According to statistics, 85% of smokers dream of getting out of this addiction. This desire intensifies with age, as a person accumulates an impressive "bunch" of diseases and every visit to the doctor begins with the advice to quit smoking. However, is it possible to get rid of the habit of smoking 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 exacerbations of chronic diseases, the occurrence of heart attacks and significant weight gain. In part this is also the case. A person with many years of smoking experience may experience some discomfort when giving up a bad habit - this is due to the fact that nicotine is incorporated into the autonomic nervous system and participates in the life process of the body.
That is why with a strong restriction of nicotine, the body experiences psychological and physical stress. However, each person has individual characteristics, and the threshold for perceiving the situation is also different. Therefore, there are many people who quit smoking "on the same day", but there are also people who cannot do it 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 sufficient physical health, the process of adjusting to life without cigarettes will pass easily and imperceptibly. But for people who have been smoking for more than 30 years, as well as for the elderly, with poor health, it is better to seek psychological and medical support.
What happens if you quit smoking?
A person who quits smoking may notice considerable discomfort. What exactly should he expect?
- It is possible to weaken the immune system, so there may be an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- There is cough, especially in the morning.
- There is weight gain. Most often this happens due to the fact that a person replaces the habit of smoking a cigarette with an equally bad habit of chewing something. Therefore, if a person is used to smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day, now it turns into 10-15 snacks, which, of course, are reflected in the figure.
- There may be bouts of bad mood and irritability due to the fact that you have to limit yourself in some way. Constant thinking about how not to break free often leads to distraction and inattention.
The negative effects can be significantly mitigated if smoking cessation is supervised by a specialist. The doctor can always provide the necessary psychological and medical assistance. However, the main role in the process of quitting smoking is not played by medicines, but by a person's conscious desire to quit smoking. If he does this not of his own free will, but on the recommendation of a doctor or at the insistence of his relatives, the process is different.
If a person himself is not psychologically ready for such an action, she will use any means: a nicotine patch, candy pills, an argument or a promise. Eventually, however, exhaustion will surely occur, because the subconscious mind is constantly looking for a reason and an opportunity to smoke. A person is constantly in dissonance and this situation depresses him psychologically. In this case, he gets angry and concludes that quitting smoking is extremely difficult.
How to stop smoking suddenly?
It is entirely possible to quit smoking suddenly and it is much more effective than dragging yourself away with a cigarette over time. Such an approach requires willpower and great personal desire. It should be noted that after an abrupt cessation of smoking, the relapse rate is very small, but with slow and gradual refusal, some people return to an unhealthy habit again. Therefore, 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 journal in which you write down every cigarette you smoke. Once a day (or every other day), move the time to smoke the next cigarette by 30 minutes, then by 1 hour, then by 2 hours, etc. This way you can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
- Buy cigarettes by the piece, reducing the number each time. Also buy weaker cigarettes every time. Gradually, the number of cigarettes will decrease, and their strength will significantly decrease.
- Collect cigarette butts smoked throughout the day so that you can clearly see how much damage you do to your body each day.
- Calculate how much money you spend on cigarettes per month, per year, for as long as you smoke. Think about what you could buy with this money, because this is a clear example of the expression "wasted money".
- Instead of a break for smoking, eat an apple, drink strong unsweetened tea or mineral water with lemon, take a walk on the street, do a couple of exercises - this will only benefit your figure and health and definitely not. will contribute to the appearance of extra pounds.