According to statistics, 85% of smokers dream of quitting this addiction. This desire intensifies with age, when a person accumulates an impressive "bouquet" of ailments, and every visit to the doctor begins with advice to stop 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 a marked cessation of smoking leads to exacerbations of chronic diseases, occurrence of heart attacks and significant weight gain. In part it is too. A person with many years of smoking experience may feel some discomfort when quitting a bad habit - this is due to the fact that nicotine is incorporated into the autonomic nervous system and participates in the body's life process.
This 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 stop smoking "on the same day", but there are also people who cannot 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, and his body is physically healthy enough, the process of adapting to a cigarette-free life will pass easily and imperceptibly. But for people who have smoked for more than 30 years, as well as the elderly, with health problems, it is better to turn to psychological and medical support.
What happens if you stop smoking?
A person who quits smoking may notice a noticeable malaise. What exactly should he expect?
- It is possible to weaken the immune system, so there may be an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- There is a cough, especially in the morning.
- There is weight gain. Most of the time, this happens due to the fact that a person replaces the habit of smoking a cigarette with an equally bad habit of chewing something. So, if a person is used to smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day, it now turns into 10-15 snacks, which, of course, is reflected in the figure.
- There can be bouts of moodiness and irritability due to you having to limit yourself in some way. Constantly thinking about how not to let go often leads to distraction and inattention.
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. But still, the main role in the process of quitting smoking is not played by medications, but by a person's conscious desire to quit smoking. If he does this not willingly, but at the direction of a doctor or at the insistence of his family, the process is different.
If a person is not psychologically ready for such action, he will use any means: a nicotine patch, candy pills, an argument, or a promise. However, in the end, a breakdown will definitely occur, because the subconscious mind is persistently looking for a reason and an opportunity to smoke. A person is constantly in dissonance, and this situation psychologically depresses him. In that case, he just gets upset and comes to the conclusion that quitting smoking is extremely difficult.
How to quit smoking abruptly?
It is quite possible to quit smoking abruptly, and it 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 percentage of relapses is very small, but with a slow and gradual refusal, some people revert to an unhealthy habit. Therefore, situations are possible that Mark Twain joked: "Quitting smoking is very easy, I myself have stopped a thousand times".
Tips for quitting smoking alone
- Keep a journal in which you write down every cigarette you smoke. Once a day (or every other day), change your next cigarette time by 30 minutes, then by 1 hour, then by 2 hours, etc. Thus, you can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
- Buy cigarettes by the piece, reducing the number each time. Also buy less strong cigarettes each time. Gradually, the number of cigarettes will decrease, and their strength will decrease significantly.
- Collect cigarette butts smoked throughout the day so you can clearly see how much damage you do to your body every 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 that money, as this is a clear example of the expression "money down the drain".
- Instead of taking a smoke break, eat an apple, drink strong tea without sugar or mineral water with lemon, take a walk down the street, do some exercise - this will only benefit your figure and health and will definitely not contribute to the appearance of extra pounds. .