‘I’m more proud of quitting smoking than of anything else I’ve done in my life, including winning an Oscar.’ said Christine Lahti, an actress. Indeed, quitting smoking is tough. But, once a person has successfully kicked the butt, he/she has reason enough to feel immense pride. Quitting smoking is probably on your list of New Year’s resolutions, and in order to help you with it – we give you the 5 Ds to quit smoking.
Once the cigarette craving hits, it’s very difficult to think about something else. However, remembering to delay your cigarette for as long as possible can help. Setting time-based goals to delay your smoking will reduce the number of cigarettes you have a day. Gradually, you can increase the length of these time-based goals until you are ready to quit.
Eat some fruits, play badminton or go for a jog – do whatever you must in order to get your mind off smoking. Distracting yourself can also help making the delay process less agonising and will stop negative thoughts which tend to rationalise your habit like – ‘Cigarette was my saviour during tough times, how can I leave it now?
Drinking water can momentarily bring down the cravings. Additionally, it’ll help flush out some of the toxins that accumulate in your body after smoking. What more? It’s also a brilliant for your overall health including your digestion and your beauty.
Irritability is one of the definite withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking. A lot of people feel cranky, and often snap at a loved one if they haven’t had their nicotine fix. This leads to more stress, and often people just escape reality and smoke. Taking deep breaths during such times can help reduce the irritability.
You do not have to be alone in your battle. If you feel like going back to smoking, talk to a friend or someone who has successfully quit smoking to bring the inspiration back again. Even though, our mind knows all the reasons to quit smoking, hearing them from someone else can make a bigger impact.
Besides these, you can also take the help of nicotine gums, lozenges and patches. There are many such products available in the market now and they are not even that expensive. Hopefully, you’ll remind yourself of these D’s whenever the battle to kick the butt gets tough. Good luck!
Content courtesy: Sanjay Jha, health.india.com
