How to overcome an acute attack of desire to smoke? I’m quitting smoking, how to stop the desire, folk remedies? How to cope with the urge to smoke.

First step: you must realize the harm of smoking to your health.

It is impossible to quit smoking without understanding the harmful effects of tobacco on the human body. Because only fear of the consequences of smoking can overcome the painful craving for nicotine. The insidiousness of smoking lies precisely in the fact that the manifestations of the consequences of smoking develop slowly and imperceptibly. Therefore, many smokers neglect information about the dangers of smoking. They do not notice the disadvantages of smoking and see only the advantages. They are little concerned about the prospect of getting sick due to smoking. Such people think that smoking can harm anyone, but not them. And nothing will happen to them. And only the beginning symptoms of smoking-related diseases make them think about the risk to their health and often become a motive for quitting smoking. For clarity, I want to give one example.

...A patient came to the surgeon with complaints of severe pain in the calf muscles. After a thorough examination, a diagnosis was made: obliterating endarteritis. With a progressive course of the disease, the prognosis is unfavorable - gangrene of the lower extremities with subsequent amputation is possible. The surgeon drew the patient's attention to the fact that one of the main causes of the disease is smoking and he urgently needs to quit smoking. Otherwise, he will be disabled... The patient threw the cigarettes into the trash bin without leaving the doctor's office.

Kudin Mikhail. I lost 51 kg and quit smoking. Maintains weight for 10 years

As a rule, in such cases a person quits smoking forever without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The thought of losing my legs was a shock and overpowered the painful craving for cigarettes. This begs the question: does a person really have to get sick in order to give up bad habits? So that the fear of death and loss of ability to work will finally help to realize the harmfulness of smoking and suppress the desire to smoke. But is it necessary to wait for diseases to appear? Wouldn’t it be wiser to quit smoking in time? Is it worth risking your health for the sake of a beautiful cigarette and “blue smoke”? Unfortunately, many smokers do not have the slightest idea about the true extent of the destructive effects of smoking.

I would like to illustrate to you another, perhaps not very pleasant, but instructive story, when I, while still a student, attended the autopsy of a patient who died of cardiopulmonary failure. The professor drew special attention of the students to the unusual color of the lungs. These were the lungs of a heavy smoker - black with soot and tar, they resembled in color a tarpaulin boot, smeared with shoe polish. After this incident, many students from my group quit smoking. I think that if even the most heavy smoker knew what his lungs had become from smoking, he would think hard about whether he should continue smoking. And there are many such examples when a person’s awareness of the harmfulness of smoking helps him quit smoking.

Second step: you must realize your guilt for your addiction to smoking.

In order to fight such a sin as smoking tobacco, you must first realize your guilt and involvement in this sin. Only a person’s recognition of his guilt contributes to his internal cleansing, change for the better and spiritual growth. In order to quit smoking, a person must change himself, change his value attitude towards health, lifestyle, and bad habits. But can a person change if he does not consider himself to blame for his troubles? Why should he change if he is not to blame!

Until a person realizes personal responsibility for his addiction to nicotine and for the development of smoking-related diseases, he will always lack motivation to quit smoking. Many smokers avoid personal responsibility for their smoking by transferring it onto their uncontrollable urge to smoke. The main reason why many smokers avoid personal responsibility is the fear of having to show their will and character in the fight against a bad habit. At the same time, this justifies the complete inaction and passivity of smokers in the fight against smoking.

“I can’t help myself, I’m drawn to smoke,” smokers usually say, citing their lack of will, ultimately blaming their smoking on an uncontrollable craving for tobacco. Thus, recognizing his inability to fight the irresistible desire to smoke, a person refuses to fight this bad habit. But if a person himself does not want to quit smoking, no treatment will help him get rid of nicotine addiction.

Nabutovsky Leonid. Lost 30 kg and completely quit smoking

Third step: you must have a genuine desire to quit smoking.

So, a person’s conscious feeling of guilt pushes him to change. And in any act of change, the problem of desire and will arises. Desire is the precursor of will, since without the original desire there can be no meaningful action. In other words, without desire there is no action, no will to win.

In my practice, there have been cases when patients came to me for help with a formal desire to quit smoking. As a rule, their reasons for seeking treatment for smoking were fashion, medical propaganda, and the persuasion of close relatives and work colleagues. But there was no true desire coming from themselves. A formal desire differs from a true desire in that with a true desire the patient takes an active part in the treatment process, strives to achieve positive results, but with a formal desire he does not make any effort for this.

In this case, the smoker's inaction is motivated by a desire for peace, since his inertia overshadows the desire to quit smoking. And most importantly, he does not believe in himself and in the very possibility of quitting smoking. He knows that he needs to quit smoking, but he does not really want to do it. To make you understand more clearly the role of a true desire to quit smoking or a desire to stop drinking, not to overindulge in sweets - in a word, the desire to change in the fight against bad habits, I would like to give the following example.

At one time I had to provide conditioned reflex therapy for patients suffering from alcoholism. That time I used apomorphine. This is a powerful drug that develops a persistent aversion to alcoholic beverages. As soon as I said the word “vodka” or gave the patients a glass of alcohol to sniff, they (after taking apomorphine) began to vomit violently. But the behavior of one patient deserved special attention. Despite his strong reaction to the drug, whenever it was time for the liquor store to close, he looked at his watch with concern. After the session, he ran to the store and bought alcohol, drank, and felt sick... Still, he continued to drink until he got drunk.

Here we see the following paradox: the flesh, under the influence of apomorphine, rejects alcohol, but the soul, despite this, wants booze. From this we can conclude: the decisive role in the fight against bad habits is played not by the medicinal effect on the body, but by the patient’s desire to get rid of bad habits.

So, in order for you to have a strong desire to quit smoking, you must:

Firstly, believe in the method you have chosen to quit smoking;

Secondly, believe in yourself and in victory over smoking;

Thirdly, you must have a serious motive for quitting smoking;

fourthly, you must overcome your inertia and lack of will and take an active part in the fight against smoking.

Fourth step: you must make the final choice between health and smoking.

A special place in the fight against the smoking habit is occupied by the problem of choice. Before you decide to quit smoking, you need to solve a dilemma: live as before, continue to destroy your body by smoking, suffer from the harmful effects of smoking, be a passive observer of your failures in life, or still make a different choice, decide to change your lifestyle, change yourself and completely quit smoking.

Zharov Sergey. Lost 30 kg and completely quit smoking

You need to consider the pros and cons of deciding to quit smoking. In this case, a struggle of motives occurs in the souls of smokers: to smoke or not to smoke. That is, your internal “prosecutor” and “lawyer” come into action. The “prosecutor” accuses you of weak character, lack of will, of the destruction of your body by tobacco smoke, of slavish dependence on nicotine, of poor health, of premature aging. And the “lawyer” defends treacherous thoughts about the pleasure you get from cigarettes, that smoking brightens up your life, lifts your spirits, relieves stress and brings you closer to your friends who smoke.

As a rule, many smokers go through such an internal struggle - to smoke, not to smoke - before making the final decision to quit smoking. The problem of choice is crucial in the final result - quitting smoking, since decision-making precedes not only quitting smoking, but also relapse during the period of abstinence. That is, the breakdown does not go away spontaneously, but a painful struggle of motives begins: to smoke or not to smoke. Reasons for quitting smoking can be: dissatisfaction with your appearance (“smoker’s face”), poor health, morning cough, etc. They will be “guard posts” that protect you from relapse while abstaining from cigarettes. And as soon as your hand reaches for a cigarette, you should immediately remember the strong weakness and depression in the morning after the first cigarette, the yellow, haggard face of a smoker, the cough in the morning - and your hand will immediately return.

Therefore, you need to understand the reasons for quitting smoking that are significant to you, write them down for yourself on paper and remember them - and then the decision to light a cigarette again will not work. You must answer the main question: “Why did you decide to quit smoking?” And as soon as you have the idea of ​​smoking again, remember this.

Fifth step: you must have a serious motive to quit smoking.

If you decide to quit smoking, but you lack obvious motivation, you need to identify and understand the motives that would help you fight smoking. From all the variety of reasons that force you to quit smoking, choose for yourself the most significant motive that will block the craving for nicotine.

I bring to your attention the most common reasons for quitting smoking.

1. Negative attitude towards the early and long-term consequences of smoking.

2. Restoring health.

3. Fear of premature old age.

4. Fear of death.

5. Restoration of performance and endurance.

6. The desire for rejuvenation.

7. Restoration of sexual potency.

8. The desire to play sports.

9. Striving for a healthy lifestyle.

10. Employment.

11. Improving quality of life.

12. The desire to become an energetic person.

13. The desire to restore appearance.

14. Self-esteem.

15. The desire to achieve the approval of relatives and work colleagues.

I always advise my patients: “Quit smoking for the sake of someone or for the sake of something.” For example: “I decided to quit smoking because I don’t want to cough in the morning,” or “I want to quit smoking because I love my husband,” or “I want to quit smoking so I can live and help my children,” etc.

There are usually several reasons for quitting smoking. Write down your deepest motives and remember them. And these motives, written down on paper, will become a psychological defense against relapse while abstaining from smoking. For example, if you have the thought of smoking and your hand reaches for a cigar, you give yourself an order: “I want to look younger” or “I will not smoke cigarettes because I want to exercise,” etc.

Sixth step: you must take a decisive step towards a new life - make a sharp break from smoking.

Quitting smoking is an important part of treatment because some people fail because they are unable to overcome their inertia and quit smoking completely. The transition period from smoking to non-smoking is very painful for them. Some people are not psychologically ready for this; they develop a fear of failure, fear of discomfort, and deprivation associated with abruptly quitting smoking. What needs to be done in order to overcome the fear of non-smoking, the fear of the unknown and of future deprivation? Often fears of upcoming hardships are exaggerated by our consciousness. Until a person quits smoking, the process of abstaining from nicotine will be unfamiliar to his consciousness, and therefore, there will be fear of this unknown. If a person has decided to quit smoking and consciously quit smoking, the state of abstinence from smoking ceases to be a frightening unknown and the fear of it recedes.

Zolotarev Yuri. I lost 25 kg and quit smoking. Has not smoked for 10 years and is maintaining weight

Therefore, in order to overcome the fear of abstaining from smoking, you need to start it and take the first steps to completely quit smoking. As practice shows, already in the first hours of abstaining from cigarettes, my patients are convinced that abstinence is not as scary as it seems in their imagination.

In order to overcome your fear of quitting smoking completely, you need to start exercising your will. To do this, you must take some action. You must set a date for quitting smoking completely. Choose a calm, non-stressful day. Let it be a day off or the first day of vacation. Tell family members and close friends about your decision in order to gain their support. The night before, before going to bed, mentally say goodbye to your last cigarette and start a new life in the morning - without cigarettes. Throw away all cigarettes, remove ashtrays, try during this period not to communicate with people with whom you previously smoked cigarettes, so that nothing reminds you of smoking.

In the first hours and days of abstaining from smoking, a person may experience unpleasant sensations associated with nicotine withdrawal. These include weakness, dizziness, irritability, headache and insomnia. During this period, people often have thoughts of smoking one last time in order to somehow alleviate withdrawal symptoms. At the same time, they are confident that they will never smoke again. But, as practice shows, even a few puffs will lead to a breakdown, since they only increase the desire to smoke. Therefore, you need to quit smoking abruptly. You need to endure two days without cigarettes, and these “paroxysmal” desires to “smoke one last time” will completely disappear.

Patient V.I. Mirkina. I lost 30 kg and quit smoking. Has not smoked for 8 years

During the first two days of abstinence from smoking, you must fight for every hour without cigarettes. You should know that time is on your side, with each passing hour the physical craving for nicotine decreases.

Seventh step: you must make a firm decision: not to smoke a single cigarette.

In order to fight the recurring thoughts of smoking for the last time, you need to make a firm decision - never, under any circumstances, smoke a single cigarette. In the morning you should set yourself up as follows: “No matter what happens, I still won’t smoke. Even if I’m in a bad mood, or have troubles at work, or have a fight with a woman, I still won’t smoke a single cigarette. Because I made a firm decision not to smoke." As a rule, people who have made such a decision in the morning easily abstain from smoking, because they have already made the final choice and have calmed down internally. They are no longer tormented by the internal struggle: to smoke or not to smoke.

If you try to quit smoking according to the principle: “I will try not to smoke a single cigarette if something doesn’t bother me, if I don’t drink, if no guests come, if I don’t quarrel with my wife,” etc. – you will definitely break out and smoke, since you admit the possibility of smoking. I described in detail how to set yourself up to fight smoking in the chapter “Self-convictions to help you quit smoking.”

In my practice, I often offer my patients self-hypnosis to help overcome physical dependence on nicotine in the first two days of abstinence. You too can use these self-hypnosis. To do this, you need to mentally imagine that during the first two days, every four hours after self-hypnosis, the desire to smoke will decrease by 5-10%. This time is necessary to get rid of withdrawal symptoms. The whole process can be divided into two stages:

the first stage is overcoming physical dependence (lasts two days);

the second stage is overcoming psychological dependence (from 2–3 weeks to several months).

Therefore, at the first stage you need to endure two days at all costs. To do this, in the morning, write down in your diary the time you started your new life, for example: 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 hours. Self-hypnosis can be performed after sleep or before bedtime (8 a.m., 24 hours), while lying in bed or sitting in a chair (12, 16, 20 hours), while you need to close your eyes and relax.

The self-hypnosis formula sounds like this: “I am completely calm. My whole body is calm and relaxed. I have a strong character, a strong will. Every hour without cigarettes means healing and rejuvenation of my body. With every hour without smoking, my health improves, my body is freed from the harmful effects of tobacco and I have a chance to quit smoking. Every four hours, the desire to smoke decreases by 5-10%. In two days I will completely get rid of the desire to smoke. The recovery and healing of my body will come. The quality of life will improve. And I will feel like before, when I didn’t smoke at all!”

Murashko A. Lost 47 kg and quit smoking

After self-hypnosis, use various ways to distract yourself from smoking: drink a glass of water, chew gum, chew seeds, brush your teeth, take a bath, walk in the fresh air, do gymnastics and sports, but avoid intense physical activity. As practice has shown, these self-hypnosis turned out to be very effective. In many of my patients, after two days, the desire to smoke completely disappeared, and along with them the accompanying unpleasant sensations disappeared: weakness, dizziness, headache, bad mood, etc.

Eighth step: you must adhere to the new model of your behavior.

So, congratulations to you! You survived the first two days without cigarettes and overcame the withdrawal syndrome. But this is not a victory yet, since there is still a psychological dependence - the habit of resorting to a cigarette in certain situations or in special psychological states, for example: under stress, nervous tension, during relaxation, smoking for company, during emotional relaxation, etc. Appears conditionally - reflex connection between smoking and various situations. Psychological dependence can last from 2-3 weeks to several months.

After living without cigarettes for 2-3 weeks, you are happy to notice that the desire to smoke has almost disappeared. But it’s too early to relax. You need to be aware of situations that may trigger your desire to smoke. Such situations can be various holidays, meeting with friends, drinking alcohol, drinking a cup of coffee, talking on the phone, driving a car, long waits, etc. During this period, you need to be vigilant and not give in to the temptation to smoke. Try to avoid situations that provoke a breakdown. Do not visit cafes, restaurants, bars. During your lunch break, avoid the company of smokers and communicate more with non-smokers. Instead of taking a smoke break, take up unfinished work. Announce to your family and work that you have quit smoking.

Promote a cigarette-free life among friends and family. If your relatives, friends, and colleagues at work see that completely quitting smoking has helped you change your life, overcome illnesses, and improve your well-being, they can turn from opponents into like-minded people and will provide you with moral support. And this, in turn, will be a good prevention of your own breakdowns.

Analyze the situations in which you most often light a cigarette. Choose the ones that are most relevant to you, write them down on paper and remember them. For example, you may be strongly tempted to smoke by drinking alcohol, a cup of coffee, an important message, hard work, long waits, a lunch break, etc. Think about what you can replace cigarettes with in these situations. Find an alternative to smoking. For example, you are waiting for the train to arrive. If earlier in this situation, not knowing how to fill your free time, you often smoked, now you can replace cigarettes by reading an interesting newspaper or magazine. Or are you used to holding a cigarette in your hands? Replace this habit by fingering rosaries, knitting, or simply cracking nuts or seeds. One of my patients, who used to like to smoke with a cup of coffee, the smell of coffee made him want to smoke. Therefore, in the first days of abstaining from smoking, he was forced to replace his morning coffee with a glass of juice or milk. After a month of non-smoking, the conditioned reflex to coffee completely disappeared, and he could calmly drink his favorite cup of coffee, while remaining completely indifferent to cigarettes.

Avoid alcohol, especially in the first 2-3 weeks. Of all the factors that provoke the desire to smoke, drinking alcohol is the most dangerous. Firstly, because even taking small doses of alcohol causes a person to experience mild poisoning of the nervous system and loss of control over their behavior. While intoxicated, a person can do things that he would never do when sober. And secondly, there is a tradition among the population to combine drinking alcohol with smoking. At any feast there will always be a whole company of smokers who will always tempt you with their smoking and also offer you to smoke. In such a situation, the ex-smoker thinks that he will only smoke one or two cigarettes per evening while he is intoxicated. And the next day, having sobered up, he, as before, will not smoke. But as practice shows, the next morning, even after completely sobering up, he still continues to smoke. Therefore, in the first 2-3 weeks of not smoking, try to completely abstain from alcohol. If you still fail, try taking a small dose. The main thing is not to bring yourself to the point of extreme intoxication, at which point you can no longer control yourself.

If your desire to smoke is provoked by stressful situations, it is better for you to quit smoking at the beginning of your vacation. When you go on vacation, create a calm environment around you, take more walks in the fresh air, do physical exercises, strengthen yourself, and strengthen your nervous system. Celebrate your successes. Your complexion has improved, your teeth have become whiter, your morning cough has disappeared, your fingers are no longer yellow from tobacco. Think that every day you abstain from smoking brings you closer to full recovery and rejuvenation of your body. Youth and health await you ahead.

You should also get rid of the habit of relieving emotional stress with cigarettes. In this case, an alternative to smoking can be walking in the fresh air, taking a bath, showering, or listening to music. You can also use auto-training, self-hypnosis, and self-persuasion aimed at relieving emotional stress. Use the following self-hypnosis formula: “I am completely calm. My whole body is calm and relaxed. In any situation, even if there are troubles in the family or at work, I remain calm and do not smoke. I am completely calm."

Blinkova Elena Vladimirovna. Lost 20 kg and quit smoking

How to cope with a sudden urge to smoke?

If you do find yourself in an unforeseen situation, for example, guests unexpectedly came to you, you drank a little and you had a strong desire to smoke, how can you cope with the temptation in this case?

1. First of all, you need to calm down and wait a few minutes. As a rule, during this time the desire to smoke weakens and then completely disappears. You must know that this is just a fleeting desire, the last echo of a bad habit. And with every day of non-smoking, the desire to smoke will appear less and less often. If you don’t believe this, then remember the times when you didn’t smoke at all and easily managed without cigarettes. Life without smoking did not seem dull and dreary to you then. Therefore, you are able to live without cigarettes and still feel good. And thanks to weaning off cigarettes, this time will come in the near future. And you will never feel the urge to smoke again.

2. In addition, remember your most significant reasons for quitting smoking. Remember why and for whom you quit smoking. Try using motivated self-hypnosis: “I won’t smoke because I want to be healthy, get rid of a cough, I want to restore my heart function, improve my quality of life, and improve my well-being. If I show weakness, all dreams of healing and rejuvenating my body will collapse like a house of cards. This fleeting desire will soon disappear. You just need to pull yourself together and not give in to temptation.”

3. Think about the consequences of even one puff. After a long period of abstinence from cigarettes, you will smoke again and from a successful, healthy, thriving person, turn into a heavy smoker, into an old wreck, a disabled person. Your fingers will again turn yellow from tobacco, you will smell unpleasant of tobacco smoke, you will develop a morning cough, shortness of breath, heart pain... And most importantly, severe depression and disappointment. So is one cigarette worth all the troubles that may soon befall you?

4. Find an alternative to smoking: pay more attention to conversation, interesting conversation, dancing. Show your guests your family album. This will distract you from the temptation to smoke. Drink a few glasses of water or fruit juice. When the guests leave, take a shower and take a walk in the fresh air. And most importantly, take a strong stance against smoking.

Ninth step: use self-persuasions aimed at developing a negative attitude towards smoking and a positive attitude towards quitting cigarettes.

The main goal of these self-convictions is to equip a person with a new positive image of himself, as a strong-willed and purposeful person who has decided to completely give up smoking. This can help him achieve positive results and strengthen his will to win. In this case, personal changes occur, which are so necessary when a person develops a new model of behavior.

But before moving on to treatment using the method of self-persuasion, it is necessary to imagine and compare the image of a heavy smoker and the image of a strong-willed person. Briefly, the image of a heavy smoker looks like this: weak-willed, afraid of the inconveniences and discomfort associated with quitting smoking, conservative, does not want to change anything in his lifestyle, does not want to quit smoking, even if smoking causes serious harm to his health. In addition, he is emotionally unstable; the slightest stress or nervous tension causes him a strong desire to smoke. As a rule, such people are physically inactive, avoid physical activity, hardening, and do not like to do gymnastics and sports.

How should a smoker change to overcome the bad habit? First of all, he must become a purposeful and strong-willed person. But for this he must know why and for whom he is quitting smoking. And most importantly, he must find an alternative to smoking, find a replacement for cigarettes in various provoking situations.

Now let’s imagine the image of a person who has overcome a bad habit. He must be a strong-willed and purposeful person who has made a firm decision to give up smoking forever, who can control his behavior in any situation, can easily endure stress, depression, and find a replacement for cigarettes in any situation. At the same time, he must completely give up smoking and adhere to a firm position regarding abstinence from smoking, and be able to cope with temptations that make him want to smoke. He must believe in himself and in the way to quit smoking, and most importantly, he must have a serious motive for quitting smoking.

Lydia is a grateful patient. Lost 30 kg and quit smoking

All this can change a person’s attitude towards himself as a person. If earlier he perceived himself as a heavy smoker, then thanks to a strong motivated desire to quit smoking, he creates for himself a new ideal image of a strong-willed person who has given up smoking forever and has completely overcome his addiction to nicotine. The image of a winner will strengthen his will to win and help him cope with any temptations that make him want to smoke.

I offer you several self-conviction formulas that will help you find your image of a “winner”. Self-conviction will help you make the right choice between health and smoking, completely quit smoking and make a firm decision - never smoke a single cigarette. Self-persuasion formulas are very useful to use in the morning, after sleep, especially in the first days of abstaining from smoking. They can also be used in the evening or before bed, or in situations where you might be tempted to smoke.

Smoking is a harmful habit that causes psychological and physical addictions, which lead to the desire to take a drag on a cigarette. As a result, the lungs become contaminated and health deteriorates. Quitting smoking is real, but to do this you need to know what exactly makes a person reach for a pack of nicotine again and again.

Where does the obsessive desire to smoke come from?

Man is a complex creature who, in addition to physiological needs, also has psychological ones.

The origins of the obsessive urge to smoke:

Desires differ from needs, but the line between them is thin and barely perceptible.

Psychological craving

The practice of psychologists and testing of many smokers have revealed the psychological basis of addiction to the use of tobacco products.

Basic explanations of the essence of craving for cigarettes:

1. The habit of holding something in your hands, the need for ritual. Smoking promotes confidence and comfort due to the familiarity of actions.
2. Craving for the stimulating effects of nicotine. Its stimulating effect brings some change to everyday life.
3. Use to relieve tension and calm. Self-hypnosis and the process of smoking promote relaxation.
4. Supporting the environment or if there are problems in communication skills. Pauses in conversations lead to smoke breaks.
5. Gaining confidence (more typical of young representatives of humanity). A cigarette in your hand creates a feeling of lack of control and self-sufficiency.

Physical dependence

Cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive drug. Withdrawal syndrome is more severe if you have a long history of smoking.

Nicotine fasting usually begins within an hour after the last cigarette smoked.

Feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and irritation intensify upward until the next day. Following them, physical torment begins, reaching its peak on the 3-4 day of quitting tobacco. With an obsessive desire to smoke comes aggressiveness and irritability.

In the process of quitting cigarettes, unpleasant responses from the body also occur in the form of increased sweating, discomfort in the throat, headaches, and problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Within a month, the physical need practically disappears.

Why does a non-smoker want to smoke?

The need to smoke lies in the subconscious. Suppressed sadness, fear and other negative emotions create general tension in the body, especially in the chest area, which leads to shallow breathing and frequent and prolonged sighs. Smoking, due to rhythm and deeper inhalation, compensates for tension. Nicotine, ritual and increased ventilation act as relaxing and sedatives for the tobacco user.

Many people ask the question “to smoke or not to smoke”. The spread of calls for a healthy lifestyle and many spiritual teachings create anxiety about addiction, which often leads to the opposite result - obsessive desire. Youth who love to rebel and oppose themselves to others can become involved in this negative dependence as a protest.

A passive smoker, who constantly inhales the smoke of the cigarettes of the people around him, in addition to receiving a huge amount of toxic substances from the smoke (even more than with active consumption), can become physically dependent on nicotine.

Sometimes the occurrence of such a desire is a signal from the body about the lack of some important elements.

Why do you want to smoke when you quit?

The more thoughts about the intention to quit or about the accomplished feat - giving up tobacco addiction, the greater the desire to smoke.

The reason for the craving for cigarettes is similar to the usual feeling of hunger. Receptors located throughout the body send signals to the brain. When you get what you want, the concentration of dopamine in the blood increases. This hormone creates the effect of satiety and satisfaction. Its action provides peace and tranquility.

The principle of nicotine's effects is similar to the production of dopamine and causes a similar effect on the body. The body's absorption of tobacco toxin is similar to ingestion of food.

When you quit smoking, a kind of hunger remains for some time, memories of pleasure and saturation received from the dopamine simulator.

What is missing in the body when you want to smoke?

All nicotine users reported periodic excessive cravings for tobacco, regardless of the time elapsed since the last cigarette was smoked.

Even people who have never smoked may have a desire to puff out smoke for no reason. In this way, the human body's systems indicate the need to obtain certain substances.

Silicon

One of the elements, the lack of which the body signals by the desire to smoke many cigarettes in a row, is silicon. It is needed for the full functioning of the human body, strengthening bone substance and its restoration.

Silicon has an antioxidant effect, favors the preservation of the activity of all body functions, improves the plasticity and extensibility of connective tissues and, as a result, the good condition of joints and blood vessels, preventing many diseases.

Products to compensate for its deficiency:

• sunflower seeds;
• nuts;
• tomatoes, especially those that have undergone heat treatment;
• greenery;
• black bread products;
• bell pepper;
• boiled or baked potatoes;
• beet;
• garlic.

To improve the absorption and assimilation of silicon, it is recommended to reduce the intake of simple carbohydrates and starchy foods.

Tyrosine

A lack of tyrosine can also lead to a frequent desire to smoke. It is a nonessential amino acid that can be reproduced from phenylalanine.

Effects of Tyrosine:

• providing a positive state of mind;
• protecting the nervous system from damage due to stress;
• increased concentration;
• restoration of activity;
• activation of dopamine release.

To supply the body with the required amount of this amino acid, you should increase your intake of foods such as:

Vitamin C and foods containing it improve the absorption of tyrosine.

What to do when you want to smoke

The answer to the question of how to distract yourself from the desire to smoke, so as not to relapse, worries everyone who wants to quit a bad habit or who has already taken this difficult step.

The hardest thing is to hold on. There are several simple ways that can help you with this and can be used anywhere.

Expectation

The desire to smoke can be predicted: a meal, an unpleasant conversation, a smoke break in company. It is necessary to prepare in advance and find a substitute for a cigarette.

Switching attention

The most effective and easiest method is to turn your attention to anything, even watching the clouds. The idea behind this method is not to think about smoking and everything connected with it, because it is thoughts that awaken the desire to take a drag on a cigarette.

Sport

Moderate physical activity cleanses the body of toxins, helps fight withdrawal symptoms and redirects attention. After completing a set of exercises until fatigue appears, even the thought of smoking may make you feel nauseous.

During exercise, adrenaline and endorphin (the hormone of happiness) are produced, which lift your mood. Regular physical activity, in addition to discouraging the desire to smoke, has a beneficial effect on weight, but those who quit often experience an increase in extra pounds.

Breath control

The process of smoking is in many ways similar to breathing exercises, which is why cigarettes help to calm down.

When the desire to take a cigarette arises, you need to take several slow and deep breaths, concentrating on this action.

Food

Eating food, even snacking on candy or nuts, is an effective distraction from the craving for a cigarette. Nicotine mimics the action of dopamine, which is released when food is consumed.

The desire to smoke is caused by physical and mental addictions, which any person can get rid of. It is important to remember what all this is for, and by any means to fight the urge to take a cigarette, even just one. Then every day the addiction will control and influence life less and less.

In addition to physical dependence, smoking is insidious in that it leaves behind a psychological habit. And if various kinds of substitution techniques and medications can help in the fight against nicotine addiction, then it is not so easy to deceive the psyche.

As soon as substances that have become habitual cease to enter the body, a person begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. This is where various types of chewing gum, tablets, patches and sprays come to the rescue. A competent specialist will be able to help you choose the one that is suitable for each specific patient. But the fight against psychological addiction falls entirely on the shoulders of the patient himself.

Those who have tried to quit a bad habit more than once know how important it is to have a number of techniques ready to help distract you from the desire to smoke. For example, many are simply accustomed to holding a cigarette in their hands or in their mouth. Some people use smoking breaks to socialize with other smokers. In this case, you need to use some techniques that will help you switch to something else for 15-20 minutes, during which the desire to smoke will begin to fade.

• Breathing technique. You need to sit up straight, try to relax and inhale very deeply and slowly through your nose. You should exhale through your mouth. As you inhale and exhale, you need to count to 5. You need to breathe like this for several minutes and imagine that you are smoking. This method is very simple but effective.
• Finding a Physical Replacement. Many people go outside during work to take a break from work and smoke. Instead, you can go out and do a circle around a building or yard. This is a very effective replacement method.
• Search for a psychological replacement. In such cases, meditation helps. There are techniques that can be practiced in any conditions. Plus it will have a positive effect for those who need to find peace of mind.
• Communication. You cannot refuse to communicate with colleagues and friends. No matter how naive it may seem, breaks at work for communication help to distract from the desire to smoke. If this is possible on your work computer, you can update your page on the social network. Your manager, of course, will not be delighted, but it will help you a little.
• Brain training A. There are many options for short games and puzzles online. True, they can distract much longer than they should. You can solve crosswords and Sudoku in newspapers and magazines. They will also have a positive effect on your thinking.
• Try shopping online. At first it is difficult to pass by cigarettes in stores. Therefore, you can organize the purchase of everything you need online. This can also take time and distract you from the cigarette for a short time.
• Search for gifts. Again, using online services, order a gift for someone's upcoming birthday. In the workplace, such worries are a great distraction from the present moment.
• Studying the Internet. You can prepare stupid questions in advance, the answers to which you have long wanted to know, but never got around to. In addition, you can review pages with the latest news. Watch trailers for the latest movies and plan a weekend trip.
• Reading and audiobooks. Download the book so you can read it when you need to take your mind off the urge to smoke. Often the thought of a cigarette comes in the car, while standing in long traffic jams. In this case, download the audiobook. They distract the brain much better than just music, songs or the radio.
• Event Planning. When you feel like smoking, try planning the upcoming holidays. Maybe you will have a non-standard idea for holding them. Or an interesting gift option.
• Checking your finances. Check the balance on your phone, your account status, count the money you have in your wallet. Remember if all payments have been made. Try to do the math without buying cigarettes.
• Making lists. You can make lists for all occasions. For example, guests invited to a future holiday, or products needed for the next week.
• Concentration on work. Oddly enough, without the distraction of cigarette breaks, it is easier to pay attention to work.
• Proper nutrition. During the smoking cessation period, it is recommended to add more grains, fruits and nuts to your diet. You need to drink more herbal teas and water.
• Allow yourself some nice little things. During the period of quitting cigarettes, you can allow yourself small weaknesses. For example, for chocolate lovers, eating your favorite treat a couple of times a week will help you overcome the habit.
• Food replacement. Not a very good method that works, but has a bad effect on your figure. Instead of smoking, you can eat lollipops, nuts or dried fruits.

There is no method that is equally suitable for everyone. Therefore, you need to try and identify the one that works in your case.

It should be remembered that an acute attack of desire lasts 5-10 minutes. And this is exactly the time you need to endure. Then you can calmly return to your business. The desire to smoke will not bother you for a long time.

If a person smoked a pack of cigarettes a day before quitting smoking, this means that at least once an hour, he held a cigarette in his mouth or in his hands. And in the first days, the desire to smoke will appear precisely with this frequency. Further this impulsive desire will come less often.

The most important thing every day is to overcome yourself and not smoke your first cigarette in the morning. This will make it much easier to deal with cravings throughout the day. You need to get rid of the constant thought of how to live the next few hours without cigarettes. This will only lead to depression and anger at yourself due to your own powerlessness. To make it easier to fight the habit in the morning, you can prepare something tasty for breakfast in the evening and immediately pour coffee or tea into a thermos.

For those who value tactile sensation, it may help to carry around a glass ball or a nicely shaped pebble that you can twirl in your hands or simply squeeze in your fist.

The first night of the weekend will be the hardest. At this time, it is advisable to meet with non-smoking friends. You can make an appointment in a non-smoking location. For example, a gym, swimming pool, sauna or cinema. When you get over yourself on a day like this, you can wake up the next morning feeling satisfied with yourself. At the same time, you need to fight thoughts like that you light just one cigarette, and it will not change the situation. In fact, just one cigarette will set you back a long way. And you will start over again.

Sports help many people get away from bad habits. Firstly, it is simply not compatible with exercise, because smoking affects stamina and breathing. Secondly, it actually helps to distract from the desire to smoke. But you need to do exactly what you like most: cycling, swimming, gyms and just long walks.

Try to find yourself a like-minded smoker. You will be able to control each other and support the conversation in moments when you need to cope with cravings. Go for workouts or walks together. In companies where people smoke, it will be easier to resist the majority.

Take care of your dental health. Buy special pastes and note for yourself how they turn white over time. This will help reinforce the idea that even your appearance will only benefit from the absence of cigarettes in your life.

At the moments when the desire to smoke arises most acutely, always remember that it is only for 5-10 minutes. And you need to overcome yourself at this moment. Then next time it will be much easier. If you give yourself some slack at the very beginning, then your body will demand more.

How to quit smoking? This issue concerns millions of smokers around the world. The answer has been found! The best ways to kill the urge to smoke are here!

It is no secret that many people who have eliminated this bad habit periodically re-emerge the desire to smoke. Once a smoker quits smoking, he often returns to smoking after some time. And some people stop and never touch cigarettes again.

All people are different: different character, temperament, metabolism. There is no point in delving into these subtleties of human nature. It is important to understand how to overcome the desire to smoke, and how to stop smoking once and for life?

What does smoking do?

People most often start smoking in their youth. To look, from their point of view, more mature, cooler, sexier. At this age this is important. Nicotine addiction gradually develops, and a cigarette becomes an indispensable companion in life. The cigarette begins to perform certain functions: it calms you down, helps you concentrate, keep you busy, facilitates communication...

Certain rituals are formed in the behavior of most smokers. In certain situations, you definitely “need to smoke” - after a meal, after a cup of coffee, a glass of cognac, every 1.5 - 2 hours (for some people, every 0.5 hour). And if there is no cigarette at the right time, discomfort arises. This is a kind of nicotine slavery.

Over the years, smokers' teeth darken, their facial skin becomes gray, shortness of breath, “smoker's cough” (as a result - chronic bronchitis), and stomach ulcers appear. The vessels of the heart and legs are affected. Cancerous tumors develop in the oral cavity and lungs. According to WHO, tens of millions of people die every year from smoking-related causes.

But despite all this, most smokers and smokers do not want to quit smoking. With what stubbornness and irritation they refuse to stop poisoning themselves and others when their loved ones ask them to do so! They believe that they cannot live without this familiar “pacifier”. It's like they were born with a cigarette in their mouth.

Agree, a fantastic business for manufacturers and sellers of tobacco products! However, smoking has a detrimental effect on the health of not only the smokers themselves, but also those around them (passive smokers).

Why do they quit smoking?

Why do some people still quit smoking?

Most often, some events or health problems lead to the idea of ​​quitting smoking. For example, shortness of breath when climbing stairs, pain in the heart, a stomach ulcer discovered by doctors, bronchitis, obliterating endarteritis of the legs.

Or the desire to quit smoking may be triggered by the funeral of a friend who smoked a lot and died of lung cancer.

And someone “just like that” suddenly stops smoking, without understanding the true reasons for this.

Think and decide whether smoking is a bad and dangerous habit for you? If the answer is “yes”, then you are ready to stop smoking, if “no”, then most likely nothing will work out for you now.

If you want to learn how to quit smoking, then this is the first step towards success. Make a decision to stop smoking now (not tomorrow, not on Monday, not after the holidays...). Since you are thinking about it now, then, in fact, the psychological process has already begun, and you just need to do it.

One way to quit smoking is as follows.

Write on a piece of paper in large letters and place it in several places in the apartment: “I BREATHE ONLY CLEAN AIR!”, “STOP POISONING YOURSELF.”

Replace the harmful behavior - smoking, with another behavior (useful), which will give you the same thing (calmness, concentration, pleasure, relaxation, etc.) that smoking used to give you.

For example, music, physical exercise, the Internet, television, reading a book, a warm bath, or doing what you love can calm you down. Choose as you wish. To concentrate, some people draw some shapes, letters on a piece of paper...

For the first 3 weeks, control yourself, your new behavior, what and how you calm yourself down, if necessary. If everything doesn’t work out right away, don’t beat yourself up and don’t worry. Everything takes time, it will get better every day. Feel satisfied that you made the right decision, and you will succeed!

There is no need to be afraid, embarrassed, or follow the lead of this desire, since there is nothing shameful or dangerous in this, and if you give in, then there is no point in deciding to quit.

Everything is surmountable, including the desire to smoke

The period of acute desires lasts on average up to 4 months - would you agree, not long at all? It is interesting that the most acute time does not come immediately, but after 5-10 days of non-smoking, when enthusiasm and joyful elation from realizing one’s own capabilities ends.

Each person who quits smoking has their own threshold for the severity of the desire to smoke, the frequency and duration of the “attack” period. But all critical periods are similar and there are only four of them: the second half of the first month, the third month, 7-8 months and within a year to a year and a half after failure. In the future, the desire to smoke becomes dull and is quite easy to overcome.

Let's get started!

Do I need to do something to overcome an acute attack of desire to smoke?

Undoubtedly. But before you do anything, you should work out your own tactics of behavior in such cases.

1. Replace the cigarette with a toothpick, a stick (fans of alternative medicine recommend bird cherry), or paper rolled into a tube.
2. Speak to yourself your own formula, which includes the most important motivating points that led to quitting smoking.
3. Abruptly change your occupation at the time of an attack. If you were sitting, get up and walk, at least to the closet with the papers you need for work, or, while at home, straighten the curtain on the window, change the towels in the bathroom, do minor housework. Call the phone, look out the window, think about the weather, in general, any actions that are acceptable in a particular situation. The attack has passed - return to the interrupted activity, and if the need for it has disappeared, then calmly go about other things.
4. Switch not to any activity, but to a pre-planned activity that is pleasant to you. For some it’s listening to their favorite musical composition, for others it’s playing solitaire or mahjong on the computer.
5. Use physical switching techniques. For some it’s the famous rubber bracelet on the wrist, for others it’s a series of deep breathing movements and light gymnastic exercises.
6. Learn breathing exercises. It is not necessary to master the entire system (the Nishi system is recommended for smokers), but you can take the simplest exercises. This is, for example, a breath-holding system: if an acute attack occurs, light a cigarette, stop breathing for the maximum possible time, then resume it, and repeat if necessary. Another option is hyperventilation followed by cessation of breathing. For 3-5 deep, long breaths - so many long exhalations, and then the breath is held for a slow count of 15-20, can be repeated if necessary. As a rule, one or two such exercises are enough.

The advice “not to think about it” is simply meaningless, especially in the first critical period. This desire comes from the body’s need for nicotine, from the fact that once a person decides not to smoke, the body cannot immediately adapt to work in new conditions.

At the first manifestation of the desire to smoke, “turn on” your own plan to overcome it. It is impossible to give individual recommendations in a general article, but everyone is free to choose something suitable from the list below and combine techniques.

These are approximate solutions to the problem of how to overcome an acute attack of the desire to smoke. The main thing is to remember that these attacks will become weaker and occur less frequently over time, and the fight against them will gradually become automatic.