There are dozens of ways to quit smoking. Ex-smokers are willing to talk about their experiences, psychotherapists offer courses and write books, there are evidence-based and semi-magical ways to quit cigarettes. We couldn't stay away either.
Are there ways to finally get rid of nicotine addiction? yes there isThanks to them, you can live six months without cigarettes - just such a period is necessary to consider the addiction over. Well, as always, it doesn't work without strong motivation.
So, let's look at the most effective ways to quit smoking.
1. Take special medication
Long-term smokers need to see a doctor because they find it difficult to cope with nicotine addiction on their own. After all, it is part of the blood, takes part in metabolism, and if suddenly it no longer regularly enters the body, a person experiences some kind of withdrawal. It comes to anxiety, irritability, irritability, up to panic attacks. So it is still better to seek medical assistance. Your doctor will prescribe medications to eliminate or reduce the severity of a nicotine hangover.
Anti-smoking drugs are divided into three groups. The former serves as a substitute for nicotine, as these tablets contain nicotine, or the alkaloid cytisine, which acts in a similar way on the body. They irritate nicotinic receptors and provoke the development of reactions similar to 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 pills is that they remain addictive to nicotine, albeit in small doses.
Drugs of the second group act on those parts of the brain where the craving for cigarettes arises. And tablets of the third group, by binding to nicotine receptors, block the formation of reactions due to which a person experiences the pleasure of smoking, causing disgust at this process.
2. Use patches and nicotine gum
Patches and nicotine gum also help reduce the severity of a nicotine hangover during the cigarette cessation phase. They provide the body with a minimal amount of nicotine and humans function 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 must quit their substitutes.
3. Get hypnosis or coding
These methods of breaking a bad habit are not officially recognized by medicine, but they work. If you decide to try hypnosis or psychological coding, contact a specialized clinic. You will receive counseling and therapy.
How does it look like? The psychotherapist puts the patient in a hypnotic trance and inspires him to quit smoking. However, the psychotherapeutic effect occurs without hypnosis. The most important thing here is to remember that no suggestion will help unless you have made your own decision to part with a cigarette. Hypnosis can simply increase motivation.
If you cannot cope with the desire to smoke and break the code, it is advisable to consult a doctor immediately. This will improve the encoding or remove the settings received.
4. Sign up for acupuncture
By affecting specific points on the body, doctors have been treating many diseases, including smoking, for more than a millennium. In certain places on the ears, the doctor sticks special needles, and the person no longer feels the need for nicotine. One or two sessions is enough for some, six for others. An effective method, but not suitable for those who are terrified of injections.
5. Turn to traditional medicine
There are many recipes of traditional medicine that get rid of addiction. Here is one of them, very effective. Soak the cigarette in milk, dry and smoke. This is such a disgusting thing that discourages the desire to smoke forever, moreover, the mere thought of a cigarette can induce an attack of nausea.
Most effective in the fight against smoking plantains. Prepare an infusion from it: one tbsp. 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: half a glass in the morning and half a glass in the evening.
Mix 1 tbsp. l. fresh leaves of horseradish and plantains great. Chew the mixture for 5 minutes twice a day and swallow the juice.
Prepare a decoction of oats: two tbsp. l. brew a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil and leave for an hour. After that, strain and drink 0. 4 cups 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 the unfortunate lovers of smoking. And even in a big city you can find a folk healer.
6. Work hard
According to psychologists, hard work, busyness, emergency work help to overcome the craving for smoking. A person switches to a project, all thoughts are focused only on it, and the number of cigarettes smoked is sharply reduced or even disappears completely. After all, there is simply no time to go to the smoking room. And to enhance the effect of this method, it is worth working in a company where smoking is generally prohibited.
7th exercise
During sport, as with any other physical activity, the body begins to actively release pleasure hormones - endorphins. They evoke feelings of pleasure and thus help to overcome the discomfort associated with smoking cessation. Therefore, it is worth signing up for a gym or aerobics. Jogging at a moderate pace, but brisk walking or cycling also helps to reduce stress. If you want to smoke - put on your sneakers and go ahead. In a quarter of an hour you will be "let go".
8. Eat right
Spicy foods, alcohol, coffee and tea increase the craving to smoke, so avoid these products while you are trying to quit nicotine. And here is a list of products that should be constantly on the table:
- Celery Leaves – Reduces stress hormones.
- Citrus fruits and peppers – strengthen the immune system due to their high vitamin C content.
- Milk - According to American studies, drinking a glass of milk before a cigarette spoils its taste.
- Water - it helps remove toxins from the body, including nicotine. A glass of water before a puff will help curb the urge to smoke.
- Dark chocolate - increases the level of serotonin, which is much needed for a person who has given up cigarettes.
- Green Smoothie - Smoothies made from leafy greens are high in chlorophyll, which helps remove toxins from the body.
- Herbal teas - calm the nervous system, relieve anxiety, irritability, palpitations.
9. Get some privacy
Take a vacation and get off the beaten path where there are no shops or cigarette stands nearby. You should know that there is no place where you can buy a pack of cigarettes, you cannot follow it 50 kilometers. Live in such conditions for a month, but do not play the fool, do something useful. Dig beds for the neighbors' grandmothers or pull weeds, chop firewood for the winter, collect all the garbage around. . . Exhaust yourself physically and the desire to smoke will disappear.
10. Read Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Quit Smoking
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 quit this harmful activity at the age of 49. After that he founded the international network of clinics "The Easy Way", which helps with his method to quit smoking. Try it and you, because if it has helped many, it will help you too.
11. Call a specialized center
There are special counseling centers to help with smoking cessation (CTC). If you call here and express 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 health of the applicant, and psychologists, in turn, will facilitate the process of nicotine cessation.
However you decide to kick a bad habit, remember a few more tips:
- do not smoke on an empty stomach in the morning - eat breakfast first;
- do not smoke on an empty stomach - do it half an hour after eating;
- Smoke a strictly defined number of cigarettes for yourself: an hour after breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- If you plan to smoke more often, drink water or coffee.