According to statistics, 85% of smokers dream of quitting this addiction. This desire is intensified with age, when one accumulates an impressive "bunch" of illness, and every visit to the doctor begins with advice on smoking cessation. However, is it possible to get rid of the habit of smoking on your own, and what problems can arise in this case?
Is it dangerous to quit smoking?
It is widely believed that abrupt smoking cessation leads to exacerbation of chronic diseases, heart attacks, and significant weight gain. In part, this is also the case. A person with many years of smoking experience may experience malaise when quitting a bad habit - this is because nicotine is incorporated into the autonomic nervous system and is involved in the body’s life processes.
This is why the body experiences psychological and physical stress by sharply limiting nicotine. However, each person has their own characteristics and the threshold for perceiving the situation is different. That’s why there are many who quit smoking "on the same day, " but there are also those who can’t do it without medical help and special tools.
If a person is psychologically ready and wants to quit smoking himself and his body is in good physical condition, the process of adapting to a life without cigarettes will pass easily and imperceptibly. But people who have smoked for more than 30 years, as well as the elderly, are in poor health, have better access to psychological and medical support.
What happens if you quit smoking?
A person who quits smoking may experience noticeable malaise. What exactly do you expect?
- It is possible for the immune system to weaken, so that chronic diseases can get worse.
- There is a cough, especially in the morning.
- There is an increase in weight. Most often, this is due to the fact that one replaces the habit of smoking with an equally bad habit of chewing something. Therefore, if one is used to smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day, it now becomes 10-15 snacks, which of course is shown in the figure.
- You may have seizures and irritability due to the need to limit yourself in some way. Constant thinking about how not to get rid of it often leads to inexperience and inattention.
The negative effects can be significantly reduced if smoking cessation is supervised by a professional. The doctor can always give you the necessary psychological and medical help. However, the main role in the process of quitting smoking is not played by drugs, but by the conscious desire of a person to quit smoking. If you do this not voluntarily but on the instructions of a doctor or relatives, the process is different.
If a person is not psychologically ready for such an action, they use any means: a nicotine patch, a candy, an argument, or a promise. In the end, however, it definitely collapses because the subconscious mind is persistently looking for the cause and opportunity to smoke. Man is constantly in dissonance, and this situation is psychologically depressing. This will only make you nervous and conclude that quitting smoking is extremely difficult.
How to quit smoking suddenly?
It is possible to quit smoking suddenly and is much more effective than prolonging the separation with a cigarette over time. Such an approach requires willpower and great personal desire. It should be noted that after a sharp cessation of smoking, the rate of relapses is very small, but with slow and gradual rejection, some people return to their unhealthy habits. That’s why there are possible situations that Mark Twain joked about: "Quitting smoking is very easy, I myself have quit a thousand times. "
Tips for quitting smoking on your own
- Keep a diary in which you write down all the cigarettes you smoke. Once a day (or every other day) postpone smoking for the next cigarette by 30 minutes, then by 1 hour, then by 2 hours, and so on. This can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day.
- Buy cigarettes piece by piece, reducing the number of pieces each time. Buy a less powerful cigarette every time. The number of cigarettes is gradually declining and their strength is significantly reduced.
- Collect cigarette butts smoked during the day to see clearly how much damage you are doing to your body each day.
- Calculate how much money you spend on cigarettes per month, per year, for the entire duration of smoking. Think about what you could buy with this money, because this is a clear example of the term "money down the drain".
- Instead of a break in smoke, eat an apple, drink strong tea without sugar or mineral water with lemon, take a walk on the street, do a few exercises - it is only good for your figure and health, and by no means the appearance of extra pounds.