Helping your body and brain learn how to break a nicotine addiction can be challenging. Nicotine withdrawal is thankfully short, but the experience can be quite intense. The good news is that there are several different strategies that you can try to make getting rid of dependence on nicotine easier.
ⓘ Disclaimer: The following article is for knowledge purposes only. You must consult your doctor or healthcare provider
Understanding your reasons
Many people have similar reasons for wanting to quit smoking, such as to improve their health, save money, or because of their children and other family members. But some reasons that you might have may be personal and unique to your own situation. It can be a good idea to keep a list of your reasons for quitting with you since this can be a very powerful tool in keeping you going as you remind yourself of why you are doing this.
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Consider cutting down gradually
Cutting down gradually might be an option for you to consider if you do not want to give up nicotine cold turkey. The good news is that you can still give up cigarettes and get the benefits of being a non-smoker when you do this using nicotine replacement products. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum, lozenges, sprays and other products are all designed to take the edge off, and you can gradually reduce how much you use while avoiding cigarettes.
Reward your progress
Treat every day that you spend without smoking as a huge accomplishment. While it might not feel like such a big deal at the time, all the minutes, hours and days that are passing between you and the last time you smoked are only making you stronger and helping you to get used to living without cigarettes. Do something nice for yourself every day – it doesn’t have to be elaborate; whether you relax in a hot bath at the end of the day, find some time to read a new book, try a new hobby or plan a day out to somewhere nice, giving yourself incentives along the way can be very helpful.
Check your self talk
On average, we have around sixty thousand thoughts a day and a lot of what we think can be negative and directed at ourselves. Checking your self-talk and being in control of what you say to yourself can help you change your mindset about quitting smoking and make the process easier on yourself. Pay attention to what you are thinking, since your mind will believe whatever you tell it. You may have self-defeating thoughts of not being able to do it come up; when this happens, replace them with more positive ‘I can’ statements. If it helps, talk to yourself like you would encourage a friend or relative to take on a tough challenge. Over time, this will help train your brain to automatically have more confidence in your abilities, especially as you prove yourself right over time.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and withdrawing can be tough. The good news is that there are several strategies that you can use to help yourself break this addiction.
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