Are you someone who’s tried, again and again, to drop that smoking habit for a healthier lifestyle? Perhaps you’re someone who’s already “quit” several times, but couldn’t help but fall off the wagon every now and then. And now you’re here, looking for ways and methods to finally and completely quit smoking, once and for all.
The truth is, there’s more to quitting a bad habit than just the physical act. Humans are creatures of habit, and habits are often formed in the brain. This means that focusing on the physical and physiological aspects of quitting smoking is not enough. If you want to truly quit smoking, there are few other factors that you have to take into account.
1. Find Your “Why”
Before you can even begin to quit the habit of smoking, you first have to find and figure out your “Why”. Simply put, this means that you have to look for the motivation behind your desire to quit smoking.
Is it affecting your family lifestyle and relationships? Maybe you find that you’re often out of breath when playing with your kids, or that your wife constantly complains about how you smell of smoke. Maybe it’s because you discovered that your teenager has picked up the same bad habit due to your influence.
Figure out the motivation behind your desire to quit. Find a reason that hits hard and hits home. The more powerful a reason you have to quit, the better. Because that’s what will keep you going when things get tough.
Once you’ve got that “Why” solidified in your heart and mind, write it down on a sticky note and put it next to your cigarettes so that you’ll be reminded every time you try and pick them up.
2. Identify Your Triggers
One thing most people have to realize is that smoking is a habit, and habits often have triggers that set off that desire to perform them. Smoking is no different.
For the next few days, arm yourself with a pen and notepad. Every time you feel that urge to grab a smoke, note it in the pad. Describe the situation, location, and instance in detail. After a while, you’ll begin to notice that certain situations, people, places, or things serve as triggers to your nicotine addiction.
It could be that you feel the urge to smoke every time your bored or stressed. The desire could also be triggered by being around certain people, places, or things.
3. Formulate a Plan
Knowledge is power, and the more self-awareness you build regarding your smoking habit, the more defenses you can set up against it. Now that you know what triggers the desire to smoke, you can formulate a battle plan against them.
At this point, it’s important to understand that what actually turns that smoking habit into an addiction is the dopamine spikes you get in your brain every time you grab a smoke. Dopamine is a chemical that’s released in your brain to create a pleasurable response, and it fires every time you perform certain actions.
Withdrawal symptoms are the biggest hurdle against quitting smoking. This is why it’s important to not just identify the triggers that make you want to smoke, but also replace the smoking habit with another type of dopamine-inducing activity.
Some healthier activities that increase our dopamine levels naturally include:
- Meditating
- Get ample amounts of sleep
- Listening to your favorite music
- Exercising
- Going out into nature
- Any activity that activates that feeling of reward of accomplishment
The best way, then, to beat that nicotine addiction is not to completely do away with it, but to replace it with something else. In other words, the next time you feel like grabbing a smoke, consider doing these other activities instead.
4. Enlisting Help & Support
Humans are relational creatures. Trying to overcome an obstacle or struggle all by yourself can sometimes feel lonesome and overwhelming. Enlisting the help of a trusted friend to be your accountability partner can help you get over the steepest inclines in overcoming your addiction.
5. Gradually Reducing Nicotine Intake
Going cold turkey can be difficult for some people, especially long-time chain smokers. It can be difficult, even if you set up all the previous systems in place.
In cases like these many have recommended gradually reducing your nicotine strength through vaping. The advantage of vaping instead of cigarettes is that you can personally control your nicotine intake. Eventually you could move towards zekro nicotine vape instead, which would be better for your overall health and lifestyle.
Switching to zero nicotine vape, after all, can still satisfy that oral fixation without the harmful effects of nicotine to your lungs. If you’re interested and are considering switching to vaping instead, check out Cyclone Pods. They have several starter kits that could help you kick your smoking habit.
More than anything, remember that you can change any aspect of yourself for the better. All it takes is enough proper motivation, preparation, and effort, and you can achieve any goal you set your mind to.
