Smoking has many adverse side effects on human health. It’s said to be among the leading causes of lung-related diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and erectile dysfunction. The health hazards of smoking are believed to have contributed to the early deaths of smokers compared to the mortality rate of non-smokers.
However, despite the high risks of smoking, there are still people who find it challenging to quit smoking. It's said that quitting smoking has nothing to do with being a heavy or occasional smoker. It could simply be addictive for anyone. This is because of the addictive chemical (nicotine) usually present in substances people smoke.
The good news is that you could still quit smoking even though you think it might be impossible to do so. If you’re trying to stop smoking but couldn’t seem to make the dreaded first day, then this article was written for you. With patience and the right quit strategies, you could quit smoking permanently. Here’s how to quit smoking even when it feels you can’t.
1. Identify Why You Want To Quit
Identifying why you need to quit is the first step to achieving a successful smoking-free plan. Having a reason would motivate you to keep going even on the most difficult days. Your motivation may be to increase your life expectancy, reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases, protect your family, improve your personal life, maintain a younger-looking physical appearance, eliminate the smoking smell, or save money. And if you've dental care issues, you can drop by the dentist in Oakbrook Terrace to rid sensitive teeth or teeth stains from smoking.
Whatever your reason is, it has to be powerful enough to help your brain overcome its nicotine addiction and the need to smoke. Trying to quit smoking without a solid reason might only allow your mind to doubt and make it seem impossible. But finding a reason could empower you to be in control and not the other way around.
2. Consider An Alternative To Smoking
Some people smoke to manage unpleasant situations. It explains why the need for nicotine seems almost akin to survival. Vaping is an alternative to getting nicotine into the system in a purportedly less harmful way. It would allow you to inhale nicotine in the form of vapor, commonly known to help people quit smoking. If you want to check out some vaping devices, you may visit online vape shops like Vape and Juice and similar sites.
Vaping may also prevent you from having the damaging elements present in tobacco smoke. This alternative could help you manage your nicotine cravings effectively. To get the best result, you may need to stop smoking tobacco entirely and use your vaping device, like squonk mods, as much as you need to.
3. Manage Your Smoking Cravings
For some smokers, having a way to manage their smoking cravings would help them quit smoking easier. Apart from making it easier, it could help in overcoming the situations that make you want to smoke.
Start thinking of things to do to distract yourself when you start to crave. Craving may only persist for a few minutes. So once you make it past that time, you would have successfully overcome the addiction, even if it’s just for that period.
Some of the things you could do that might help include calling a friend who knows about your struggle, flossing your teeth, chewing gum, and getting rid of your smoking materials. You could also try drinking non-alcoholic beverages, exercising, playing music, taking a shower, or engaging in relaxing activities like dancing and swimming.
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it doesn’t affect your health. Just get busy with any activity to replace your smoking routine. It’s better to be prepared ahead so you could easily overcome the craving moments.
4. Follow A Personalized Quit-Smoking Plan
You don’t have to feel burdened with your quitting plans. Try to map out an achievable plan, starting with picking a date that feels right for you to stop smoking and mark it out on your calendar. This would help you move forward.
There’s no particular quit-smoking plan for everyone. Instead, your plan must be tailored to your specific smoking habits and needs. Some people quit easily with a one-stop plan, or cold turkey, while most people quit better by following a well-tailored plan. Creating a great personalized plan would help you overcome the challenges you’d face in the process of quitting. When you plan ahead of the challenges, you’d be able to stay focused and confident that you have what it takes to quit smoking.
5. Identify And Avoid Smoking Triggers
Once you start your quit-smoking journey, you might need to avoid things that could trigger you and create the urge to smoke. It begins with recognizing your smoking triggers. These things could be anything, from people and places to certain situations, activities, and emotions.
Triggers are different for each smoker, so you’d have to pay attention to identify yours. You could keep track of the moments you crave smoking and note them down days ahead of your quitting program. Note things like the time, intensity of the craving, people you were with, situations that triggered the urge to smoke—these are your likely triggers. Knowing the triggers would give you headway on avoiding those things that make you want to smoke. It could also help you make changes to your daily routines to avoid smoking triggers.
6. Prepare For Withdrawal Symptoms
Prepare for how to deal with the aftermath effects. A few days after you stop smoking, you may start experiencing withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms will be visible as your body lacks nicotine. Common nicotine withdrawal symptoms are frustration, craving to smoke, restlessness, headaches, amplified coughing, insomnias, depression, and more appetite.
The symptoms could last for days, weeks, or months and also differ from person to person. Try to bear in mind that these symptoms are merely temporary, and you’d get better as time goes on. When necessary, seek medical help to relieve these symptoms. This would help you stick to your quit-smoking plan.
7. Have A Support System
Try not to burden yourself excessively by relying on your self-will alone to quit. It may be easier to accomplish it when you have people to support you. Let them know of your plan to quit smoking and your need for their support and encouragement. Try talking to people who are non-smokers or have stopped smoking for their advice and support.
Getting an accountability partner, preferably someone planning to stop smoking, may also be an advantage for you. It’s perhaps easier to maintain accountability and get each other through the rough days with a partner.
If you don’t have a personal support system, you could get professional support from agencies, medical personnel, support groups, counselors, and experts specialized in helping people quit smoking. You’re more likely to succeed when you have a support system.
Conclusion
Although quitting smoking is a challenging journey, it doesn’t mean you can’t stop it permanently. You’d need a personalized strategy to quit smoking for good. Identifying why you want to quit smoking would empower you to follow through with your quit-smoking journey. Don’t also underestimate the power of support. Try to get as much as you need for the journey ahead. Always remember to reward or celebrate after passing each milestone as it could encourage you to do more.
