Quitting Is A Journey – A Very Long Journey

So, quitting is a journey? A journey that is pretty darn long? Yes, it is! I think that a lot of smokers who want to quit fail to realize that successful smoking cessation is something that is done over a long period of time. And by a long period of time I am talking about your whole entire life. This is why so many smokers fail to be quitters in the first place. A smoker who thinks that quitting can be done with some sort of magic aid and denies the fact that they are going to really have to work at it, is a smoker that has set themselves up for failure.

The truth is that stop smoking aids can help tremendously with the process of quitting and can even make the process a whole lot easier, but it does not mean that a stop smoking aid will totally eliminate the work that needs to be done – the work a smoker must put in in order to abolish their addiction.  Likewise, there are no magic techniques or tips that can take the responsibility off of a smoker when it comes to doing their part in warding off addiction and cravings.

Quitting smoking is a journey. It is a journey that requires continuous effort and a journey that never really ends. Yes, it is very much possible to quit cigarettes. The point of this post isn’t to dissuade you from trying to quit cigarettes and to make you think that quitting successfully is absolutely impossible. Rather, the point of this post is to get you to realize that the process of quitting isn’t something that can zapped away and is something that you must always work at. What I mean by always working at it is that you are always going to need to push yourself mentally to fight off and deal with cravings. Cravings do get better over time but they will most likely never go away. So, if you are able to let a craving pass with willpower and focus then you’ll be just fine. Just know that it will require effort. Now, go start (not) smoking!

Quitting Cold Turkey Offers Benefits Other Methods Don’t

I guess one of the biggest upsides to quitting cold turkey is the fact that there is no fooling around. This stop smoking method is black and white entirely. There is no in between here. You either totally cut off your supply to cigarettes or you don’t cut off your supply to cigarettes. That is just how it works when you decide to go cold turkey. A person who wants to go cold turkey usually is at the point where they really to quit and they want to do it now meaning that they probably aren’t going to be interested in nicotine patches, nicotine gum, smoking aids, medications, hypnosis, or any other methods/products that assist you in smoking cessation.

The reason why this approach to quitting, not fooling around with other products or methods, is a good one is because it brings the smoker right to the point of quitting and that is quitting. A smoker going cold turkey decides that they want to quit and so they stop smoking cigarettes. They do not prolong the situation by feeding their bodies nicotine through nicotine replacement therapy, they do not simply cut down on cigarettes, and they do not dance around the problem. A cold turkey quitter is taking quitting head on and dealing with the worst of it from the start. And this is why in some cases quitting cold turkey is the best way to quit.

The truth is that the worst of nicotine withdrawal symptoms are over within the first few days. Now, this isn’t to say that a smoker won’t experience withdrawal or cravings after the first few days, because they sure as heck will, it’s just that it is a whole lot easier to cope after making it through that initial period. Taking this into account, if a cold turkey smoker can make it through the first few days then they can probably deal with the rest of their days as a non-smoker. There is a catch though. Smoking cessation is hardly a cut and dry science, especially when it comes to quitting smoking cold turkey. What this means is that different smokers are going to experience different levels of withdrawal, some smokers will be better than others at coping with cravings, and most importantly quitting will not be the same for all smokers! This is something that is extremely important to realize.

So, what does all of this mean? Basically, it means that quitting smoking cigarettes cold turkey can be a great way to stop smoking but it is also one of the hardest ways to quit. It offers the most amount of gains for the smoker but it also requires a ton of work. In the end, though, it is definitely worth it to commit to going cold turkey. A smoker quitting cold turkey needs to be aware that it will be difficult, be ready for the withdrawal and cravings ahead, and learn how to use effective coping strategies. Keeping these things in mind, a smoker really can stop smoking without the use of any aids, products, nicotine replacement therapy, or anything else for that matter.

A problem that many smokers face when attempting to quit is the fact that their motives are not strong enough. When you don’t have the motivation to begin with and you don’t have the commitment, you just aren’t going to make it very far in the world of smoking cessation. So, it is extremely important that you make sure you are committed from the start and that you have the necessary motivation. These two things determine how powerful your will power is and as a result whether or not you will be successful at quitting. This is why it is crucial that you have the commitment and motivation from the get go. Now, you are probably wondering how exactly you can be committed from the start and have the necessary motivation from the start. My answer to your worries in below in the form of a list. These are things that you can do in order strengthen your commitment as well as your motivation.

• Give yourself a powerful reason to quit
• Don’t decide to quit just because you want to quit
• Talk to others for support and better yet talk to those who have successfully quit smoking
• Take into full consideration what smoking does to your body
• Believe in yourself

These are just a few basic things you can do to increase your commitment and motivation but they are very effective nonetheless. If you can do these things then you will be able to set yourself on the right path. Furthermore, these things will help to strengthen your will power. However, getting committed from the start and having a strong motivation isn’t enough to set your will power in stone. Maintaining a strong level of will power will require you to continuously to reflect upon yourself and realize that you can in fact quit smoking. It might sound like a bunch of bologna but it is the complete truth. If you want your will power to be there then you need to be telling yourself that you can and will quit smoking. Will power and successful smoking cessation go hand in hand so you need to be always working on maintaining your will to keep on going.

Chewing nicotine gum regularly in order to deal with cigarette addiction is a rather tricky method. What I mean by this is that you are fighting fire with fire. Smoking cigarettes is obviously a lot unhealthier than chewing nicotine gum but it is the nicotine that gets you addicted to cigarettes in the first place. So, when you consider the fact that you are substituting nicotine with nicotine you can begin to see how this particular method can be counterproductive. The use of nicotine gum does allow a smoker to deal with withdrawal symptoms and kick the habit of smoking, but it does not totally eliminate the underlying addiction. With that said, it is important to note that the proper usage of nicotine gum is to cope with cigarette addiction as opposed to ending it entirely.

Chewing nicotine gum will not allow you to simply end your addiction to smoking cigarettes. The idea is that you chew nicotine in order to deal with the effects of withdrawal and cravings. You can’t simply “beat” your addiction with nicotine gum. It just doesn’t work that way. Rather, you are supposed to use it to get through the early stages of quitting cigarettes in order to get used to not smoking  and to make changes for the better in your lifestyle. A typical usage period of nicotine gum is 12 weeks. What this means is that you to use nicotine gum for this period of time and then gradually stop using it. If all goes well, the nicotine gum will help you to become accustomed to a non-smoker lifestyle, eliminate triggers for smoking, and end your addiction to nicotine. However, as I said before this type of stop smoking method can be counterproductive.

You can’t use nicotine gum forever which means that you need to have a cut off point for its usage. Typically, you don’t want to use nicotine gum for more than 12 weeks. So in the time span of 12 weeks you’ll want to have reduced the amount of gum you are chewing and then finally end its usage completely. There is a problem here, though. As long as you are using nicotine gum you are still technically addicted to nicotine. You are no longer smoking cigarettes to fuel this addiction but you are getting your nicotine in another form. At some point you are going to need to rely on your own will power as nicotine gum cannot totally remove your urges to smoke. It can help you get on the right path and it can help you to get used to not smoking cigarettes, but you are the ultimate decider as far as whether or not you will smoke another cigarette. This is something you need to think about when considering the use of nicotine gum. Nicotine gum is a great aid to get you on the righteous path of quitting but it also cannot do all of the work for you and it still technically has you addicted to nicotine.

What you need to realize when it comes to quitting is that if you aren’t there from the beginning in terms of your commitment, you aren’t going to end your addiction. You might be able to go a few days or even a few weeks but you aren’t going to get as far as someone who is committed. As silly as it may sound as you read this article, it is the truth. If you’ve decided to quit cigarettes out of thin air or you haven’t given it much thought as to how much you really want to quit, then you are just setting yourself up for failure. You can say things like, “Oh man, I feel disgusting for smoking cigarettes. I think I’ll quit.” or “I really need to stop smoking.”, but if there isn’t any substance to your wanting to quit then you aren’t going to get very far on your motives alone. If you didn’t already know, your motivation, will power, and drive are the key factors in determining whether or not you will be able to quit.

I hate to be a broken record, but this is something that you need to take into full consideration. The thing is, if you aren’t genuinely committed to quit smoking then you mine as well not try at all. Yes, smoking cigarettes aren’t good for your health and yes they can potentially cause health complications. But, if you are someone who doesn’t have a strong enough reason to quit that will keep you going when the going gets tough and you really do enjoy smoking cigarettes, then don’t cause the internal conflict of giving a so-so effort towards quitting and always failing due to not being committed. It just isn’t worth it. The fact of the matter is that someone who has experienced the death of a loved one due to cigarette smoking and started smoking due to outside pressures, and another person who genuinely enjoys smoking and hasn’t experienced anything negative first hand, are going to have completely different outlooks on quitting smoking and therefor entirely different levels of commitment. So, when trying to quit you first need to ask yourself if you are truly committed to doing so and if you truly want to quit.

The Use Of Natural Stop Smoking Remedies

First of all, I’d like to make it clear that when I am referring to natural stop smoking remedies I am talking about all natural products meant to help you quit cigarettes. I just wanted to make this clear in order to avoid confusion on your part. Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, I was about to start talking about the use of natural stop smoking remedies. The main reason why the use of a an all natural remedy is so effective is because it allows you to cope with the side effects of withdrawal without putting any risk to your body. Dealing with physical/mental withdrawal symptoms as well as intense cravings for nicotine is what makes kicking the habit so difficult. It is the reason why so many people fail to completely quit cigarettes and why they always come back for more. So, when you have something that you can use, a natural stop smoking remedy in this case, to help make the cravings and withdrawal more tolerable, you will have an easier time making it through quitting.

Quitting smoking is incredibly difficult and if anyone tells you differently they are outright lying. It is because of this that you need to find all of the help you can find in terms of getting you through quitting cigarettes with the least hassle possible. Natural stop smoking remedies are the perfect fit. They allow you see a little more clearly by subsiding the effects of nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. This is extremely important as far as quitting goes. For the most part, you are completely blinded by the cravings of nicotine. Deep down you may want to quit but the nicotine cravings are always there to persuade you otherwise. And when you start the process of quitting cigarettes, you are also exposed to the effects of physical/mental withdrawal which blur your thinking even more. Do you see why many people fail to quit without the use of any aids such as natural stop smoking remedies? When you are constantly persuaded by a drug and its withdrawal symptoms quitting is going to be very difficult. But, if you are able to pull back the curtains of cravings and withdrawal, like you are with natural stop smoking remedies, you will be able to make better use of your own will power.

All in all, using stop smoking remedies that are all natural is a great way to finally quit smoking cigarettes. Natural remedies won’t make your addiction go “poof” and they won’t do all of the work for you, but they will make the process of quitting your nicotine addiction a whole lot easier. They do this by lessening the effects of cravings and withdrawal which allows you to make better use of your own will power and therefor do what you want as opposed to what the drug, nicotine, wants.

Quitting Cold Turkey Is A Battle

The thing about quitting cold turkey is that it is a whole lot harder than most smokers come to realize. While most smokers can appreciate their level of addiction and their need to continue smoking, some fail to realize the severity of quitting cold turkey. Just because you say to yourself, “This cigarette right here is the last cigarette for me and I don’t care, I’m stopping after this one no matter what!”, does not mean that you will follow through. In fact, it probably means just the opposite. Now, I don’t have any statistics to whip out for you but I will say with fair certainty that most smokers who attempt to quit smoking cold turkey fail to do so. The reason I say this is because going the cold turkey route brings one to their knees and then has them suffer to the fullest extent.

You see, when you break an addiction to nicotine all of a sudden you are going to experience nasty and unpleasant physical withdrawal. And amidst that intense physical withdrawal you will experience incredible cravings for another cigarette. Smokers are very familiar with feelings of intense cravings but most smokers have not gone through with the physical withdrawal associated with quitting cold turkey. Some of the physical withdrawal symptoms include headaches, cramps, sweating, and cold symptoms. In addition, smoker’s quitting cold turkey will experience mental withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, trouble sleeping, irritability, and even depression. These physical and mental withdrawal symptoms are just a few of the many potential side effects of quitting. The point is that quitting smoking is already extremely difficult in itself and it is even harder to quit cold turkey meaning that the negative side effects you experience will be more intense.

The mental and physical withdrawal symptoms are your bodies way of saying, “Smoke another cigarette already and give me some more nicotine!”. You’ll already be craving another cigarette at a very intense level when you quit cold turkey and the withdrawal symptoms will make those cravings even worse. In order to pull off quitting cold turkey you need to have an amazing will power to do so. You also need to know what you are getting yourself into because going the cold turkey route isn’t just not smoking another cigarette; it is not smoking a cigarette and dealing with extreme unpleasantness. So, if you’d like to quit cold turkey then realize it is going to be an incredibly difficult battle to win and that in order to win the battle you are going to fully commit. And by committing I mean putting forth all of your energy towards coping with withdrawal because saying that you “aren’t going to smoke another cigarette” isn’t going to do it.

Nicotine is a highly addictive drug which is naturally occurring in tobacco. There isn’t tobacco without nicotine which means that there is no cigarette without nicotine. If a cigarette didn’t have nicotine then it wouldn’t be a cigarette at all. This powerful drug creates an addictive habit by producing pleasant feelings to the brain and subsequently, the smoker. In order to maintain this level of “pleasantness” a smoker must continue smoking. Basically, the nicotine presents a new smoker with “pleasant” feelings and this person continues to smoke because they enjoy what they feel as they smoke a cigarette. As the person continues smoking the feelings become normal to them. The feelings associated with nicotine consumption are no longer pleasant but rather mandatory. And this is where the real addiction begins. Since the person has become accustomed to these feelings, they now feel the need to continue smoking. If they don’t smoke then they don’t feel normal and as a result the brain tells them that they absolutely need more nicotine.

The addiction only gets worse as the smoker continues to smoke and fuel there nicotine addiction. In most cases the smoker will develop a tolerance for nicotine. What this means is that in addition to needing nicotine in the first place in order to feel normal, the smoker will need more and more nicotine in order to feel that level of normalcy. The smoker will start to feel cravings even as they smoke if they do not up the amount of cigarettes that they are smoking daily. This is why cigarette addiction is such a vicious cycle. Someone new to smoke is pulled in and then thrown into the daily habit of maintaining nicotine consumption in order to feel normal.

When it comes to using therapeutic means in order to quit smoking it seems as though laser therapy is the most popular type. While I haven’t investigated each and every type of stop smoking out there, this seems to be a type of therapy that is being pushed the most. In fact, it seems as though this is really the only type of therapy you see being advertised. I have yet to come across a traditional type of therapy offered in the field of quitting smoking. It is something that is very surprising to me as I thought it would be a prominent form of kicking the habit. To me, going to a therapist who specializes in helping people quit would probably be very helpful.

With that said, it looks as though I’ll be focusing on laser therapy for stop smoking as it is the only type I have come across as of yet. This type of therapy mimics the effects of acupuncture by helping you to release a state of deep relaxation as well allow you to release endorphins, your body’s natural pain killer. As far as I can tell, laser therapy helps you to quit smoking by giving you pleasurable sensations. The sensations experienced during the laser therapy are a substitute for those experienced during smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes is what makes you crave them day in and day out and when you deprive your brain of the nicotine “high” it sends you the message that you want more of it. Instead of smoking a cigarette in order to get these feelings you can use laser therapy in order to substitute them.

So, is stop smoking therapy worth it? If you want to decide whether or not this type of stop smoking technique is the right one for you you’ll have to decide whether or not you think the method is effective. On the surface it seems as though it is a method that could potentially help you to quit by replacing feelings associated with nicotine consumption. One the flip side, you’ll have to also look into the costs associated with laser therapy and decide whether or not it is worth it compared to other methods on the market.

Stop Smoking Advice Worth Using

The best way to make sure that this quitting attempt will be your last is to make the journey as smooth as possible by creating your own reinforcements. What I mean by reinforcements is having help available to you when you’re feeling like giving up your quitting attempt. I am talking about keeping yourself motivated so that you aren’t going to slide and give back into cigarette smoking. If you have nothing to help you along the way then you won’t make it all of the way. You are going to find yourself in a tough spot and when that happens you aren’t going to be as likely to do the right thing, keep on persisting with your quitting.

A great way to keep yourself going and stay motivated during your stop smoking journey is to look to others that have already done it. The people that have attempted to quit smoking, experienced the worst of it, and have stuck to it. These are the true quitters and they are your idols as far as you’re concerned. If possible you should try to connect with someone you know personally who has quit smoking. This is the best case scenario simply because you will be able to talk with this person, connect with them, and gather insight in a direct manner. If you are fortunate enough to know someone who has quit smoking then take advantage of the situation by asking them for insight and techniques they used to help themselves keep at quitting till the very end. More importantly, though, you’ll want to use this person for support. A successful quitter is someone who can genuinely relate to what you are going through and therefor can help you tremendously with your efforts to stay committed to quitting.

Now, knowing a person isn’t the only way you can connect with someone who has already quit smoking. Yes, it is probably the best situation but it isn’t your only option when it comes to looking for support from successful quitters. If you don’t know someone who has quit cigarettes then do a little looking around online. Read about the success of others. Look for communities dedicated to quitting smoking. Be proactive and seek out those who have quit successfully and ask for guidance. The internet is an absolutely huge resource for just about anything including quit smoking support. If you are willing to do a little looking around then you are bound to find support from successful quitters who were once in the position you are in now.