It’s the dawn of a new year and many of us have made New Year Resolutions. Perhaps some of us have even vowed to kick the nicotine habit. Again! Sadly, New Year Resolutions fall by the wayside all-too-quickly with four out of every five being forgotten by mid-February.
Happily, however, your chances of holding firm to your resolution will improve with the right preparation and support. You’ll find everything from apps to quit smoking hypnosis through to peer-to-peer online groups may help you in your struggle to overcome your craving for nicotine.
Smoking’s Seductive Power
Nicotine from cigarettes gives you a powerful if temporary high. When your body is deprived of that high, even temporarily, you experience the cravings associated with physical withdrawal symptoms.
Nicotine withdrawal sets in rapidly often within half an hour to an hour after your last cigarette. These withdrawal symptoms can Inger for weeks. Common withdrawal symptoms include anger, irritability, nervousness,anxiety, fatigue, restlessness, increased appetite, concentration issues, insomnia and recurring headaches.
No matter how trying you may find these withdrawal symptoms, relax. They are only temporary. Symptoms cease as soon as the toxins associated with smoking are effectively flushed from your body.
The Perils of Smoking
We all know smoking is harmful to your health! Yet many people are addicted to smoking and their day inevitably begins or ends with a cigarette.
However, every time you light one up, you are significantly increasing your risk of a range of cancers, including lung, esophageal, pancreatic, mouth, and bladder cancers. Smoking also contributes to increased instances of strokes,heart disease, depression, Alzheimer’s,high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
Smoking while pregnant also negatively impacts your unborn child. Women who smoke during their pregnancy often give birth to underweight or premature babies. Here are some Healthy Pregnancy Tips for Moms.
Moreover, smoking has been shown to affect your memory and mental capacity together with an increased propensity for compromised fertility and impotence levels.
Fighting Your Nicotine Scourge
Quitting smoking permanently can be a difficult and frustrating experience. And quitting smoking cold turkey is always a battle! Technological advances have made giving up smoking way easier while helping you stay connected to a support network.
Here are seven tips to help you successfully quit smoking permanently to enjoy a smoke-free February.
1. There’s An App For That
Mobile phones are part of our daily lives. Apps provide an easy way to readily access information and assistance to help smokers quit. Be it counselling or sending personalized messages, applications can smooth the quitting process. Some mobile apps also prompt their users to stick to a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating nutritious meals.
There are around two hundred apps out there offering a host of different alternatives to help smokers kick their habit.
2. Anti-Smoking Gadgets
Gadgets have successfully established themselves as useful devices for tracking their user’s health information. From monitoring your heartbeat, to constant reminders to take medication, gadgets help us to stay on track and show you the results of your efforts. They are effective motivators for users who want to quit smoking. From simple rubber bracelets to high-tech smartwatches, there are many gadgets available to help you track your health and fitness.
3. Online Forums
Online forums provide a platform for smokers to discuss their efforts to quit smoking and share their experiences. Join a forum, share your insights walk others through your difficulties while helping forum members feel positive about their efforts to quit.
4. Subscribe To Anti-Smoking Websites And Blogs
Blogs and websites are designed to distribute information and materials to their audience.They are helpful ways of assisting their readers to quit smoking, particularly as they are often written by former smokers. Their insights and experiences often resonate with their readership, especially when recounting the myriad of difficulties of often experienced when attempting to quit smoking.
Some websites and blogs enable readers to share their journey in quitting smoking. Reading these blogs inspire their audience to quit smoking and can be very motivating.
5. Personal Social media
Your private social media feeds can play a significant role in your strategy to quit smoking. Sharing your personal experience across social media can keep your support network engaged in helping you to stop smoking.They can follow your progress, contribute their encouragement when you need it most and remind you that you are not alone.
6. Do A Thorough Spring Cleaning
Once you have your tech support in place, go offline. Cleaning your home is step one on the path to successfully quitting smoking. It is important to rid your home of the paraphernalia of smoking. Throw out those lighters and ashtrays, wash your clothes and clean your upholstery, drapes and carpets.Same goes for your car. Have it detailed.
A sparkly clean home makes it easier to deal with the withdrawal. Make your environment a smoke-free zone. Ban guests from smoking in your home and car and discourage them from lighting up while sitting next to you in a café or restaurant.
7. Celebrate Your Successes
Successfully navigated a stressful week at work or got through a holiday without smoking? Congratulate yourself and celebrate! There’ll be plenty of bumps along the way, so, celebrating your successes when you’re quitting can keep those cravings at bay. Even marking your first smoke-free 24 hours is a major achievement.
The key to success fully giving up smoking permanently is to take a bundled approach to your quit smoking strategy by adopting a range of technologies and techniques combined with professional assistance.
Final Observation
Don’t feel like you have to go it alone. Tell a coworker,family member or friend that you’re quitting. Ask them not to smoke around you if they happen to smoke, too. There isa range of professional advice and assistance now readily available. Take advantage of the wealth of resources available to you as you navigate your effort to quit smoking permanently. Professional support through a counsellor, hypnotherapist or coaching coupled with medications can make all the difference in ensuring you keep your New Year’s resolution.
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