4 Steps to Defeating the Urge to Smoke

[bluidkiti]

4 Steps to Defeating the Urge to Smoke
From Terry Martin,

Memorize H.A.L.T.
Quitting tobacco is a process. It doesn't happen overnight, but compared to the amount of time most of us spent smoking, recovery can be very quick, indeed.

Years of smoking taught us to react to literally everything by lighting a cigarette. When we were happy, we'd celebrate by lighting up. When we got angry, smoking would calm us down, or so we thought. Tired? Smoke a cigarette to stay awake. Hungry? Feed yourself a smoke. This list goes on. Between the physical addiction to nicotine, and the mental associations that tie what seems like all of our activities to cigarettes, it can feel as though we're chained to the habit with links of steel.

Successful recovery from this addiction includes learning how to hear the message behind the urge to smoke and respond with more appropriate choices, such as a nap or a meal, for instance.

Have patience with yourself! This new skill takes some time to hone, but you'll get better at it. Eventually, cigarettes will fade as a trigger, and you'll make choices based on what you really need without thinking twice about it.

Memorize the meaning of this acronym: H.A.L.T.(Hungry,Angry,Lonely,Tired), and you'll have a powerful checklist to help you decode the urges you experience. Nine times out of ten, a craving can be traced to one of these four things:

Hungry

Have a snack or a meal. If you are hungry, food is the answer, not a cigarette! If you're concerned about weight gain, try drinking water to help control between meal eating. Have healthy snacks on hand also. Celery sticks, raw baby carrots and frozen grapes make good low calorie snacks.

Normal weight gain due to quitting is 5-8 pounds. Metabolism does slow a bit, so getting some daily exercise is a good idea. Take a look at Weight Gain FAQ's for answers to weight gain questions. Also read Maia's Six Month Milestone for a first-hand perspective on this issue from someone with six months smoke free under her belt.

The bottom line is this: don't be too hard on yourself. Try to eat in moderation, but until you get your quit program under solid control, don't fret if you gain a few pounds. Quitting tobacco should be in the top slot of your priority list for as long as it takes. Weight can always be lost later.

Defeat Triggers with Knowledge
Angry

This is a big trigger for most of us. Find healthy outlets for your feelings of frustration - if at all possible, try to deal with the situation that is bothering you head on, and be done with it. Talk to friends and family about your feelings or write in your journal. The important thing is not to let anger simmer and get the upper hand. Reaching for a cigarette can seem like a quick fix, but it's always a false fix. Smoking will put you back to square one and you'll be disappointed in yourself as well.

We may not always be able to choose the events that happen around us, but we will always have the choice of how we let external situations affect us emotionally. This is important! If you're mad, you have the power to change that negative feeling in an instant. Instant Stress Busters provides some great tips to help you improve your mood.

Positive self-talk is another way to pull yourself out of the doldrums. Use affirmations to help you create the reality you want for yourself. We have a way of taking actions which are in line with our beliefs, so what you tell yourself matters - a lot. Make affirmations empowering and keep them in the here and now. Instead of saying: "I will be a healthy nonsmoker", say it this way: "I AM a healthy nonsmoker." Rather than saying "I have to quit smoking", tell yourself, "I get to quit smoking". Minor shifts in attitude can make a world of difference.

Education is also a powerful ally - the more you learn about the effects of tobacco, the less value cigarettes will have for you. Learn to hate the habit, and you'll have leverage to help you become smoke free and stay that way for good.

Lonely

Another word to describe this could be bored. Take a look at 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoking. This list comes from forum members who are all in the process of quitting themselves. Early on in cessation, distraction is a useful tool. If you're bored, try redirecting your attention, and see if it helps.

Depression also falls under this category, and can affect anyone. People quitting tobacco are especially susceptible, at least early on, because leaving cigarettes behind can feel like the loss of a friend. My Darling... was one quitter's way of saying goodbye to the habit that was killing her. Ten Healthy Actions to get Yourself out of a Funk is a great article from About Guide to Holistic Healing, Phylameana lila Deasy. If you feel yourself slipping into a depressed state, take action. Change your environment and it will usually change your attitude.

Tired

Fatigue can be a huge trigger. Instead of lighting up, give yourself time to slow down and relax a little, or even go to bed early if you need to. Sounds so simple, yet people often push themselves too far with all of the demands of life these days. Be aware. Don't let yourself get rundown. Protect your quit by protecting your health, both physically, and mentally.

It may feel like you'll never be free of cigarettes and thoughts of smoking will always plague you, but have some faith in yourself, and please be patient. We taught ourselves to smoke, and we can teach ourselves to forget it too. Give yourself time to retrain and get some practice at living your life smoke free. Soon enough, it will seem the most natural thing in the world. You'll get to the point where you'll wonder why you didn't quit sooner, because life without cigarettes has become so easy for you. In the meantime, remember H.A.L.T.

http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/crav...ges/a/halt.htm

[ifnotforgrace]

Bored is a big Part of my problem..whenever I am bored I reach..

There also are certain activities (like yapping on the phone) that I have somehow associated with smoking.

Breaking these habits seem harder than the physical addiction.

[MajestyJo]

Thanks for sharing. I had to clean my clothing, my belongs, my furniture, my floors and walls, curtains, and as you say, clean out the thought and behaviours. The 12 Steps of AA are applicable to all areas of my life.

When I get needy, I get greedy, and find myself always wanting more, no matter what substance I use.

Working the 12 Steps, allowed me to quit smoking and lose 3 lbs. instead of gaining 30 lbs.

H.A.L.T. works for all areas of my life, it is a great tool of recovery.

[ifnotforgrace]

Originally Posted by bluidkiti

4 Steps to Defeating the Urge to Smoke

priority list for as long as it takes. Weight can always be lost later.

Defeat Triggers with Knowledge
. Find healthy outlets for your feelings of frustration - Instant Stress Busters provides some great tips to help you improve your mood.


Lonely

Another word to describe this could be bored. Take a look at 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoking. This list comes from forum members who are all in the process of quitting themselves. Early on in cessation, distraction is a useful tool. If you're bored, try redirecting your attention, and see if it helps.

Depression also falls under this category, and can affect anyone. People quitting tobacco are especially susceptible, at least early on, because leaving cigarettes behind can feel like the loss of a friend. My Darling... was one quitter's way of saying goodbye to the habit that was killing her. Ten Healthy Actions to get Yourself out of a Funk is a great article from About Guide to Holistic Healing, Phylameana lila Deasy. If you feel yourself slipping into a depressed state, take action. Change your environment and it will usually change your attitude.


http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/crav...ges/a/halt.htm

Do you have a link to this 101 Thnings to do?

I have just quit smoking, but need something to do when bored or lonely. I am stuck in a situation of caregiving right now and motivating myself with self-talk or getting into an exercise activity just does not seem to be something I can make myself do. I am around a lot of negative energy and I fear it is seeping in my world. I have gained weight and need to NOT substitute one addiction for another.. Where is this list of 10 things? I will check out the COE threads for plans about eating, but working in activity is beyond me. I can not get outside and leave my Dad..much He has Alzheimer's and is 88, my Mom is 85 and needs some help--but mostly respite from Dad and I can not be far from him..distance wise..which adds to the depression. It's like hurry up and wait 24/7. Don't mean to wine-looking for ways to be my own cheerleader

[MajestyJo]

The following is something I posted on another site when I quit at 7 years sober.

Seem to remember being there, doing that! I couldn't quit until I found a spiritual, mental, emotional and physical reason for quitting. I had to pray for the willingness to be willing and that didn't come very quickly because I fought it. I liked smoking. I enjoyed smoking. I too resented when I couldn't have a cup of coffee without a cigarette. I had to give up the coffee, the two went together. A good reason to have a resentment and not quit. I use to tell my family, "If you are going to pray for me to quit smoking, do it more quietly, the more I hear you the more I want to keep smoking."

Fear of putting on weight kept me smoking for a long time. People would say, "We will love you even if you put on 20-30 lbs." I would say, "Yes, but I wouldn't love myself." I ended up using the program and substituted it instead of food and lost 3 lbs. My friend said, "Don't tell anyone that, they will resent you for life!" I sent to NA for Nicotine Anonymous. I picked up my key tags. It was important to acknowled e to cravings and desires just like it was when I gave up my other addictions. I want a F&*KING cigarette, but just for today I choose not to have one.

It was really hard. It was harder than pills and alcohol. I still want to smoke in today. Not sure if that is because I never asked for the craving to be taken away.

Cigarettes stuffed my feelings and emotions. It helped me to control them and as the saying goes, if you have to control them, they are already out of control. I had to quit for my emotional sobriety. I wanted to be a clean and clear channel to carry the message of recovery. I needed to quit if I wanted to live. When I did quit, I found that I was allergic to smoke of any kind and I think they were a big part of my migraine problem for years. After I quit smoking, I never had a migraine that put me to bed let alone in the hospital. They changed my blood pressure medication and the same time, so it is hard to tell. Except for the fact that when I am around smoke (after meetings is the worst), I end up with a headache, nausea and have problems breathing. Yet there is still that feeling, I would just LOVE a cigarette yet I know it would kill me faster than any alcohol or pill. The insanity of the disease!

I too resented having to quit. As my sponsor said, "There was no reason to continue smoking but there were a lot of excuses. I hung onto them for dear life. I didn't even try until I was seven years sober. I tried and picked up again. December 21, 1998 was the day of my last cigarette. Over ten years ago, and they can still do a number on my head.

I tried the pill to quit. It triggered my other addictions, especially the stinking thnking. I took a pill, why am I still craving. This is suppose to go away, why hasn't the feeling gone away yet. I was looking for the quick fix. The whole mental attitude came back. I gave my Zyban to someone else who wanted to quit. It did it's job and made the cigarettes taste terrible and I didn't like the taste. The Nicorettes did too! I had a friend who used accupressure. It worked for him but not for me.

I had the Serenity Prayer for quitting smoking. It actually helped. Haven't come across it in my editing but will post a copy if I find it. It may even be here in an old archieve file.

My prayers are with you.

[MajestyJo]

Not sure this is what you were looking for, found this on another site, which I might have snagged from here.

After The Last Cigarette

From Terry Martin,

The Benefits When You Quit Smoking Begin...

What happens inside our bodies when we quit using tobacco? Have all of the years of smoking or chewing caused too much damage for quitting to be of any benefit? Not at all. The human body is amazingly resilient.

Within the first 20 minutes of quitting, the healing process begins. Quit smoking benefits will continue to improve your health and quality of life for years.

It is never too late to quit smoking.

Click on the links below to read about the physical changes your body will go through when you quit smoking:

Quit Smoking Benefits:

The First 2 Days

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/quitting20minut.htm

2 Weeks to 3 Months

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/2weeks3months.htm

1 to 9 Months

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/1to9months.htm

1 to 2 Years

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/oneyear.htm


Long Term Benefits - 5 to 15 Years

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/longterm.htm

Overview

quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afte...r_quitting.htm

Snagged this from another site!

[MajestyJo]

The Serenity Prayer for Smokers

God grant me serenity, to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know
the difference.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...

As smokers trying to stop smoking, we cannot change the
craving for cigarettes, but even if we can't change the craving,
we can accept it. The truth is that until we can accept our
craving for cigarettes, we will not stop smoking. Lighting
another cigarette is what we do if we decide we cannot
accept the craving!

It's that simple: If you want a cigarette and you will not accept
the craving, then you will surely light a cigarette. Or maybe you
will have "one puff" to get you through, but even one puff is
"not accepting" the things that you cannot change.

Accepting the craving does not mean we want the craving or
like it. Accepting it means, first, recognizing the craving for what
it is: a strong desire, physical or psychological, not a need, for
a cigarette. That's all. We do not fight this craving- rather we
look at it, letting it be, not getting panic stricken or feeling sorry
for ourselves, but saying, "Yes, I really am craving a cigarette
right now."

We do not practice self-deception and try to trick ourselves into
thinking we don't want to smoke. This is an honest program. Nor
do we try to hate the habit (or ourselves) so much that we quit.
No, we cannot make ourselves stop smoking, but we can live
with the craving, and so we pray for...

The courage to change the things I can...

The thing that we can change is our unwillingness to live, even
for a short time, with the craving for the next cigarette. We can,
with God's help and the support of the group, change our old
way of dealing with craving, and we deal with it in a new way:
We become willing to live with the craving; we no longer light a
cigarette to get rid of the pain of craving. Our lighting up shows
that we have not accepted what we cannot change and have not
acted with the courage to change the things we can. Of course,
living with a craving is hard, sometimes very hard, but you are
not alone - with God's help you can do it. That is what this
Serenity Prayer is all about.

So we ask God to help us accept the craving, and then we ask
God to give us the courage not to take care of this craving - as
we have always done - by smoking one more cigarette. Thus,
we need the strength to accept the craving, and the courage
not to light up ...

And the wisdom to know the difference.

The wisdom we ask for here is to become aware of the difference
between our old way of handling the discomfort of craving in the
past (by compulsively lighting up) and the now way of dealing
with cravings: accepting the craving until it passes,
uncomfortable though we may be for a few moments.

The strength and courage to live as ex-smokers with this
discomfort does come if we ask for it, even though it may take
time. What we receive is not raw will power, but Power that
comes from God, from the group, and from our innermost self.
The power that we want is actually love! It is only with this kind
of power that we can become ex-smokers and receive a new life
free from nicotine addiction.

The reason we did not become ex-smokers years ago is that
we chose not to live with the craving. Every time we craved a
cigarette, we gave in and smoked it. And kept on hoping that in
some magic way a day would arrive when the craving would
disappear or we would find an absolutely painless way to stop
smoking. That day never came. Each of us kept using our favorite
rationalizations or excuses for lighting up, our own justification
for not living with the craving. And we kept on craving and smoking,
craving and smoking, year after year. But now we can change all
that: The moment we can accept what is - "I want to smoke" -
and face it with the courage God gives us, we can say, "I choose
not to handle this craving by smoking a cigarette" then we become
ex-smokers!

If you continue to smoke even though you say this prayer, then
say it again, and again, and keep on saying it while you reflect
what it means to you, a smoker. Eventually it will work. It will not
work if you are not sincere, but if all you can do at first is to say
the prayer without believing it, then at least do that! Some time
may be needed for you to receive the power to live with the
discomfort that comes from craving without lighting up, but
eventually it will come. In time, the craving will diminish greatly,
and someday, we trust, it will disappear altogether. If you have
a slip, however, and you light one up, accept yourself reverently
and say the prayer again the next time!

Remember, it really is not the stress, frustration or even the
craving that causes us to have another cigarette, but rather
ur lack of strength to deal with the craving. That strength
comes from God, from the group, and from your own healthy
inner self! May God be with you now!

Copyright © 1999 Nicotine Anonymous World Services