Top 10 Tips on How To Quit Smoking
By Gillian Rodenback | August 11, 2008
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As soon as you tell people you’re thinking of quitting smoking, it seems everybody knows someone who stopped recently. and that you should try the stop smoking program that they used. The problem is what works for one person won’t necessarily work for you.
With so much “helpful advice”, it’s difficult to know where to turn and what to try, and with the feeling of information overload, it’s not hard to see why so many people simply give up on giving up smoking. Which is really sad, because with the right advice and some simple directions, you really can quit smoking.
Most people are readily aware that stopping smoking can improve their health, but learning how to really conquer the urges to smoke is not easy. With so many temptations circulating around, as well as the stresses of daily life it is easy to see why jumping into a pack of cigarettes seems like a good idea.
Tip #1 You need a good reason to quit. Simply deciding to quit because the sky is blue is not a sufficient reason. The need to quit smoking is obvious, but the desire to quit needs to come from inside in order for the process to be successful.
Tip #2 As you make progress, give yourself small rewards for your achievements. Quitting cold turkey is hard, so these rewards will help spur you on, and are great ways to boost your motivation.
Tip #3 Draw up a plan of action for your quitting strategy. Pick the stop smoking program that suits you best and be prepared to stick with it. Give your plan a six week run. If you haven’t quit after that, try another program or method.
Tip #4 Work to overcome your struggles. If you are smoking due to stressful things in your life, you need to deal with the stress before you can successfully quit. Regardless of the reason why you are smoking, it needs to be dealt with in able to quit for good.
Tip #5 Set up a punishment for yourself. For example, if you generally stop at Starbucks each day for a coffee you might consider skipping that on days when you have fallen short of your goals for smoking. Whatever punishment you select, make sure it is something that you care about.
Tip #6 Seek out help from your friends and family. You need support as you are trying to quit, and this will help you to ensure that you are not alone in the entire process.
Tip #7 Consider looking for a “quit buddy”. If you have a friend or partner who is giving up smoking with you, it can make the journey a lot easier, as you will both be accountable to each other.
Tip #8 Don’t let yourself get tired. If you’re not getting enough sleep, it’s going to make your task of quitting smoking even harder. You no doubt already know what it’s like to be tired. Don’t make giving up smoking any harder than it already is.
Tip #9 Make your plan to be to quit smoking for good. This may sound obvious, but by creating the right mindset from the start, you will subconsciously put more effort into achieving your goals.
Tip #10 Make of list of things you can do to take your mind of cigarettes. You know that when you have thought about cigarettes in the past, you thought about lighting up. You now need to get rid of those thoughts as quickly as possible by focussing your mind on other things.
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Quit Smoking the Easy Way
By Sara Mendez | August 10, 2008
Quit smoking programs using hypnosis are very involved when done correctly. Working to change behaviors that involve many parts of your life. If you were a hypnotist, you might have to put it all together. If you’re not a hypnotist, well, you get to enjoy the fruits of another’s labor. Nice, huh?
You’re the only one that knows what it’s like to experience and fight with your cravings. The cravings may very well feel like something nobody else can understand.
A well formed hypnosis program can address your unique cravings directly. It can de-fuse the emotional triggers so they no longer happen. If you’ve fought with smoking long enough, it might be difficult to even imagine what it would feel like to NOT have a craving.
But, that’s not good enough. It can be made even easier for you by beginning actual cravings for water, exercise, and fresh air. Distractions to fill-in this hour of free time you suddenly have. Time you used to spend smoking, if you had a regular-old pack-a-day habit. That sounds pretty complete, doesn’t it? Makes things easier for you?
What about the stress that would sometimes trigger a craving? Why not use hypnosis to reduce your stress too? Well, yeah.
Increasing your confidence would be nice to, right? A little hypnosis to build or re-build how you feel? In particular, building the confidence and belief that you CAN quit smoking this time, and feel great while you do it. (One of the ways we learn habits is repetition. I’m fairly certain this is not your first try to quit smoking. Did failing in previous attempts make a little doubt that it will work this time? Better use hypnosis with that also.)
Might as well use some hypnosis to strengthen healthy eating habits too. So you can rest easy that you’re not going to balloon while you stop smoking. Simply knowing you’ve covered this angle too should make you feel relaxed.
With all of that help in your corner, this time, to quit smoking will be a walk in the park. Which doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
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How to Stop Smoking
By Charlie Reese | August 10, 2008
Counting the Days and the Ways to Quit Smoking
Smoking is a nasty habit that can be difficult to break. Quitting smoking might seem like the obvious choice, but many people are reluctant to quit because they are aware of the many withdrawal symptoms that go along with quitting smoking. However, what these people do not know about are the many ways to quit smoking. Such a wide assortment of options for kicking the gross habit makes it easier for people to quit smoking once and for all.
Feeling Sick
People are often discouraged from quitting smoking because, regardless of the many ways to quit smoking that exist, the withdrawal can be a very difficult process. Your body becomes physically addicted to the nicotine and cigarettes, and it becomes used to putting things in the mouth. Employing one of the ways to quit smoking eliminates both of these factors, thus causing withdrawal.
People who experience withdrawal might have many different symptoms, including: cigarette cravings, irritability, frustration or anger, tremors, decreased heart rate, fatigue, restlessness, depression, increased appetite, constipation or upset stomach, anxiety or nervousness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, insomnia, and increased coughing. These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after you first find a way to quit smoking.
Taking the Plunge
Though quitting smoking is difficult, it is important that you do so for your on health, and for the health of those around you. Today, there are many different ways you can quit smoking. One of the most common ways is medication of some sort. There are many nicotine and non-nicotine medications available, such as a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, and Varenicline.
If you do not wish to take medication, then there are other ways to quit smoking as well. Hypnosis, acupuncture, behavioral therapy, and nicotine vaccination are all alternatives to using medication in order to quit smoking.
Management Skills One you have found a successful way to quit smoking, then you will still have to manage the cravings that might occur in your daily life. This requires using psychological strategies. For example, remind yourself about why you decided to quit. Another idea is to keep busy, so you do not constantly think about smoking.
Other people find it helpful to brush their teeth or drink water when they experience a craving. The trick is finding the strategy that works best for you. Although quitting smoking is a very difficult task, once you have done it, you will have made a very big accomplishment that you and all of your loved ones can be proud of.
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Hypnosis Online
By Sara Mendez | August 9, 2008
Watching TV and driving can be considered a hypnotic state. A hypnotic state might sound easy to achieve when you think of it that way, however it can be very difficult to produce on command. It requires practice, training and time. It is not impossible to achieve this state on command once you learn how to do it properly. There are many ways to learn hypnosis, the internet offers products which teach you hypnosis, however you may find it best to try a few private sessions before committing to buy one of these programs.
Figuring out how your mind and body will react to hypnosis is critical and why an actual session is recommended first. Since we are all different, our bodies and mind will react differently than another. Some feel “tingly” or like they are floating while under hypnosis. The mind may feel numb or blank while you are under. Others might not feel these things what so ever. For first timers who have not been hypnotized, you might be unsure of what you are supposed to feel which can be intimidating.
Private sessions will help you understand how your mind works through personal issues. Sometimes while under you might uncover and issue you didn’t know you had. It might be happy or traumatic and you may not know how you will react to this. Not everyone reacts or has the same experiences. Some people may relive a tragic event in their past while having a one on one session. This can be unnerving if it happens at home and you are alone. If you have a one on one session, the hypnotist is able to help you work through the issue instead of dealing with it yourself.
Seeing a professional can also provide the client with a personalized treatment plan and track progress. Not everyone is the same and the hypnotist can formulate a program and talk with the client about their progress. Progressing in treatment is important, if you are listening to a CD many times and are told to quit smoking but aren’t then it might be time for a different approach.
Online products and individual session while used together can increase your success rate. The CD’s DVD’s can help you learn to put yourself in a hypnotic state quickly and while you practice achieving this state, it will become easier to go under at your session. You will also learn to understand how it feels to be hypnotized and how your mind reacts to hypnosis. Once you are at your one on one session you will not be nervous about being put under making the session more useful. For the time between sessions the CD’s help clients to continue practicing and help them to maintain their progress.
Some might feel the private sessions are a waste of time and money since there are products online. While it may be true, online products are cheaper, however private sessions are invaluable for advancement and achieving results quickly. Private sessions are tailor made for each your individual progress and personality.
The best thing to do is try it out! Visit with a hypnotist in your area and talk with them about the CD’s or DVD’s you found online. Try a private session and see how you feel afterwards. There are many different ways of being hypnotized and the best way all depends on you. So do your research but think about the importance of a personalized session before making the decision to not try it at all. The choice is yours, but don’t short yourself.
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Surgery and Smoking
By Sara Mendez | August 6, 2008
Surgery is complicated enough without all the side effects. Typically there are pages of consent forms to sign listing everything that could go wrong. Surgery, whether elective or required is something many will face at some point in their lives. Patients should understand many complications can not be foreseen. However there is one complication that can be avoided and it is in the patient’s control and that is smoking.
Certain protocols are in place to help insure the patient’s safety during surgery. Some of the more common protocols are no food or water twelve hours before and take a shower to minimize the risk of infection. For smokers there is another requirement, no smoking at least two weeks before and two weeks after. Some surgeons may even ask the patient for as long as four weeks before and after the surgery.
According to Anesthesiologyinfo.com, smoking has many seriously concerning risks which can occur during surgery. Smoking increases carbon monoxide which attaches itself to hemoglobin in the blood, decreasing the amount of oxygen getting through the body. The nicotine will make the body need more oxygen which will put stress on the heart, lungs and body which is already under distress from the anesthesia. The heart will not function properly because of the increased carbon monoxide causing the blood to no circulate as it should.
Second, the lungs are more likely to collapse because smoke causes the small airways in the lungs to not function properly as well. Smoking makes more mucus which can leak into the lungs, making the lungs unable to clear it. Smokers are more prone to bronchospasms and lung infections which can be fatal. Smoking has been linked to dozens of side effects from heart attacks to poor wound healing in surgery patients, by as many as six times more.
Doctors want their patients to lead a healthier life and have a successful surgery, so generally surgeons and physicians ask their patients to quit for two weeks before and two weeks after surgery. Many surgeons have asked for as many as four weeks before and after to insure their patients are fit for surgery. However, ideally physicians and surgeons want their patients to make smoking secession a top priority.
Quitting has become much easier over the years, mostly because of the availability of treatments. Some of the more common are over the counter, such as the nicotine patch and gum. Others choose to try homeopathic treatments such as herbal remedies, acupuncture and hypnosis. Prescription drugs such as Zyban and Wellbutrin have gained popularity as well. Often treatments are combined so the patient can be as successful as possible.
The most important thing to do is talk with your physician to discuss your options and find out which plan will suit you best. Since there are many choices and options available to help you quit, there can be no more excuses. Do not wait until you need major surgery before trying to quit, quit before you get there.
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