I have been smoking for over 15 years now and have quit again for who knows how many times. I have gone through life using smoking for various reasons and really never understood the effects smoking was having on my health. I have given up vices before but nothing has challenged me as much as quitting smoking. Each time I quit smoking and started again it was usually for reasons that were affecting my personal life. I learned that I smoke to handle stress, boredom, and depression. As I became more and more reliant on smoking to deal with the psychological issues in my life it got harder and harder to quit. I would just give up trying to quit or when I was able to quit for any length of time, I would start back up in order to cope with unfortunate circumstances in my life. I got to the point where I just did not have the willpower or desire to quit. Smoking is a dirty habit, it turns your teeth and fingers yellow, it stinks up your clothes and car, not to mention the ill effects smoking has on ones' health. Sometimes we are unfortunate and see loved ones die from a smoking related illness. Yet we continue to smoke. Why is that? For me, I concluded that until I can admit to myself I want to quit smoking and believe that I can quit I will not be able to quit smoking. Next, I had to think back to all the times I quit before and make a list of the things that were going on in my life that made me start smoking again. As I mentioned earlier these were usually issues that created stress in my life or depressed me. Knowing what these triggers were played a key role in quitting this time, hopefully for good. If you don't know why you smoke you will not be able to develop a plan to deal with the situations that bring on cravings to smoke. There are healthier ways to deal with your problems rather than lighting up a cigarette. There are various ways of handling stress in a healthy productive manner. Since everyone is different you need to think of ways that will work for you. For me I like to take some alone time with no distractions, watch a movie, and occasionally I think about exercising. Along with knowing how you are going to handle the psychological reason why you smoke it has proven helpful for me to have a list of reasons why I want to quit smoking. My first one was for my new baby girl. The rest pretty much revolved around her. I want to live longer, set a good example, protect her health, be able to run across the yard without losing my breath, etc. You get the picture. Of course I had many other reasons but to list them all would be pointless. There was one other vital component to succeeding in my efforts to quit smoking and that was getting support. You don't have to quit smoking alone, people can help and encourage you to not light up a cigarette. They have understanding, empathy, and usually a true desire to see you succeed. One of the best resources I enjoyed using was online bulletin boards. If I can quit smoking so can you. Everyone is different and there are many different ideas out there on how to quit smoking. This article discusses some of the key things that helped me to quit smoking cigarettes. You may find a different approach that works for you. I feel the ideas I discussed are key players in being successful. I hope you found this information useful and I wish you the best of luck in your efforts to quit smoking. Like the title says, if I can quit smoking so can you. |
