According to statistics, 85% of smokers dream of quitting this addiction. This desire increases with age, when a person accumulates an impressive "bouquet" of diseases, and each visit to the doctor begins with advice to quit smoking. However, is it possible to get rid of the smoking habit on your own, and what problems can arise in this case?
Is quitting smoking dangerous?
It is widely believed that abrupt cessation of smoking leads to exacerbation of chronic diseases, the incidence of heart attacks, as well as significant weight gain. Partly so. A person who has had smoking experience for many years may experience a slight feeling of discomfort when quitting a bad habit - this is due to the fact that nicotine is built into the autonomic nervous system and participates in the body’s life processes.
That is why with a sharp nicotine restriction, the body experiences psychological and physical stress. However, each person has individual characteristics, and the threshold for seeing the situation is also different. So there are many people who quit smoking "on the same day", but there are also people who can not do this without the help of a doctor and the use of special means.
When a person is psychologically ready and wants to quit smoking on his own, and his body has adequate physical health, the process of adjustment to a life without cigarettes will pass easily and invisibly. But for people who have smoked for more than 30 years, as well as the elderly, with poor health, it is better to use psychological and medical support.
What happens if you quit smoking?
Someone who quits smoking may notice significant unhealthiness. What exactly should he expect?
- It is possible to weaken the immune system, so there may be exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- There is a cough, especially in the morning.
- There is weight gain. Often this is due to the fact that a person replaces the habit of smoking cigarettes with a bad habit of chewing something. So, if a person is accustomed to smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day, now it turns into 10-15 snacks, which, of course, is shown in the figure.
- There may be bad mood attacks and irritability due to the fact that you have to limit yourself in some way. Constant thinking about how not to escape often leads to negligence and indifference.
The negative effects can be significantly reduced if smoking cessation is supervised by a specialist. Doctors can always provide the necessary psychological and medical help. Nevertheless, a major role in the process of quitting smoking is played not by medications, but by a person’s conscious desire to quit smoking. If he does this not of his own volition, but on the instructions of a doctor or at the insistence of his relatives, the process is different.
If a person himself is not psychologically prepared for such an action, he will use any means: nicotine patches, candy pills, arguments or promises. Eventually, however, damage will inevitably ensue, as the subconscious mind diligently searches for reasons and opportunities to smoke. A person is always in dissonance, and this situation depresses him psychologically. In this case, he was just disappointed and concluded that quitting smoking was very difficult.
How to Quit Smoking Suddenly?
It is quite impossible to quit smoking suddenly, and it is more effective than dragging a parting with a cigarette from time to time. Such an approach requires great personal will and desire. It should be noted that after abrupt cessation of smoking, the percentage of relapses is very small, but with slow and gradual rejection, some people return to unhealthy habits. Thus, a possible situation that Mark Twain joked about: "Quitting smoking is so easy, I myself have quit a thousand times. "
Tips to quit smoking yourself
- Keep a diary where you write down every cigarette you smoke. Once a day (or every other day), shift the next smoking time by 30 minutes, then by 1 hour, then by 2 hours, etc. So you can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
- Buy cigarettes by the piece, each time reducing the number. Also buy less strong cigarettes each time. Gradually, the number of cigarettes will decrease, and its strength will decrease significantly.
- Collect cigarette butts that are smoked throughout the day so you can clearly see how much damage you are doing to your body each day.
- Calculate how much money you spend on cigarettes a month, a year, for the whole time you smoke. Think about what you can buy with this money, as this is a clear example of the phrase "money down the drain. "
- Instead of quitting smoking, eating apples, drinking sugar -free concentrated tea or mineral water with lemon, taking a walk on the street, doing some exercise - this will only benefit your body and health, and certainly will not contribute to the appearance of extra pounds.