As soon as you start to quit smoking, you with have some withdrawal symptoms. Such symptoms generally peak in intensity 3 -5 days after you quit, and usually disappear after 2 weeks, although some may persist for several months.Therefore, withdrawal symptoms should be treated accordingly, just as you would with physical symptoms due to an illness or disease.People who quit smoking often experience severe withdrawal symptoms (both physical and mental), making it hard for them to stick with their goal of quitting completely.
It’s never too late to quit smoking and there are many benefits to be gained no matter what age you are when you give up. Here are some quick tips to help you kick the habit:
1. Believe in yourself: Believe that you can quit. Think about some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and realize that you have the guts and determination to quit smoking. It’s up to you.
2. Write down why you want to quit: Live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what’s bad about smoking and you know what you’ll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.
3. Plan ahead: Plan ahead for situations in which you are likely to be tempted to smoke, such as parties, drinking or going out for coffee. Try to avoid these situations in the early stages of your quitting program, or try sitting in the non-smoking section at restaurants, drinking your coffee standing up or with the other hand, or keeping something in your hand when you’re talking on the phone.
4. Cut back on cigarettes gradually: Ways to cut back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so you don’t enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to smoke.
5. Know the triggers: Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that’s impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.
6. Find Another Smoker: Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit Forums and Chat Room on the internet to find a “quit buddy”.
7. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit: Your commitment to quit smoking permanently will be much easier to sustain if you have strong, positive support around you. Friends and family can be helpful, but they may not understand the depth of what quitting smoking means to you, especially if they’ve never smoked. You may be left feeling as though you’re not getting the acknowledgment you’d like. And watch out for the smokers in your life! Your quit can be threatening to them, because we all know that most smokers wish they could quit, even if they don’t say it. If you have people in your life who are giving you negative messages about your quit, understand that this may be coming from their own feelings of jealousy and guilt.
8. Do Not Skip Meals: Each puff of nicotine was your spoon releasing stored fats and sugars into your bloodstream. It allowed you to skip meals without experiencing wild blood-sugar swing symptoms such as an inability to concentrate or hunger related anxieties. Don’t add needless symptoms to withdrawal but instead learn to spread your normal daily calorie intake out more evenly over the entire day. Don’t eat more food but less food more often.
9. Drink lots of water: Water is good for you anyway, and most people don’t get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the “oral desires” that you may have.
10. Begin an exercise program: Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary, start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to 30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week.
11. Reward Yourself: Set up a plan for your rewards. Definitely reward yourself after the first day, and the second, and the third. Make them good rewards that you’ll look forward to: CDs, books, DVDs, T-shirts, shoes, a massage, a bike, a dinner out at your favorite restaurant, a hotel stay, whatever you can afford.
12.Use Patience and Time as Quit Buddies:People who quit smoking want to have all of the discomforts associated with recovery from nicotine addiction to be over with quickly. It’s understandable, but not realistic. Recovery from this habit that held us hostage for so long takes time, and the more you can relax and use time to your advantage, the better you’ll do. Be patient with yourself and understand that you’re going through a healing process that is very personal. How long it takes you to put smoking behind you shouldn’t be compared with anyone else. Trust in the process and give yourself the time you need to heal.
Therefore, get up every day determined not to smoke and be grateful and proud of every smoke free day you complete. Time will take you further and further away from the familiarity of smoking, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! “Happy Quitting”
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