There are dozens of ways to quit smoking. Ex-smokers are willing to talk about their experiences, psychotherapists offer classes and write books, there are evidence-based and semi-magical ways to quit smoking. We couldn't stay away either.
Are there ways to finally get rid of nicotine addiction? Yes there is. Thanks to them, you can live six months without cigarettes - such a period is necessary to consider overcoming addiction. Well, without strong motivation, as always, you can't do.
So, let's look at the most effective ways to quit smoking.
1. Take special medications
Long-time smokers will need to consult a doctor, as it will be difficult for them to cope with nicotine addiction on their own. After all, it is part of the blood, participates in metabolism, and if it suddenly ceases to enter the body regularly, a person experiences some kind of withdrawal. There is anxiety, irritability, irritability, up to panic attacks. So it is always best to seek 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 first acts as a substitute for nicotine, since these tablets contain nicotine or the alkaloid cytisine, which acts on the body in a similar way. They irritate nicotine receptors, causing the development of reactions, as with smoking. Therefore, a person does not develop abstinence syndrome, that is, withdrawal, and most importantly, he does not inhale cigarette smoke, which contains an incredible amount of dangerous substances. The downside of the pills is that they are still addicted to nicotine, albeit in small doses.
The drugs of the second group act on the parts of the brain in which cravings are formed. And the tablets of the third group, binding to nicotinic receptors, block the formation of reactions due to which a person experiences pleasure from smoking and causes disgust from this process.
2. Use nicotine patches and gum
The nicotine patch and gum also help lessen the severity of a nicotine hangover during the smoking cessation period. They provide the body with a minimum amount of nicotine and the person functions more or less normally. But the insidiousness of these drugs, as well as drugs of the first group, is that when the smoker quits cigarettes, he will have to quit their substitutes.
3. Get Hypnosis or Coding
These methods of resisting a bad habit are not officially recognized by medicine, however, they do work. If you decide to try hypnosis or psychological coding, contact a specialized clinic. You will receive counseling and therapy.
What does it look like? The psychotherapist introduces the patient into a hypnotic trance and encourages him to quit smoking. However, the psychotherapeutic effect is achieved without hypnosis. The main thing at the same time is to remember that no suggestions will help you if you yourself do not firmly decide to part with a cigarette. Hypnosis can simply enhance motivation.
If you cannot cope with the desire to smoke and break the coding, it is advisable to immediately consult a doctor. This will improve the encoding or remove the parameters received.
4. Sign up for acupuncture
By acting on certain points of the body, doctors treat many diseases, and have done so for more than a millennium, including smoking. In certain places of the ears, the doctor sticks special needles and the person ceases to feel the need for nicotine. For some, one or two sessions are enough, and for others, six are enough. An effective method, however, it is not suitable for those who are afraid of injections.
5. Turn to traditional medicine
There are many traditional medicine recipes that get rid of addiction. Here is one, very effective. Dip the cigarette in milk, dry it and smoke it. It is such a disgusting thing that forever discourages the urge to smoke, moreover, the mere thought of a cigarette can cause an attack of nausea.
The most effective in the fight against plantain smoking. Prepare an infusion: a tablespoon. L. 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. L. fresh horseradish and plantain leaves. Chew the mixture twice a day for 5 minutes, and swallow the juice.
Prepare an oatmeal decoction: two tbsp. L. prepare a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil and leave for an hour. After that, strain and drink 0. 4 cup 4-5 times a day for a month and a half. At the same time treat the gastrointestinal tract.
All kinds of conspiracies and prayers have a good effect on unfortunate tobacco lovers. And you can find a folk healer even in a big city.
6. Work hard
According to psychologists, hard work, restlessness, rush work helps to overcome the craving for smoking. A person switches to a project, all thoughts are only on it, and the number of cigarettes smoked is sharply reduced, or even completely disappears. After all, there is simply no time to go to the smokehouse. And to enhance the effect of this method, it is worth finding a job in an enterprise where smoking is generally prohibited.
7. Exercise
During sports, as with 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 quitting smoking. Therefore, it is worth signing up for a gym or aerobics. Although jogging at a moderate pace, brisk walking or cycling also helps relieve stress. If you want to smoke, put on your sneakers and go. In fifteen minutes you will be "let go".
8. Eat well
Spicy foods, alcohol, coffee and tea exacerbate the urge to smoke, so during the period of nicotine withdrawal, give up these products. And here is a list of products that should be constantly on the table:
- Celery leaves – Reduces stress hormones.
- Citrus fruits and peppers - due to the high content of vitamin C, strengthen the immune system.
- Milk - according to American studies, a glass of milk drunk before a cigarette spoils its taste.
- Water - it helps flush toxins from the body, including nicotine. A glass of water before a puff reduces the urge to smoke.
- Dark chocolate - increases the level of serotonin, which is urgently needed by a person who has quit smoking.
- Green smoothie - smoothies made from leafy vegetables contain a lot of chlorophyll, which helps flush toxins from the body.
- Herbal infusions - soothe the nervous system, relieve anxiety, irritability, heart palpitations.
9. Get some privacy
Take a vacation and get off the beaten track where there are no stores or cigarette stands nearby. You have to know that there is no place to buy a pack of cigarettes, you can't follow it for 50 kilometers. Live in such conditions for a month, but do not fool around, but do something useful. Dig up beds for neighbors' grandmothers or weed weeds, cut firewood for them for the winter, pick up all the trash in the area. . . Physically exhaust yourself and the urge to smoke will go away.
10. Read The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr
This famous book has really helped a lot of people. You can buy it, download it or borrow it from someone. The author of the book started smoking at the age of 18, and stopped this harmful activity at 49. After that, he founded the international network of clinics "The Easy Way", which helps to quit smoking using his method. Try it and you, because if it helped a lot, it will help you too.
11. Call a specialized center
There are specialist advice centers for help with smoking cessation (CTC). By calling here and reporting your desire to quit smoking, you will receive specific help from a psychologist or doctor. The doctor will tell you the most effective ways to quit, taking into account the general state of health of the applicant, and the psychologists, for their part, will facilitate the process of withdrawal 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 - first have breakfast;
- do not smoke on an empty stomach - do it half an hour after eating;
- smoking a strictly defined number of cigarettes for oneself: one hour after breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- if you feel like smoking more often, drink water or coffee.