How To Quit Smoking Without Driving Yourself Crazy

How To Quit Smoking

How To Quit Smoking - Smoking is a habit that is hard to stop, yet stopping is necessary if you want to protect your lungs and heart from disease. Smoking leads to cancer, asthma and other serious illnesses. So read through the tips in this article and learn how you can stop smoking sooner, rather than later.

Make sure you do not feel as if you have to give up any aspect of your life because you are quitting smoking. Anything that you do you can still do as an ex-smoker. Who knows, you may even be able to do your favorite things a little bit better.

Take up exercise to help you quit smoking. Exercising is wonderful for both your body and mind. It can help you to focus on the positive things in life, and keep you from thinking about that cigarette that you so dearly want. It is also a wonderful way to meet healthy people. When you're around healthy people, it might just make you want to stay healthy too.

See your doctor and ask him to recommend a stop smoking program or medication. Only five percent of people who attempt to stop cold turkey, with no help, succeed in their attempt to quit smoking. You need help to overcome the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that accompany any attempt to quit.

Kick the smoking habit for the health of your loved ones. Secondhand smoke causes lung disease, cancer, and other health problems to everyone around you. By quitting, you not only improve your own health, you are helping the people around you as well. So, both you and your loved ones can live healthier due to your decision to quit smoking.

Find another way to relax. Nicotine is a relaxant, so you need to find a substitute to lessen your stress. A massage or yoga is a really great way of relaxing, or you could try a warm bath, or listening to your favorite music. Whenever possible, try to stay away from anything stressful during the initial couple of weeks when you stop smoking.

If you have very strong associations between smoking and drinking coffee or smoking while you're drinking, you may need to avoid these triggers for a while. Once you feel comfortable enough in your ability to stay away from cigarettes, you can slowly bring back that morning cup of joe or happy hour with your friends.

To get off to the best possible start, talk to your doctor about your plan to quit smoking. Your doctor can be a valuable source of information and support and can also recommend the most effective way to quit, as well as, how to deal with the negative effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Before you quit, identify your triggers and plan ways around them. If you always smoke when you drink, abstain from alcohol for a while. If smoking before, during or after meals is a common practice for you, change up your meal plans or environments to prevent this. Track your smoking times and places to know when and where you light up, and adapt accordingly.

Avoid dieting when trying to quit smoking. A lot of aspiring quitters try to diet while quitting so they can avoid the supposedly inevitable weight gain. However, in doing so, they're depriving their bodies of too much at once and they wind up relapsing. This just means gaining weight, while they're still smoking.

Be sure that when you're trying to quit smoking that you try to limit beverages that make you crave tobacco. For some people this means cutting back on coffee or alcohol. If you consume these drinks you might feel urges to smoke, especially with alcohol. Stay away from these things or limit your intake for a while if you're quitting smoking.

If you aren't afraid of the long-term health hazards of smoking, then tap into your vanity to help you stop. Did you know that smoking can cause wrinkles, yellow fingernails, and cause you to lose your teeth? It can also lead to macular degeneration, which in turn leads to blindness.

Don't give up if your initial attempt to quit smoking fails. Use it as an opportunity to evaluate what aspects of your program were successful and what areas need to be adjusted. Most people try several times before they are successful in quitting. Set a new date to stop and then, try again.

Consider joining a support group when you decide to stop smoking. If your schedule does not allow for regular meetings, then look for telephone help lines or ones where people can log in online. These groups will give you instant access to support, regardless of what time you need them.

WIth all that you learned from this article, you can now help your body by helping your heart and lungs by quitting smoking. So use everything that you learned from this article and gain new knowledge to apply to your quitting goals and you should get rid of smoke from your life in no time.