Today they are trying to overcome nicotine addiction with the help of various tricks - electronic cigarettes, patches, psychotherapy techniques. At the same time, many are thinking about how to quit smoking at home on their own and whether this idea is feasible, because over the years a real addiction to tobacco is created not only on a physical but also on a psychological level.
Smoker Suffering
It's hard for amateurs to raise today. In caring for the health of citizens, the state has significantly restricted the rights of smokers. And now a large army of fellow citizens, addicted to tobacco, is forced to gather in designated smoking areas, leave the usual "smoking rooms" at the entrances, suffer from nicotine "hunger" when visiting various institutions.
And a new law is on the way - a ban on smoking closer than 10 meters from the entrance is proposed, because the residents of the lower floors are complaining about the tobacco house that penetrates from the street into the room. Can you imagine the picture - a respectable father of the family leaves the house, runs 10 meters from the entrance and hides in the bushes to smoke? There is only one thing left - to smoke at home, or to endanger the health of loved ones.
In this situation, even an experienced smoker thinks about how to break a long-term habit. As he cheers, he remembers how much money literally dissolves in the air along with the tobacco smoke. Finally, the pack of cigarettes has risen in price several times over the years, and the quality of tobacco products has fallen in the same proportion and instead of the usual aroma of tobacco from cigarettes today smells like manure. In addition, health declines - a dry cough in the morning narrows the lungs, the pressure jumps and the heart messes up.
With a resigned sigh, the person decides to quit the bad habit. But how do you stop smoking on your own if you don't have the willpower and any stressful situation is disturbing? The real "withdrawal" begins, the hand reaches for a cigarette, and the body needs a "sedative" dose of nicotine, otherwise the surrounding people are forced to communicate with an inadequate person who reacts irritatingly to every little thing. In response, the lucky ones who managed to quit smoking claim that the main thing is motivation.
Motivation to quit smoking
Many experienced smokers themselves understand that their addiction is not physical, but psychological. Cigarette gives self-confidence, helps you relax, calm down, think about your actions in stressful situations. The daily ritual is becoming a habit and now a morning cup of coffee is unthinkable without a nicotine “refill”.
At the same time, a person realizes that smoking deals a serious blow to health, but he cannot give up a bad habit. Any confidential conversations on this topic, requests from relatives, the example of friends who broke up with cigarettes will not have the desired effect until the person finds out about their problem.
Good to know You can only quit smoking when you want to! A person must motivate themselves to fight smoking and agree with their subconscious, which plays a key role in attachment. An example is the story of two men.
The first of them smoked for many years, automatically noting that after each smoked cigarette a characteristic cough appears, in the morning the heart presses, and the viscous phlegm leaves the lungs. Gradually he began to realize that he was disgusted by the smell of cigarettes and smoky clothes. As a result, one day he simply realized he didn’t need it and gave up tobacco forever, and without the accompanying “withdrawal” and breakdowns.
Another successful young man with 10 years of smoking experience succumbed to his wife’s persuasion and pressure from relatives and was determined to “stop”. He couldn’t pick up a cigarette for a few weeks, but as soon as he got to the alcohol event, his subconscious lifted the restriction, and he smoked raptly again and returned to the old habit until the next attempt to deal with the tobacco monster.
How to motivate yourself to quit smoking, which method is considered the most effective and which will help you deal with the psychological addiction to smoking at home? Consider the most popular techniques.
How to quit smoking without pills on your own?
You need a proper mental attitude to get started. If you are determined to give up a bad habit, try to follow 5 basic guidelines:
- Don't listen to tips on quitting smoking. Reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke will not solve the problem. You need to stop smoking immediately, instantly, without delaying the decision.
- Get rid of all the items that remind you of addiction - send the remaining cigarettes in the trash, remove the ashtray, lighter, matches. Send clothes that smell like tobacco smoke to wash.
- Rethink your habits and be aware of the behaviors associated with psychological addiction. If your morning cigarette was associated with a cup of coffee, replace it with tea. If partying with alcohol or friendly gatherings is unthinkable without traditional smoke breaks, give them up for a while. Better yet, bet with friends that you won’t touch a cigarette for the next 10-15 years. Just bring to light something really valuable to you.
- Do not succumb to the provocations and opinions of "informed" people who claim that it is impossible to abruptly leave an experienced smoker, because latent diseases will appear immediately. In contrast, the internal organs and lungs will be gradually cleansed of nicotine and tobacco toxins on a daily basis, which will result in improved health.
- Motivate yourself to fight smoking, understand all the "disadvantages" of a bad habit, make sure that rejecting tobacco comes from within, it will help you get rid of nicotine addiction on a subconscious level.
The main stages of motivation are awareness of the harmfulness of smoking and the degree of endangerment of one's own health, which can be supported by a comprehensive medical examination and watching videos about the severe consequences of long-term tobacco use.
Popular smoking cessation methods
So, you have decided to give up cigarettes and look at various options that will help you get through a difficult period of breakdowns. In this case, simple tricks that do not require a visit to the doctor, purchase of medicines and special material costs will help.
How to fire a man at home on your own?
There are several popular methods for developing aversion to smoking, one of which is called:
Four Stinky Breaths
- It is necessary to strengthen and repair the maximum sensations of inhaling tobacco smoke. To do this, you need to inhale the tobacco smoke and hold it in your mouth for at least 30 seconds while chewing the movements of your closed mouth.
- After half a minute you can let the smoke into your lungs. In this case, there is a desire to cough. Don't resist him, cough.
- Using the same technique, make 2 more smokes while chewing the smoke and hold it in your mouth.
- For the fourth time, simply pull your lungs full of smoke and then cough them up slowly, contracting your abdominal muscles. Then write on the packet the time you inhaled and stop smoking.
If you have an unbearable urge to smoke, repeat the chewing process and try to increase the intervals between such sessions. Soon the body will react to the cigarette with disgust, and the desire to smoke will evaporate.
Milk cigarettes
This technique creates a strong aversion to tobacco. Just soak the cigarettes in milk or fermented milk drinks and dry thoroughly. They taste disgusting, so it is impossible to smoke them for more than 5-7 days. During this time, a special reflex develops that causes the rejection of any tobacco products.
Replacement method
This is a much nicer way to replace cigarettes with various tasty substitutes. As soon as you feel the need to smoke, immediately put candy, chewing gum, a bar of chocolate in your mouth or nibble on seeds and nuts. This method is more suitable for men, because it has a side effect that is unacceptable for women - weight gain. But in this case, you can avoid the appearance of extra pounds if you replace sweets with natural candied fruit (for example, pineapple) or dried fruit.
Pain stimulus
A regular bracelet can instantly lead a former smoker to mind at a time when there is an uncontrolled desire to smoke a cigarette. Just click the rubber band on your hand, and thoughts of smoking turn into painful sensations. With strong motivation, this is a pretty effective way to prevent relaxation.
How can a girl quit smoking on her own?
Many psychologists notice that the fairer sex is much more motivated to quit smoking than men. And this is not surprising, because smoking affects the appearance in the most unfavorable way.
Teeth made of dental plaque, bad complexion, hoarse, smoky voice, smell of tobacco from clothes and hair do not add charm to a woman. Such a lady would rather alienate a man than attract his attention. In addition, nicotine has a very negative effect on reproductive function and can cause fetal defects if a pregnant woman smokes. Therefore, ladies are much more successful in overcoming the craving for a bad habit and returning to a healthy lifestyle. What methods help them with that?
Nicotine patch
You can buy such a patch in any pharmacy. It is glued to the forearm or the outside of the thigh. They change records every day. The nicotine from the patch penetrates the skin and deceives the body, drowning the desire to smoke.
On average, the course lasts about a month; nicotine levels must be reduced each week. You can switch to nicotine chewing gum, herbal cigars and similar substitutes for the same purpose.
Electronic cigarettes
For many, vaporizers (electronic cigarettes) have become a real lifesaver from nicotine addiction. It’s even fashionable to be a boar now. Instead of tobacco, such devices contain a special liquid that evaporates from the surface of the radiator and turns into a cloud of aromatic vapor that looks like tobacco smoke. This is a real discovery for smokers with a strong psychological dependence, because all the signs of smoking remain, but without the harmful nicotine component.
Tablets and drops
You can alleviate your craving for nicotine with medication. Take Tabex or Nicorette tablets for this purpose. The dosage of the drug and the duration of the drug should be determined. These drugs gradually reduce the need to smoke and create an aversion to nicotine.
Another drug, Tabamex, has recently appeared on the pharmaceutical market. This innovative nicotine addiction drug is available in the form of drops and gels. For many smokers, the drug has become a real salvation, discouraging the desire to smoke without the accompanying side effects - weight gain or mental instability.
The preparation contains a complex of vitamins and extracts from medicinal plants whose action is aimed at reducing the need for nicotine. Users note that taking the drops almost immediately discourages the need to smoke, and the gel removes yellow deposits on the teeth and removes the smell of tobacco. One course of therapy is enough to achieve the desired effect. So far, you can only order the medicine on the manufacturer's website, it is not sold in pharmacies.
Acupuncture
Psychological dependence on nicotine is formed at the level of the reflex, fixed in the cerebral cortex. During the acupuncture procedure, the reflexologist acts on certain points that break the chain of impulses that go to the brain and thus suppress the desire to smoke. After only a few sessions, the person stops feeling nicotine hunger and can soon easily pass without addiction.
Neurolinguistic programming method
Judging by the reviews, this is one of the most effective methods, but only if the person has decided to quit smoking and the procedure is performed by an expert who practices this method. In fact, this is a common hypnosis that reprograms consciousness. As a result, negative attitudes change into positive ones, and the person leaves a habit that is harmful to health.
Of course, all of the above techniques are suitable not only for women but also for men. In addition to these options, various folk remedies can be used to alleviate the craving for nicotine.
Folk recipes
To reduce tobacco dependence, herbalists recommend using the following recipes:
Oats
The old-fashioned way of combining tobacco with dried oats, ground into powder, helps well with tobacco addiction.
But today no one smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, and pouring tobacco out of a cigarette, mixing it with the desired ingredient and filling the shells is a long and tedious process. Therefore, it is better to use a decoction of oats. To prepare it, grind an oatmeal and add 1 tbsp. l. powder in a glass of boiled water. Leave the composition to infuse overnight, boil in the morning, strain and drink instead of tea.
Anti-tobacco rubber
Peel, chop and mix fresh horseradish root with an equal amount of chopped plantain leaves. Then spoon this spoon into your mouth and chew. The released juice should be swallowed and the dry residue spit out. That way you can drown out the need to smoke and avoid relapse. You can use the branches of bird cherry, currant, ginger root or calamus for the same purpose.
Rinse
Mouthwash with soda or saline is recommended to combat nicotine cravings in the early days of cessation. As soon as there is an irresistible desire to smoke, the mouth should be rinsed with a solution prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. soda or salt in 200 ml of warm boiled water.
Benefits of living without cigarettes
When you stop smoking, the hardest part is the first week, and it will be a lot easier later. Along with cigarette smoke, and diseases will disappear, health, mood will improve, and soon you will notice the following positive results:
- the smoker's breath and dry cough will disappear;
- free breathing will return, the lungs will be cleansed of toxins;
- the risk of cardiovascular and oncological diseases will be significantly reduced;
- chronic pathologies of the upper respiratory tract will disappear;
- immune system functions are normalized, the body's defenses are restored;
- mood will rise, nervous system will strengthen;
- will improve complexion, skin and hair;
- a yellow plaque of tobacco will clean your teeth;
- will increase efficiency and mental activity, because the brain will not suffer from hypoxia;
- the unpleasant smell of tobacco will disappear from the clothes;
- and finally, significant savings in the family budget will be a nice bonus.
Because of this list of benefits, it is worth considering quitting smoking. Moreover, a healthy lifestyle, snow-white smiles, a fresh complexion and other evidence of excellent health are now in vogue, which is absolutely incompatible with smoking.
Smoking Cessation Reviews
Review # 1
He smoked for more than 20 years, he smoked his first cigarette as a teenager. At the time, the cigarette was a symbol of independence for me, giving me authority in the eyes of others. Over the years, health problems began, youth went away, but the habit remained. When doctors warned that there were problems with blood vessels and that it could all end in a stroke, he seriously considered quitting smoking.
I tried many medications - from nicotine patches and pills to electronic cigarettes, but I kept failing. In the end, the smoking drug Cytisine helped me. Ever since it was cut off. Now even the smell of cigarettes is disgusting.
Review # 2
Quit smoking two years ago. At the time, my wife and I were expecting our first child and she just couldn’t stand the smell of tobacco. Even if I used toothpaste right away, my clothes and hair were still soaked with smoke. I myself have been thinking for a long time about how to say goodbye to a bad habit.
In the end, I just gave myself a series of instructions, but I didn’t quit abruptly, I was gradually reducing the number of cigarettes I smoked. When I got to 2 a day, I noticed I almost didn’t smoke. And there was no time for smoke breaks - work, part-time jobs, family, a small child. As a result, I simply forgot about cigarettes and now I am absolutely indifferent to smoking.