It is not easy for many people to quit smoking. A smoking cessation calendar can help put an end to a health-destroying habit.
The quit calendar allows you to learn about and prepare for all the changes in your organization.
What is a quit calendar
The smoking cessation calendar provides strong support for getting rid of nicotine addiction by month and day. It allows you to understand how your body responds to nicotine withdrawal at different times and can prepare you for any difficulties psychologically as well as physically.
Note!In addition to keeping track of changes in your body and psyche on a calendar, keeping a diary is recommended to help you better understand the causes of tobacco addiction.
The desire to smoke another cigarette is often not related to the physiological need for the next dose of nicotine in the body, but to certain psychological triggers. For example, a morning coffee or a break from work is strongly associated with smoking. If you notice a urge to smoke in moments like this, you may want to switch to another, more helpful routine. For example, you can make another entry in your diary or call your loved one.
What can we expect from the body
The daily calendar of smokers contains all the likely feelings and experiences that accompany the process of quitting. People who quit smoking most often experience the following symptoms:
- Nicotine accident. This is a rather painful condition, especially annoying in the first few days of smoking cessation.
- Psychological collapse. The main reason people continue to smoke is not physiological but psychological. Smoking is considered by the smoker to be a certain ritual by which he reacts, reacts to various situations in his life. By rejecting the usual ritualized actions, a lot of empty space appears, which the psyche often has nothing to fill. Hence the frequent feeling of anxiety and anxiety in a person who has recently quit smoking, when under normal circumstances there is suddenly nothing to occupy his hands and mouth.
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases, often hidden. The annual calendar of heavy smokers following a sudden cessation of smoking makes it possible to recognize that the unpleasant physiological symptoms that occur during the first weeks and even months of smoking cessation indicate the restoration of normal functioning of the body’s systems and organs.
Further information.The intensity and duration of withdrawal symptoms are different for everyone. In most cases, however, after a few weeks, the body regains the ability to produce nicotinic acid on its own in the right amount, and the physiological craving for smoking ceases. Getting rid of psychic addiction is much harder.
Emotions and thoughts
A person who has given up a cigarette may experience quite different emotions in this regard: from self-pity to the pride of manifested willpower. To achieve this goal, we need to get rid of the idea that quitting smoking is a curtailment, a severe asceticism that requires tremendous effort and the strictest self-control.
Quitting smoking can be easy and fun. All you have to do is agree with your subconscious, you need to convince your "inner child" that it is much more interesting, pleasant and "cooler" to live without a cigarette so that quitting smoking can be a real pleasure.
For example, smokers lose their sense of smell and taste. However, this process is reversible. All you have to do is stop smoking and the familiar food will shine with new shades. Why not the most hedonistic way to quit smoking?
It helps you tune in to the right wave of review of global life goals. You need to understand why all of this is changing in your normal lifestyle. For example, a rare woman does not dream of becoming a mother one day. When we realize that the enjoyment of a cigarette is nothing compared to the health and well-being of the unborn child, it is much easier to quit a bad habit.
Preliminary preparation
Quitting smoking without serious preparation is not recommended. After all, this means subjecting your body and psyche to a strong shock. It’s better to dedicate a week, two, a month to yourself to prepare yourself spiritually for the upcoming events.
In writing, you should analyze all the "pros" and "minuses" of smoking and quitting, and personally yourself. If a loved one needs to quit smoking, don’t tick the "health" element. Here we are talking about the value of relationships and the comfort of the partner. Only finding real and positive motives will make the process of changing your lifestyle easier.
You should then observe yourself and note the situations and emotions that make you smoke and smoke a cigarette. You then need to figure out compensatory actions. For example, many people smoke to calm down. For the same purpose you can use various breathing exercises, visualization techniques, drink herbal teas. Any of these activities can be turned into a hobby, a new, "healthy" addiction.
It is not at all necessary to throw away all the lighters, ashtrays and other things that are reminiscent of an old custom. Sometimes a pack of cigarettes hidden for a "rainy day" will help you endure the process of quitting nicotine more calmly.
Quit smoking calendar every month
After learning the detailed information about the changes in the body for the coming year, none of your reactions to smoking will come as a surprise and you will not lose confidence in the correctness of the decision made.
The first month without smoking
This is the most difficult period characterized by unstable physical and psycho-emotional states. Therefore, it is desirable for the first days and weeks without a cigarette to coincide with the weekends or holidays. With physical exertion, a decrease in the number of stressful situations, and an increase in the number of new positive impressions, it is much easier to survive withdrawal syndrome.
To minimize the unpleasant consequences of nicotine hunger, it is recommended to include several pectin-rich green vegetables and fruits (apples, oranges, apricots, plums) in your diet. Buckwheat, legumes, nuts help make up for nicotinic acid deficiency. You can use motherwort decoction to reduce nervousness and improve sleep.
Restoring your sense of taste leads to an increase in appetite, which can negatively affect your weight. Therefore, do not abuse sweets and high-calorie foods.
Second and third months
The phase of active healing begins in the lungs. Occasionally, dry mouth, cough, and sputum may develop, especially with increased physical activity. But that’s a good sign - it means the body has the resources to clean up.
The cardiovascular system is also undergoing changes. By the end of the third month, vascular tone will return to normal and the former smoker will stop dizziness and migraines.
Important!The end of the three-month cessation period is a critical period when many return to smoking. Therefore, you must stay away from temptations at this time. Any attempt to smoke, to "remember" the taste of a cigarette, can put a person back among the smokers.
Fourth to sixth month
The work of the gastrointestinal tract is restored and the stool is normalized. The ability to fully absorb all the necessary nutrients returns to the intestines, which improves the condition of the skin. Exfoliation, which can bother a person in the initial stages of smoking cessation, no longer bothers him.
Many former smokers notice that they can breathe more easily in the fifth or sixth month than if their lungs have dilated. This is a sign of recovery of the broncho-pulmonary system. From this moment on, it is recommended to start playing sports.
Cycling, swimming is the best opportunity for physical activity for an even weakened body.
seventh to ninth month
Coughing and sputum production at this stage are virtually no longer a concern. It is allowed to include running and strength exercises in the training program.
At such times, many have forgotten the hardships of the first weeks of quitting, but the power of habituation is still great. It is important not to allow the cigarette to light up "on the machine" mechanically.
tenth to twelfth month
Physiological dependence on nicotine is completely overcome. However, the risk of returning to an old habit remains high, as many continue to feel mentally uncomfortable due to a change in their usual daily routine, the loss of certain elements of communication. Until one learns to fill these psychological "vacancies, " the desire to smoke a cigarette to occupy the "shops" continues to torment him from time to time.
Advice for those who quit smoking
A former smoker should not be criticized for any setbacks. It is better to consolidate even the most insignificant successes with positive emotions: praise, sincere admiration for the willpower shown, a gift. On the road to getting rid of a bad habit, another milestone can also be celebrated if the queen wishes to spend their free time completely together. Only positive emotions, expressions of love for the people closest to you, give the cigarette addict the mental strength they need to change.
Does the diary help?
Practice shows that the diary is a very effective tool for many in the fight against nicotine addiction. Here you can throw out all the negative emotions and celebrate success at every stage of the throw. Studying the public diaries of others and the positive experiences of quitting are unparalleled.