There are dozens of ways to quit smoking. Former smokers are ready to talk about their experiences, psychotherapists offer courses and write books, there are evidence-based and semi-magical ways to quit smoking. We couldn't stay out either.
Are there ways to finally get rid of nicotine addiction? Yes, they exist. Thanks to them, you can live six months without cigarettes - exactly this period is necessary to consider the addiction overcome. Well, without strong motivation, as usual, you can't do it.
So, let's see the most effective ways to quit smoking.
1. Take special medications
Long-term smokers will need to see a doctor as it will be difficult for them to deal with their nicotine addiction on their own. After all, it is part of the blood, it participates in metabolism, and if it suddenly stops entering the body regularly, a person experiences a kind of withdrawal. There is anxiety, irritability, irritability, even panic attacks. Therefore, it is still better to resort to medical support. Your doctor will prescribe medication to help eliminate or reduce the severity of a nicotine hangover.
Anti-smoking drugs are divided into three groups. The former acts as a substitute for nicotine, as these pills contain nicotine or the alkaloid cytisine, which acts in the body in a similar way. They irritate nicotinic receptors, causing reactions to develop, as in smoking. Therefore, a person does not develop a withdrawal syndrome, that is, withdrawal, and most importantly, does not inhale cigarette smoke, which contains an incredible amount of dangerous substances. The downside of pills is that they remain addicted to nicotine, albeit in small doses.
Drugs in the second group act on the parts of the brain where cravings for cigarettes are formed. And the pills of the third group, by binding to nicotinic receptors, block the formation of reactions by which a person experiences the pleasure of smoking and cause repulsion by this process.
2. Use nicotine patches and gum
Nicotine patch and gum also help alleviate the severity of a nicotine hangover during the weaning period from cigarettes. They supply the body with a minimal amount of nicotine and the person functions more or less normally. But the insidiousness of these drugs, like the drugs in the first group, is that when the smoker weanes from cigarettes, he will have to get rid of their substitutes.
3. Do Hypnosis or Coding
These methods of resisting a bad habit are not officially recognized by medicine, but they work. If you decide to try hypnosis or psychological coding, contact a specialist clinic. You will receive counseling and therapy.
What does it look like? The psychotherapist introduces the patient into a hypnotic trance and inspires them to stop smoking. However, the psychotherapeutic effect is realized without hypnosis. The main thing at the same time is to remember that no suggestion will help if you yourself do not firmly decide to part with a cigarette. Hypnosis can simply boost motivation.
If you are unable to cope with the urge to smoke and break the coding, it is advisable to immediately visit a doctor. This will improve the encoding or remove the received settings.
4. Sign up for acupuncture
By influencing certain points of the body, doctors treat many diseases, and for more than a millennium, including smoking. At certain points in the ears, the doctor inserts special needles and the person no longer feels the need for nicotine. For some, one or two sessions are enough, and for others, six is enough. An effective method, however, is not suitable for anyone who is panicked with fear of injections.
5. Use traditional medicine
There are many recipes from traditional medicine that get rid of addiction. Here is one of them, very effective. Dip the cigarette in milk, dry it and smoke it. This is such a disgusting thing that it forever discourages the urge to smoke, moreover, the very thought of a cigarette can cause an attack of nausea.
The most effective in the fight against banana smoke. Prepare an infusion from it: a tablespoon. I. crushed leaves, pour a glass of boiling water and leave for an hour. Drink a quarter cup four times a day or twice a day: in the morning and in the evening, half a glass.
Mix 1 tbsp. I. fresh horseradish leaves and large banana. Chew the mixture 2 times a day for 5 minutes and swallow the juice.
Prepare an oatmeal decoction: two tbsp. I. prepare a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil and leave for an hour. After that, strain and drink 0. 4 cups 4-5 times a day for a month and a half. At the same time, treat the gastrointestinal tract.
All sorts of conspiracies and prayers have a good effect on hapless tobacco lovers. And you can find a healer even in a big city.
6. Work hard
According to psychologists, hard work, occupation, emergency work help to overcome the desire to smoke. A person switches to a project, all thoughts are only on it, and the number of cigarettes smoked is drastically reduced or even completely disappeared. After all, there is simply no time to go to the smoking room. And to maximize the effect of this method, it is worth getting a job at a company where smoking is generally prohibited.
7. Exercise
During sports, as in any other physical activity, the body begins to actively secrete pleasure hormones - endorphins. They evoke feelings of pleasure and thus help to overcome the discomfort associated with smoking cessation. So it's worth signing up for a gym or aerobics. While running at a moderate pace, walking or cycling also helps relieve stress. If you want to smoke - put on your sneakers and go for it. In fifteen minutes you will be "released".
8. Eat Well
Spicy foods, alcohol, coffee and tea exacerbate the urge to smoke, so during the nicotine weaning period, give up these products. And here is a list of products that should constantly be on the table:
- Celery Leaves – Reduces stress hormones.
- Citrus fruits and peppers - due to their high content of vitamin C, they strengthen the immune system.
- Milk - according to American studies, a glass of milk drunk before a cigarette spoils its taste.
- Water - helps remove toxins from the body, including nicotine. A glass of water before a drag reduces the urge to smoke.
- Dark chocolate - increases the level of serotonin, which is urgently needed by a person who has given up smoking.
- Green Smoothie - Leafy vegetable smoothies contain a lot of chlorophyll, which helps to remove toxins from the body.
- Herbal infusions - calm the nervous system, relieve anxiety, irritability, heart palpitations.
9. Get some privacy
Take a vacation and get off the beaten path, where there are no shops or cigarette stalls nearby. You should know that there is no place to buy a pack of cigarettes, you cannot follow him 50 kilometers. Live in such conditions for a month, but don't make a fool of yourself, but do something useful. Dig up beds for neighbors' grandmothers or weeds, cut firewood for them in winter, collect all the rubbish in the area. . . Exhaust yourself physically and the urge to smoke will disappear.
10. Read Allen Carr The Easy Way to Quit Smoking
This famous book really helped a lot of people. You can buy it or download it or borrow it from someone. The author of the book started smoking at 18 and gave up this harmful activity at 49. After that, he founded the international network of clinics "The Easy Way", which helps to stop smoking using his method. Try it and you, because if it helped many, it will help you too.
11. Call a specialized center
There are special counseling centers for smoking cessation assistance (CTC). By calling here and reporting your desire to quit smoking, you will receive specific help from a psychologist or doctor. The physician will advise on the most effective ways to quit, taking into account the general health of the applicant, and the psychologists, in turn, will facilitate the process of weaning from nicotine.
Whichever way you choose to kick a bad habit, remember a few more tips:
- do not smoke in the morning on an empty stomach - have breakfast first;
- do not smoke on an empty stomach - do this half an hour after eating;
- smoke a strictly defined number of cigarettes for yourself: one hour after breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- if you feel like smoking more often, drink water or coffee.