How to quit smoking, in 13 psychological tips

There are several psychological strategies to gradually weaken the urge to smoke.

Tobacco is one of the most widely consumed legal psychoactive substances (technically drugs), along with alcohol, worldwide. However, smoking has been shown to be harmful to human health, causing different alterations and facilitating the appearance of serious problems such as pulmonary emphysema and lung cancer, or generating possible alterations in fetuses.

For this and for many other reasons many people decide to quit smokingBut they find that it is not as easy as not picking up a cigarette, since they must face the anxiety that will generate not having access to a substance to which they have some dependence and that they have integrated into their daily lives. How to quit smoking? In this article we leave you with 13 psychological keys to take into account to do so.

Thirteen keys to quit smoking

Quitting smoking is not easy. Most of the people who do it begin to do it in adolescence and acquire the habit of smoking in very different situations and contexts. It is therefore a habit that is deeply ingrained in most smokers. There are a multitude of programs and strategies to quit smoking, some more successful than others.Some are more successful than others. However, most of them share a series of keys or steps, some of the most important being the ones we will see below.

1. Analyze your smoking habits

One of the first steps to quit smoking is to recognize to what extent we have a dependence on tobacco. In this regard, the first thing we need to know is how much we smoke. You can make a simple self-record to be filled in on a daily basis.It can also be useful to reflect on whether there are situations that trigger this consumption and to reflect on why they do so.

It may also be useful to reflect on whether there are situations that trigger this consumption and to reflect on why they do so.

2. Decisional balance

Whether a person stops smoking depends to a large extent on the person's willingness to do so. In other words: we are not going to quit smoking if we do not want to. A good way to motivate oneself to do so is to to consider the pros and cons of smoking or quitting smoking, in a realistic way.in a realistic way.

Considering what smoking brings and what implications it has in the short and long term (both for oneself and for the environment) and contrasting it with the advantages of quitting this habit or replacing it with other alternative activities is an interesting step to motivate us to change. Aspects that are usually valued are the increase in health, the lower probability of suffering Cancer or respiratory problems, the non-intoxication of loved ones, the risks for the fetus in case of pregnancy or the economic disbursement that would no longer be used in the purchase of tobacco.

However, this strategy alone does not guarantee anything, this strategy by itself does not guarantee anything; it must be combined with other strategies.. After all, addictions are never a purely rational phenomenon.

3. Set goals and plan ahead

We have finally decided that we want to quit smoking and we are motivated to do so. It is a process that can be very short or very long depending on the person, his or her characteristics and the type of consumption habit he or she has. In any case, it is advisable to it is advisable to plan the steps to follow and set short and long term goals and set short and medium-term objectives that can lead to achieving the ultimate goal: quitting smoking.

4. Consider using nicotine withdrawal aids.

Although they are not really necessary, many people find it useful to use methods that reduce nicotine withdrawal. Examples include nicotine gum and nicotine patches.. However, it must be taken into account that these mechanisms are mainly for physical abstinence, having little effect on psychological abstinence.

5. Start by reducing the quantity

Deciding, for example, that starting tomorrow we are going to stop smoking when we have been smoking four packs a day for twenty years is not impossible, but for most people it is not feasible. We are dealing with a habit that has been established throughout life, and changing habits usually requires a progressive adaptation process.

Therefore, it is recommended that rather than quitting smoking all at once, it is recommended to start by reducing the daily amount of cigarettes, in a gradual and tolerable way for the subject. This can be combined with the progressive change of brand to others that contain less nicotine. Make a record of the maximum amount of cigarettes that you are going to allow yourself per day and comply with this limit, being advisable to ration them. The reduction must be real and significantThat is to say, if you smoke 50 cigarettes a week, do not cut down to 48, but to 35, for example.

And these cigarettes are total cigarettes: they count both your own cigarettes and those that other people may offer you. In fact, it is recommended not to accept other people's cigarettes, since it makes it easier for the quantities to get out of control and can also set a precedent for accepting them in the future.

6. Inform your environment

Quitting smoking is complicated for many people. Communicating the decision to stop smoking to the close environment is a good way to make it easier for them to take into account and understand the smoker's situation, as well as the likely increase in irritability. The support of this environment can help and reinforce the decision to quit smoking..

7. Evaluate alternative behaviors and behaviors

We must be aware that as we reduce the amount or quit smoking, we will have to face moments when it will be difficult to resist the urge to smoke. Normally those who start to quit smoking tend to be more nervous and tense, as well as irritable. It is necessary and very useful to consider alternative behaviors to smoking, especially if they are incompatible.

For example, some people decide to take a shower, chew gum or eat (the latter is the reason why some people tend to gain weight after quitting) to resist the discomfort and cravings caused by the absence of cigarettes.

8. Exercise

Physical exercise is a very stimulating activity that is beneficial and very useful. that is beneficial and useful for almost everyone in general, and can also help us to quit smoking. It is likely that initially doing exercise will be complicated for the person who is quitting smoking, since practicing sport involves a greater need for oxygenation and smokers (taking into account that smoking damages and blocks the respiratory tract) will tend to get tired earlier.

But this is at the same time a source of motivation to remain abstinent from tobacco: over time the respiratory capacity will increase and, together with the habituation to exercise and the endorphins and relaxation it generates, the need and desire to consume tobacco will decrease. It is also a behavior that is partly incompatible with the habit of smoking (as this makes it difficult to exercise intensely in the right way).

9. Refresh yourself

Quitting smoking, as we have already said on several occasions, is hard. That is why it is advisable to to reinforce oneself as we achieve our goals.. This reinforcement has to be a pleasant activity that we do not usually do, and can be reflected in a therapeutic contract that the person makes with himself. It can range from going out to dinner or to the movies to taking a short trip or getaway.

10. Ask for professional help

The treatment of addictions such as smoking is complex, and many people cannot quit on their own. Seeing a professional for more specific guidelines can help and can be a source of support and motivation to quit. can be helpful and can also be a source of support and motivation to quit.

11. Control exposure to places associated with smoking

Quitting smoking can be more difficult to achieve if we are surrounded by stimuli that continually remind us of this habit. For example, surrounding ourselves with smokers or breathing other people's smoke can trigger the desire to smoke. Although exposure to certain stimuli may be unavoidable, we must try to limit our exposure to them.

12. Be aware of the risk of relapse

We are at a point where we may have stopped smoking. Good, but we also have to be very aware that there is a likelihood of relapse. In fact, the first few weeks without consumption can be hard, but the greatest risk of relapse is usually after three months without consumption. In addition, events such as weddings and parties, or stressful situations, can lead to increased cravings for drugs, can lead to an increased craving for drugs.. These factors should be taken into account and it may be useful to consider ways of reacting if the urge to smoke appears.

13. Be careful, falling down is not a relapse.

Once we have quit smoking, this last key point is essential to bear in mind (and it applies to quitting smoking as well as to quitting other drugs). It is possible that on some occasions there may be an occasional consumption, a fall. After that, many people consider that the attempt to quit smoking has been a failure. But this does not have to be the caseWe will only speak of a relapse if the habit of consumption is reinstated. It is not a matter of minimizing the importance or allowing ourselves a cigarette from time to time, as it is something that should be avoided, but it is a matter of not criminalizing and considering all the progress made up to that point as lost.