The Psychology Of Quitting Smoking

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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:

Mark Freeman

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Article Title: The Psychology Of Quitting Smoking

Author: Mark Freeman

Word Count: 1018

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Many experts believe smoking is only about 10% physical

addiction and a whopping 90% psychological addiction. Your body

will recover fairly quickly from nicotine withdrawals (the worst

symptoms usually abate in three days or less), but your

psychological dependency on cigarettes can be much more

difficult to defeat.

One way to combat this is to do a bit of self-analysis before

giving up cigarettes.

Make a list with two columns. Label column one " Why I Started

Smoking " and label column two " Why I Want To Quit Smoking. "

In column one, list all the reasons you can remember as to why

you started smoking in the first place. Was it peer pressure?

Rebellion? Did you think it made you look cool? Did it make you

feel like a grown-up? Really try to remember the exact reasons

why you started smoking and write them all down.

Now look over that list. Do any of those reasons still apply in

your life today? Probably not.

If you're like most people, you will see that your reasons for

becoming a smoker are no longer valid, are often just silly,

and are easily outweighed by the risks to your health and your

family's well-being.

So let's move on to column two... Why do you want to quit

smoking?

This one may seem obvious, but it can be a bit tricky. You

really need to take some time and think hard about this. Don't

just list the obvious health reasons. You've been reading the

Surgeon General's warnings for years with little effect, so you

need to come up with reasons that truly have meaning for you.

The things most people write down will NOT help you quit

smoking...

- I don't want to get lung cancer.

- I don't want to have a heart attack or a stroke.

- I'd like to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.

Those are all good reasons to quit smoking, certainly... but

they deal in " possibilities " rather than in specifics.

Sure you MIGHT get lung cancer, you MIGHT have a heart attack

or a stroke, you MIGHT die young and miss out on seeing your

grandchildren grow up...

....or you MIGHT NOT! You're not likely to break a strong

psychological addiction based on what MIGHT happen. Your mind

will work hard to convince you that it won't happen to you!

Instead, list health problems that you are already

experiencing.

Your list should point out things in your life that you are

actively unhappy about and are STRONGLY MOTIVATED to change. In

order to break your psychological addiction, you need an arsenal

of new thoughts and desires that are stronger than your desire

to smoke!

Here are the types of things you want to put in column two...

Why Do I Want To Quit Smoking?

1. Health Reasons

- I get so out of breath when I exert myself even a little bit.

Just vacuuming the house makes me pant and gasp.

- My feet are always cold. This could be due to high blood

pressure and poor circulation associated with smoking.

- I have a nasty wet cough and I have to blow my nose way too

often. Mucus build-up is the body's reaction to all the toxins

and chemicals in cigarette smoke and could be a precursor to

serious respiratory disease. Even if I don't get cancer, I

don't want to be one of those people who has to tote oxygen

bottles around everywhere.

- I'm always tired. Could it be that my body is using up all

its energy trying to eliminate the toxins and chemicals from

cigarettes?

2. Vanity Reasons

- Smoking causes premature aging and drying of the skin. I

don't want to look like a wrinkled up old prune!

- My fingers, fingernails and teeth are all tobacco stained.

Disgusting! How embarrassing.

- When I get on the elevator after a smoke break at work,

everyone wrinkles their nose and tries to edge away from me

because I reek of cigarette smoke. I feel like a pariah. It's

embarrassing to always be the big " stinker " on the elevator. I

feel like I have no self-control.

- My breath is awful. Kissing me must be like kissing an

ashtray. I spend a fortune on breath mints.

3. Financial Reasons

- If I save all the money I used to spend on cigarettes, I'll

have enough to take a vacation in Cancun (or some other warm

tropical place) every winter!

- I could use the money to pay off my credit cards!

- I could donate money to my favorite charity or sponsor a

child. My cigarette money could make the world a better place!

4. Family Reasons

- My family can stop worrying about me.

- My spouse will have to find something new to nag me about.

Just kidding, honey!

- My children will be proud of me and (hopefully) they'll never

start smoking themselves, having seen firsthand what a nasty

destructive habit it is.

5. Cleanliness Reasons

- The walls used to be white. Now they're a nasty dirty-looking

brown. I need to repaint... again!

- I stink, my car stinks, my house stinks, everything I own

reeks of cigarette smoke. I can't even lend a book to a

non-smoking friend because they can't stand the smell of smoke

permeating the pages!

Do you see yourself in any of the items listed? You may have

many more reasons of your own. Find as many compelling and

emotion reasons to quit smoking as you can think of and write

them all down.

If you can re-train your mind to think of smoking as a silly

and self-destructive thing to do, then you're almost sure to

succeed. And if you need something to do with your hands... try

knitting!

About The Author: This article provided courtsy of

http://www.stop-smoking-answers.com

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