What does psychological support for smoking cessation look like?

These are the techniques and strategies most commonly used in psychotherapy for Smoking cessation.

Quitting smoking can be a complicated task if you do not have the necessary resources to do so. For this reason, psychology plays a fundamental role.

More and more people are turning to psychotherapy in order to quit tobacco in a definitive way. By means of this article we will try to make a compendium of some of the strategies and techniques most used by the professionals of psychology to carry out this task.

Psychological support to quit smoking: what it is and how it works

Anyone who is a regular smoker, especially if they have been a smoker for many years, will know how strong is the dependency relationship acquired with tobacco, or rather with the addictive substances it contains, such as nicotine. This does not mean that it is impossible to eliminate this habit, but it can be complicated.

This is where the science of human behavior, i.e. psychology, comes in. And the fact is that thanks to the guidance of a good psychotherapist, an expert in addictions, this arduous path can be made more bearable.. That is why many people interested in quitting this habit wonder what psychological support to quit smoking is like.

First of all, it must be said that the word addiction can be shocking for some, who will associate this concept with more aggressive substances. However, in the strict sense of the word, tobacco is a drug whose effect stimulates the central nervous system of the person who consumes it.. Continued use will generate a relationship of dependence, i.e. addiction.

Therefore, it is not uncommon for more and more consumers to become aware of this fact and therefore investigate ways to end this relationship with nicotine. Many of these individuals try to do this on their own. Some succeed. Others, on the other hand, need extra support. Therefore, they need to know what psychological support for smoking cessation looks like.

Psychology as a smoking cessation aid

Of course, there is no single solution from psychology to achieve this task. As it happens when we talk about any other psychological alteration, the therapeutic approach may vary depending on many factors, starting with the characteristics of the person concerned..

Likewise, each therapist may come from a different school and therefore will have been trained to use certain techniques, while another professional will prefer different ones. Likewise, within the range of strategies that each one uses, he or she will have to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of the patient and the particularities of his or her case.

Therefore, the question of what psychological support for smoking cessation looks like is sometimes too broad to be answered in an exhaustive manner. On the contrary, several ways of approaching the issue can be proposed, combinations of several of them can be made or even the action plan can be restructured if it is observed that the first choice is not proving effective.

Taking into account these previous considerations, we will review a compilation of techniques aimed at this issue, without losing the perspective that they are not the only ones, that several of them can be complementary and that ultimately it is the professional psychologist who will decide, together with the patient, how to address the issue that has led him to consultation.

Psychological techniques used in therapy to quit smoking.

The following are some of the strategies and techniques some of the strategies and techniques used by some therapists in psychological support for smoking cessation.

1. Anticipation and stimulus control

Such a delicate task as quitting smoking requires a certain amount of dedication. Many therapists will agree that stimulus control and anticipation will be key to success. Therefore, the patient should be aware of this fact and do everything possible to avoid easy and direct access to tobacco.

In other words, staying away from the source of the addiction, as far as possible, will reduce (even if only partially) the conditioned response he/she has to tobacco, and therefore the anxiety caused by not smoking. and therefore the anxiety caused by not smoking. Stimulant control can be done with small acts, such as not having tobacco in a visible place, or not having it at all, if you want to quit abruptly.

It is not only a matter of keeping cigarettes away from us, but also of keeping ourselves away from the situations that propitiate the act of smoking. That is why, when talking about what psychological support for quitting smoking looks like, the therapist can emphasize to the patient to avoid certain scenarios that were practically linked to the act of smoking.

What can these situations be? It depends on each person, of course. But they can be as common as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon break with work colleagues who also smoke, so that tobacco is the social nexus. In that case, it might be advisable not to share that break if you are not sure that you are going to be strong enough to refuse the cigarette.

2. Change of routines and substitution of activities

At the same time that certain habits are eliminated, in this case smoking, new actions can be initiated to facilitate this change of routines. Obviously, if these are healthy activities, the benefit will be maximum. This is the case of sport, which is positive in itself but is also a powerful ally to reduce the symptoms of anxiety derived from nicotine abstinence..

Therefore, quitting smoking is the ideal time to start practicing a sport, go to the gym or intensify these actions if they have already been done in the past. In addition, the routines and the environment that usually go hand in hand with sport, of a healthy nature, also act psychologically as a dam against the temptation to smoke, which, on the contrary, has unhealthy connotations.

When we talk about changes in routines in the context of psychological support for smoking cessation, we also include small actions. It goes without saying that the very routine of picking up a cigarette and lighting it is the one to try to eliminate. Sometimes, trying to replace it with others, such as taking a candy or a lollipop, can be a small but valuable help.

3. Thought control

Continuing with the strategies that explain how is the psychological support to quit smoking, we cannot forget the cognitive work, or in other words, thought management.. Although the addiction that the smoker suffers from is not going to disappear simply by reasoning about how harmful tobacco is, this mental work can help to a certain extent.

It will be important for the person to be clear about all the negative things that cigarettes are bringing into his or her life and all the positive things that he or she will achieve when he or she stops smoking once and for all. Writing down this list or reviewing it can be beneficial, especially when the desire to smoke appears.

4. Nicotine reduction

We have already mentioned that some people choose to quit smoking from one day to the next, but not all people are able to do it this way. For this reason, another technique that can be useful and that responds to the psychological support to quit smoking is that of reducing nicotine progressively.

This does not necessarily imply reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day, in a staggered manner, although it is also a very useful method. Other ways to achieve such a reduction in nicotine may be to purchase packs of tobacco of other brands that include a lower dose of that chemical. In this way, although the number of cigarettes is maintained, the total amount of nicotine that will reach the organism will be lower.

You can also opt for nicotine gum or nicotine patches, which are also widely used as substitutes for cigarettes, since they reduce the withdrawal syndrome generated by not smoking.

5. Attainable goals

As we said, not everyone has the willpower to quit smoking overnight. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of one's own capabilities to quit smoking, be aware of one's capabilities and set goals that are attainable and in line with them.. The therapist will be able to assist in this task and design a program tailored to the patient.

Bibliographical references:

• Castruita, D.A.A., Castillo, M.A.A. (2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: systematic review. Community Nursing.
• Lira-Mandujano J., González-Betanzos F., Carrascoza V.C.A., Ayala V.H.E., Cruz-Morales S.E. (2009). Evaluation of a brief motivational intervention program for smokers: results of a pilot study . Mental Health.
• Stead, L.F., Lancaster, T. (2005). Group behavioural therapy programs for smoking cessation. The Cochrane Library Plus.
• Vera, M.P.G., Sanz, J. (2006). Situation analysis of smoking cessation treatments based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and nicotine patches. Psycho-oncology.