withdrawal tension. Often, I find with smokers, a smoke break is often the only time in the day they take 5 minutes to themselves and breathe deeply (except they are drawing over 4,000 different chemical compounds into their lungs). If you have an urge to smoke, sit down and relax for 5 minutes and take a few deep breaths, hold them for 5-10 seconds and then release it slowly.
Increase fluid intake, water, juice or diet drinks (no caffeine) plus decrease coffee, tea and alcohol which increase the urge for nicotine. If you feel the need for something in your mouth, you can use sugarless gum or carrot/celery sticks. Aim to get some support from other non-smokers for positive strokes and keep the thought in your mind that “I am now an ex-smoker.”
When you quit, after only four days, all the nicotine will be gone from your system. Every time you urinate, nicotine and poisons will be leaving your body, so drink water to help flush them out. As the nicotine leaves your system so does calcium, so for the first four days replace calcium with supplements or dairy products. As the nicotine leaves your body, your sugar levels drop too which then causes a craving for nicotine. So for each of the first four days, for example, eat three oranges per day to replace the lost sugar. If you should feel stress, as smoking is a nervous habit, a vitamin B complex can help relieve the stress. Continue this for ten days.
On the 4th day you will feel great because the nicotine will be gone from your system. On the tenth day, you will feel really good because all your blood cells will be oxygenated. All the residual smoke, nicotine and poisons will be cleansed away.