Confronting Your Addiction Head On

There are two parts to your smoking addiction:

• Psychological addiction: This occurs because smoking becomes a part of your everyday routine. This means if you want to cut down or quit, you will need to change your habits.
• Physical addiction: This occurs because your body has become addicted to the nicotine in the cigarette. This addiction causes real withdrawal symptoms when you cut down or quit smoking

 Þ    Dealing with your Psychological Addiction

Plan to stop completely.

Some tips for successfully preparing to quit are:

• Set a definite date for quitting

• Ask your friends and relatives to help you once you have set a date. Ask them to try to avoid smoking when you are around and be supportive of your plans.

• Make a list of reasons why you want to quit. Keep this list with you at all times. When you feel the urge to smoke read your list to remind you why you are doing this and to help strengthen your resolve.

• When the day arrives, do something active or reward yourself by doing something you enjoy, for example going to the cinema or shopping.

• To begin with you may need to avoid social situations which you connect with smoking.

• Think of ways to substitute something else for cigarettes in those social situations you cannot avoid.

• Anticipate and mentally think about how you will deal with other challenges associated with quitting you may face

• Get rid of all the paraphernalia connected with smoking: ash trays, papers, lighters etc.

• Wash all your clothes and give your home a clean to get rid of the smoke smell. Soon you will be able to pay for a new set of clothes from the savings you make from quitting.

• Talk to your doctor if you feel it will help or if you are a heavy smoker. He or she will usually be very happy to discuss your intention to stop and may be able to provide helpful advice and support.

Þ    Dealing with Your Physical addiction

The withdrawal from the physical addiction to nicotine can be the number one saboteur in your quit plan at first. Anyone who smokes more than three cigarettes per day should consider using some form of medical therapy to help them stop.

As we have already seen, nicotine is a highly addictive drug and if you go completely cold turkey you may feel irritable, tense and generally not yourself.

Many people just cannot handle the way they feel once they quit so they start smoking again just to feel better and like themselves once more. Most people tend to slip up in the first week after quitting when the withdrawal symptoms are at their strongest.

Another, or your first failed attempt at quitting smoking can come as a serious blow and puts some people off trying again for years. This is why you should seriously think about using some form of medication to help you stop.

Using some form of medication to quit smoking almost doubles your chances of stopping for good. It is important to discuss these methods with your doctor and follow their advice.

You must also remember that the medicine alone can’t do all the work; you will still have to deal with the psychological and social changes quitting smoking will bring to your life. However medications can help with the cravings and withdrawal symptoms you are likely to experience early in your quit.