How Can I Deal with Mental Obsession when Quitting Smoking?
“How Can I Deal with Mental Obsession when Quitting Smoking?”
Quitting smoking can be absolutely horrific….and people will tell you that the excruciating withdrawal is mostly psychological, despite the strong chemical addiction to nicotine. Yes, our bodies do become physically dependent on nicotine. In spite of this, it’s amazing to notice all of the triggers when you are in the midst of quitting smoking; everything you did throughout your day seemed to be somehow linked to smoking.
Take any random activity–such as eating a meal or riding in a car–and chances are good that you either smoked before, during, or after that activity….every single time. Smoking wasn’t just a generalized habit; it was a specific set of rituals ingrained into your daily routine. The psychological triggers when you quit smoking are going to be linked to these activities. You have to make it through each activity a couple of times–like riding in the car, for example–before you can finally start making it through without craving a cigarette.
When I quit smoking, I used this information to my advantage, and took note of when I got a massive urge to smoke and noticed exactly what it was that I was doing. For example, after finishing a large meal, I would really want a cigarette quite badly. I noticed this a lot, after every meal, and paid special attention to it. Increasing my awareness of this trigger was helpful, and I found ways to overcome it (for this particular trigger, I focused on eating meals more slowly, so as not to overeat, and I also replaced the after-meal cigarette with a toothpick).
In the first few weeks of quitting, there is a fine line between obsessing over the fact that you are not smoking, and consciously raising your awareness of triggers so that you can lessen their impact. The key is all in your attitude towards it–you are going to have triggers….lots of them. Let them come, take note of them, and see that they have no power over you. Conquer your triggers and feel positive when you make it through your urges without smoking. Say to yourself, “See, I just made it through another meal without smoking afterwards. It’s getting easier each time.”
Remind yourself: each activity you make it through without smoking is another victory. Give yourself credit. It takes time to reprogram your mind.Remember not to get angry and emotional when you get an urge to smoke. At first, everything seems to be a trigger. Breathe deep and make it through to the next one. Very soon the urges will get less and less frequent, and you will realize that it is in fact getting better.
Remember that the urges are necessary to go through, and that they are temporary. Freedom is just around the corner. Breathe deep and let the urge wash over you.Here is another excellent tip. Get a stopwatch and put it in your pocket. When you get an urge, take the stopwatch out and start the timer. Let the stopwatch run and try to go back to what you were doing. At some point you will notice that the urge to smoke has temporarily ceased. Look at the stopwatch. You will absolutely be amazed at how short your urges are by doing this. Time distortion is a real symptom of nicotine withdrawal, and it makes it seem like our urges go on forever and ever. The stopwatch trick can help put this into perspective. Try it!
For some people these techniques might ultimately prove to be insufficient and for those of you out there like this I would recommend that you look into a quit smoking prescription to assist you in your efforts. There are some medications out there that really seem to help a few of the ex smokers that I know!
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i am truly amazed that I have given up smoking ten years ago. Today I wake grateful for the freedom I have obtained.
Good looking on the ten years there, Tony. Isn’t it great to wake up and not have to stumble around until you get that first cigarette lit? I need to stay grateful that the obsession has been lifted as well…..thanks for reading Tony. Good luck to you!
Hello All,
I was reading around some of the posts here and I found interesting things that you guys talk about, I just made a blog about quitting smoking resources and ideas that you might want to check out.
If someone is interested in this topic just go to; http://endthehabitnow.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. Your honest feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I quit smoking around october of 2004. It has been about three and a half years and recently due to some stressors I began to get the craving really bad. I have been using cinammon gum and drinking lots of diet Pepsi to hold me through and it has worked for me. I use cinammon because it has a little bit of bite. I hope the cravings go away soon. The stressors are mostly gone but the cravings remain. Going back to smoking is something I definitely want to go to. When the cravings are gone you just feel so much freedom.
Sorry, I meant to say “not want to go to”
Nice job on quitting, Fernando, and congratulations on fighting off the recent cravings. I have had some brief periods of time myself over the last year or two when cigarette cravings have come up out of nowhere, and I have also dealt with them using candy and gum. I found myself chewing gum every day for a few weeks, and then it just seemed to pass, and I no longer had the need to put anything in my mouth.
The freedom from cigarettes is priceless. I feel so bad for the smokers at work now who have to go out in the cold….
Good luck to you Fernando and God bless.
Hi Patrick,
As I picture you there eating and finishing your meal I picture other members of your family going out to smoke – or, worse – smoking right there at the table.
Can you say something about what you did when you were faced with friends you used to smoke with starting to smoke beside you? Did you leave? Did you find other things to do? At work did you start hanging out with non-smokers? Did you drop those friends that you used to smoke with regularly? How did you deal with this aspect? I’ve not seen it mentioned yet – I’ve read about 12 articles about smoking at your site now… just curious.
:) MF
At work I had to change my pattern, and stop going out back to smoke with my coworkers, obviously. When I first quit, I did not go out there at all, as it was too tempting. I had to change the routine, do something different. Take a walk around the other side of the building, that sort of thing.
Unbelievably, I had a roommate at the time and he continued to smoke in our apartment, but this was not as bad as you think. He worked third shift and I worked second, so we did not see each other hardly at all. During the first 2 weeks of my quit, I stayed busy and avoided seeing him smoke at all, which was easy to do over a 2 week span. After that, it was not a problem to watch him smoke, and it never really bothered me. But you can bet that during that first “hell week” it certainly would have…..
I did have other friends that continued to smoke at that time but the effect it had on me was minimal, and they were very nice about it and tried to cut down a bit when I was hanging out with them. I can remember telling them “It’s OK, go ahead and smoke, I don’t mind” even though I did mind a little. It was a way to build internal strength, to make it through a small hurdle like that.
There is more but that sort of gives a foundation for how I dealt with other smokers early on. It was really no big deal after making it through the first 10 days, in my opinion…..
Hi guys, the longest period I’ve stayed off cigarettes was one week. Now I am practically convincing myself that I just really like smoking.
Any tips?