How to quit smoking on your own at home

January 26, 2021

A long-time smoker can smoke 40-45 cigarettes a day. Of course, such an amount of nicotine and tar entering the body every day cannot but affect health. However, it is extremely difficult to say goodbye to a negative habit. Firstly, cigarettes become part of all daily rituals. They fit into life so “organically” that they are associated with rest, relaxation, respite, and also “help” in moments of nervous tension. Secondly, the body itself begins to consider the incoming substances as something important, and includes nicotine in metabolic processes. That’s why it’s so difficult to get rid of a bad habit, because you need to convince yourself, but the body will “demand.”

It is not surprising that many long-term smokers try to follow the “gradual withdrawal” method, simply reducing the number of cigarettes they smoke daily. In practice, this method does not allow you to completely quit smoking. The harm can be reduced, but only slightly. You can get rid of potential or existing health problems only after completely quitting smoking.

However, many are afraid to suddenly quit smoking. Although a smoker with 20 years of experience may still be a very young man, 35-40 years old, and his body will be able to fully recover even after such “pollution.” However, many people are interested in what happens if you quit smoking abruptly? Smokers are afraid of mood swings, arrhythmias and heart rhythm disturbances, excess weight gain, and so on. Let's figure out whether it is really dangerous to suddenly quit smoking and whether the human body can react negatively to quitting cigarettes?

How can a woman quit smoking?

No matter how strange it may sound, women are better at quitting smoking through willpower, without substitutes and tricks with drug support. Of course, you can’t do without stress; there will be difficult days when a cigarette seems to be the only way to cope with the stress on the psyche. However, as practice shows, women punish themselves less for breakdowns and quickly return to life without cigarettes.

A woman’s behavior is greatly influenced by the atmosphere of the family and home: if there are some family reasons (for example, a chronically ill child or adult), then women succumb to them more easily and quit smoking.

Psychotherapeutic methods, especially NLP books based on the Allen Carr method, have shown good effectiveness with female audiences. Throwing for company, with girlfriends or to spite a rival are also very feminine options.

Replace smoking with other pleasures or activities

The ideal time to How to Curb Stress While You Quit Smoking to quit smoking is on vacation. There is no stress that causes you to reach for a cigarette. There are plenty of interesting activities.

All you have to do is not take cigarettes with you on a rafting trip down a stormy mountain river or go on a bus tour of Europe, where no one will slow down or ventilate the Louvre to give you the opportunity to smoke, and you will be surprised to find that you can easily do without smoke for several years now. busy and interesting days.

The main thing here is to take away from such an experience the realization: “I smoke not because I want to, but because I’m just bored and have nothing to do with myself.”

Sounds so-so, right? Try to get rid of boredom. Look for activities that can replace cigarettes. And you will quit smoking.

How can a man quit smoking?

Men are rational, and therefore they need convincing facts. A book and video with psychotherapy (the same Allen Carr), advice from doctors - practical, without intimidation and cliques, support from friends and company - real masculine methods.

Playing sports - running, gym, team sports - are also powerful male motivating and supporting factors. Many note that if a man asks “help me quit smoking!”, then he is provided with very effective support, without ridicule or puzzling questions. Men understand that such a request requires great fortitude and the ability to admit one’s own difficulties. Not only personal communication, but also forums and groups on social networks can provide such support.

Replacement therapy

Pills . Depending on the name of the drug, its use may involve a parallel reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked over a certain period of time, or the person needs to immediately quit smoking by starting to use pills.

Nicotine patches . They are glued to the inside of the forearm or to the stomach, ensuring a gradual flow of nicotine into the bloodstream.

Nicotine chewing gum . They contain a certain amount of purified nicotine, which is absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and, together with saliva, enters the stomach.

Regardless of the form of release of replacement therapy products, it is assumed that the pure nicotine contained in them will weaken a person’s desire to smoke, and, together with smoking cessation, will minimize the manifestations of withdrawal syndrome. In addition, in the process of taking pills or using patches and chewing gum, psychological dependence on cigarettes will decrease. But very often the exact opposite picture is observed: the smoker develops the belief that the desire to smoke will return immediately after stopping the course of replacement therapy. Therefore, the habit remains unchanged, and the only way to continue living without cigarettes is to resort to constant self-control.

How to quit smoking for a teenager?

Ways and methods to quit smoking that are ideal for adults are, in most cases, of little use for teenagers. This is due to the peculiarity of early smoking - teenagers smoke not for the sake of “physiological” benefits (to raise blood pressure, for example), but to increase the level of socialization and status in their group.

The immaturity of the motivational sphere, and the central nervous system as a whole, does not allow the use of methods of volitional refusal, including using an elastic band on the wrist or substitution.

But at the same time, treating smoking with folk methods that cause an aversion to cigarettes works well: adding chitin to cigarettes, soaking in milk, using herbal decoctions. Persuasion on behalf of an authoritative person is also perceived adequately by adolescents. Of course, for the success of any method, contact between parents and the teenager is necessary, their joint work on a bad habit: without reproaches and scandals, without unreasonable intimidation (finding and checking information on the Internet is a matter of minutes for a teenager).

Write down triggers and eliminate them from your life

This recommendation is partly related to the point above. The point is that often we could not smoke. But there are situations that actually make us reach for the pack. These are the so-called Know Your Smoking Triggers.

Calculate them: for several days, scrupulously describe all the moments when you lit a cigarette. "I'm drinking my morning coffee." “I lit a cigarette to talk to a girl.” “I went out into the yard with my colleagues and smoked for company.” Then try to modify at least those situations that are repeated day after day.

For example, if you are used to smoking a cigarette with your morning coffee, start drinking tea. Or switch to healthy breakfasts altogether: you’re unlikely to want to smoke with your oatmeal.

Try to develop a replacement strategy for each trigger you discover. You won't get rid of your addiction right away, but you can significantly reduce the amount of nicotine you consume. And this is a serious step on the path to success.

Nuances of refusal for pregnant women

It is very risky to use methods of nicotine replacement therapy (both pharmaceutical and folk remedies) in pregnant women: nicotine penetrates the placenta, has a very negative effect on the fetus’s body, on the course of periods of its development, and affects the growth and development of the child after birth.

It should also be remembered that the use of medicinal plants during pregnancy is risky. First of all, infusions, decoctions, tinctures do not have a standardized dosage: the same herb collected in different places can have a stronger or weaker effect. This is either dangerous - half a glass of immortelle decoction with an increased concentration of active substances can cause bleeding, or it is ineffective - then the point of using herbal medicine is lost.

The hormonal background of a pregnant woman contributes to sentimentality, tearfulness, and weakness. This is what you should “play” on - to convince the woman of the dangers of smoking at this time, to convincingly prove the harm that nicotine brings to the fetus and child subsequently. Your loved ones may have to control every cigarette, but this is worth doing for the health of the mother and child.

And yet, during this important, often difficult period, it is better to avoid home methods of treating tobacco smoking: seeing a doctor will be more effective and safer.

Increase the content of vegetables and fruits in your diet

A study conducted by scientists from the University of Buffalo (USA) proved Trying to Quit Smoking? Try Eating More Fruits and Vegetables: The more vegetables and fruits a person consumes, the easier it is for him to quit smoking.

The point is that our brain often confuses the craving for tobacco with the craving for fiber.

Having treated ourselves to cabbage salad or a crisp apple, we deceive the body: it begins to think that it has already received what it wants, and therefore the cigarette seems to be irrelevant.

Changes occurring in the quitter’s body day by day

Many people, thinking about how to quit smoking more easily, are afraid of potential problems that they love to scare newbies with. The unknown is scary, that's common knowledge. In order to dispel these fears and convince that it is possible to avoid problems when quitting or prevent the emergence of difficulties with quitting, the “Smoking Quit Calendar” mentioned above was created. It has already been mentioned as a TOP tip.

In the first days without cigarettes, the body works in two directions: it experiences stress from the lack of the usual (nicotine and the smoking process) and at the same time it recovers (blood oxygen saturation increases, the bronchi are cleared, vascular tone is normalized). Accordingly, sensations, thoughts, and emotional states are associated with these processes. The “Calendar” gives advice on how to reduce the negative impact of this period, how you can support yourself, how not to relapse and not get better.

When the difficult first 10-15 days are over, restoration and cleansing begins at deeper levels, for example, after the bronchi become healthier, the bronchioles are cleansed and skin cells are restored. At the same time, physical dependence has practically disappeared, but the craving for rituals, the process of smoking, and social and environmental factors remains. “Calendar” will also tell you how to cope with psychological dependence without nerves.

Connect social networks

It sounds funny, but those smokers who talk about the progress of their struggle with the bad habit on social networks achieve success Using Facebook, Twitter To Quit Smoking: How Social Media Helps You Overcome Addiction much more often than those who try to fight the craving for cigarettes offline .

Facebook or Twitter makes you feel like other people are supporting you. In addition, social networks are full of motivational stories of those who have already given up smoking. And the more we get acquainted with other people’s successful cases, the more we believe in our own victory.

Support

In fact, in any team there will be a person who will support your initiative. Quit smoking together. Share your experiences and information about how to cope with rejection easier.

Enlist the support of your family and friends. If you live with someone who smokes, ask them to do so somewhere else. Remove from the house everything that reminds you of smoking - lighters, ashtrays.

If you are alone in your desire, do not despair. Every minute in Russia and the world people decide to quit smoking and are looking for like-minded people. Smokers Anonymous meetings are held in Moscow. You can ask for advice, share your experiences and fears, and get answers and support on specialized forums, for example, Nosmoking.ru and Ne-kurim.ru.

Why you need to get rid of a bad habit as quickly as possible

Only the deaf have never heard of the fact that smoking is harmful. However, not everyone fully understands the consequences of this habit, and some are not aware of it at all. This leads to insufficient motivation and you can spend years getting ready without taking the decisive step towards fighting addiction.

Here are just a few facts that explain the need to combat nicotine addiction:

1. It has been found that inhaling tobacco smoke increases the risk of developing lung cancer by 23 times in men and 13 times in women. The likelihood of developing laryngeal cancer also increases.
2. 90% of the causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are also due to smoking.
3. Smokers have a 40% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
4. Every year, 600,000 people die from secondhand smoke. Among them may be relatives of the smoker.
5. Tobacco smoke also increases the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). If at least one of the parents is susceptible to this addiction, his child may die unexpectedly while sleeping. Children aged 1-12 months are at risk.

There are other factors that can make you think. For example, loss of time. It takes an average of 4 minutes to smoke one cigarette. If a smoker needs a pack a day, more than an hour is wasted. 40 hours accumulate in a month, and 480 hours or 20 days in a year. This is time stolen from family or from a favorite activity.

Smoking also takes a toll on your wallet. On average, a Russian smoker spends 120 rubles a day on cigarettes. The amount accrues in a month is 3,600 rubles, and in a year - 43,200 rubles.

Not everyone is able to quit smoking at home. This is due to familiar surroundings and situations that evoke strong, uncontrollable desire. In this case, a temporary move or travel will help, perhaps in the company of non-smokers. With this approach, you can quit abruptly without postponing the matter. The opinion that this cannot be done has not been confirmed by research.

Read also: Confession of love to a girl

Nicotine withdrawal

Chronic smoking is defined in medicine as tobacco or nicotine addiction.

Nicotine is a psychoactive substance that causes physical dependence at the level of neurotransmitters, causing the production of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for joy, pleasure, determination. A drop in dopamine levels stimulates a person to actively search for ways to increase it. Since the smoker’s brain experiences a constant deficiency of this neurotransmitter, only the intake of nicotine in the body raises this level. When dopamine levels drop, a person experiences feelings of anxiety, restlessness, and an automatic urge to smoke.

Are “breakdowns” dangerous?

We are all not perfect. A person is subject to vices and weaknesses, and the craving for smoking is just one of them. You need to fight your weaknesses, but you need to understand that the fight can be long, and defeat in one battle does not lead to defeat in the war. Only a small percentage of former smokers are people who were able to quit cigarettes the first time, while the rest took several attempts.

It is important not to stop and continue to move towards the goal. If you fail, then work on your mistakes. You need to understand what exactly prompted you to smoke again. Perhaps stress or lack of motivation is to blame. Go back to the beginning and work through each step again, and then try again. Everything will work out!