Stop Smoking Cravings – 18 Ways To Overcome Them

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Congratulations if you have decided to quit smoking. You are just one step away from becoming smoke-free.

This article helps you to tailor a quitting plan, makes you aware of cigarette withdrawal symptoms, and shows you how to stop the smoking cravings.

CREATING A STRATEGIC PLAN

Before any action is taken, you need to devise a plan. In this case, it helps you to deal with all the actions that come after you decide to quit smoking.

You should already know which of the two methods you choose.

Do you think you are ready for short-term or long-term challenges?

Do you categorize yourself as more social, an occasional smoker, or a heavy one?

As with any plan, the first thing to do is to decide on a date. In this case, the date is when you consider quitting smoking.

It would be best if you had enough time to be prepared, and I recommend choosing a day when your schedule is not crowded or does not involve much stress. Thus, the temptation to smoke is lower.

If you know that Sunday is the day you spend with your family or friends and you can engage in different relaxing activities that do not give you the urge to smoke, then you find the most suitable day to quit.

Notify your family, friends, and colleagues of the decision made and the reasons that determined it. Tell them about your emotional and behavioral transformations, and especially explain how they could help and support you.

Anticipate and be prepared for the challenges. Get to know and avoid the triggers. Be aware that not the physical fight against smoking is brutal, but on the contrary, the mental one is.

Remove all the temptations (cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays) from the house, car, and office. Clean them to freshen up the air. Clean your clothes; in this way, the smell of the smoke will no longer trigger you.

Contact a specialist doctor to help you with nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, inhalers, lozenges, and gum, or he may prescribe medicine.

If you want to quit smoking, arm yourself with the tools you need to do it!

 SO GET READY!

CIGARETTE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

We are close to 100% nicotine-free after just three days.

Nicotine withdrawal is a group of symptoms that a person experiences when quitting smoking. The withdrawal symptoms occur just temporarily at a very short time, 30 minutes after the last cigarette.

Generally, it takes place over three days but may differ from person to person. In some cases, these symptoms can last to several weeks.

But, with each passing day, the symptoms will ease because the toxins are removed from the body. Often, these symptoms are the reason you give up the decision to become smoke-free.

The threat of nicotine withdrawal is like having a cat on your doorstep but in your mind, you interpret it like a tiger.

Let’s see the most common symptoms:

• Restlessness because of the intense cigarette cravings.
• You feel your body just like when you have flu.
• You have severe headaches, tremors, or nausea.
• The feeling of tension, anxiety, nervousness, irritability, frustration, or anger.
• The coughing gets increased because the lungs get cleaned. The whole process takes about a month.
• Difficulty in concentration.
• Depression
• Insomnia or restless sleep, permanent fatigue, and lack of energy.
• Constipation or pains in the stomach.
• The appetite for food is increased.

The withdrawal symptoms are the easiest part, but the Smoking Cravings are more difficult because they are the cause of mental desire.

Although they have a concise but intense duration, around 5-10 minutes, they can occur every day in different events in your life. So you face them often.

The smoking cravings can pop up for weeks or even months and can bring you down when you are trying to quit.

18 WAYS TO OVERCOME THE SMOKING CRAVINGS

1. Avoiding smoking triggers helps you reduce the desire to smoke.
2. When you confront a new trigger, identify it. Think of the place, the people, the visual aspects, or the smell that could mentally trigger the desire.
3. Remind yourself the reasons why you quit.
4. Keep your focus on quitting smoking benefits.
5. Engage in outdoor activities. The sunlight and the fresh air boost your mood and lift your spirit.
6. Distract yourself and keep your mind busy: watch TV, call a friend, listen to the preferred music, do a crossword puzzle, read a few pages from a book, dance, or write in a journal or blog.
7. Drink a lot of water. In my case, when I quit smoking, I used a little trick. Every time the urge to smoke appeared, I took a sip of a mixture of water with bicarbonate. My desire to smoke was reduced significantly.
8. Be active. Do Yoga, stretches, spin, jog, and walk.
9. If smoking was your solution to deal with stress, the resistance to nicotine cravings is itself very stressful. In this case, I recommend you to do relaxation techniques, meditation, massage, squeeze a stress ball, take a bath foam, or listen to calming music.
10. Have a healthy snack: low-fat yogurt, fruits, nuts, celery sticks, sunflower seeds, raw carrots, sugar-free gum, Pretzel.
11. Count your Blessings, reflect on them, and be Grateful.
12. Visualization is a powerful tool for calming your mind, releasing tension, and bringing inner peace. Visualize a pleasant feeling, a favorite relaxing spot, or a joyful situation to control your mind and emotions.
13. Brush your teeth. This banishes the urge to smoke.
14. When you go out, choose for a while places where smoking is not allowed (cinemas, malls, stores).
15. To help the mental association with smoking, light a candle or an incense.
16. Reward yourself every time you overcome a craving. This keeps you strong and motivated.
17. Find online support: smoking cessation forums (Quit Now, Smokers Helpline) or special online programs (The Quit for Life) where people are dealing with the same problems as you. You can write on your blog or send a message on social media. Most of the time, the supportive comments motivate you to continue what you have started.

CRAVINGS JOURNAL

Personal monitoring during smoking cessation is to have a cravings journal where to keep and identify patterns and triggers.

Describe every moment you craved a cigarette: at what hour, for how long it lasted, how intense it was, what you were doing, and with whom you were.

Describe your feelings and emotions from the craving moment. Were you strong enough to resist?

If you slipped, how would you feel after smoking?

All these monitors clear the whole process through which you pass and highlight its evolution. You understand that the desire to smoke is mental and not physical, and you are aware of how to analyze your emotions and feelings.

You can also track how many times you deviated and how long it took to get back on track.

Nicotine is fast-acting. Just one cigarette is enough to get an adult hooked, and one puff to get an ex-smoker hooked again.

FINAL THOUGHTS

To quit smoking is not an easy process, but staying smoke-free is a significant accomplishment.

When you stop smoking, sometimes you can slip, relapse, and stop several times before you quit for good.

Important is to get back on a non-smoking track. It takes determination and focus to stay smoke-free for a long time.

STAY STRONG! YOU CAN DO THIS!

Use all the skills you have learned. Focus on all the non-smoking processes you went through. You should be proud of yourself and celebrate milestones.

You deserve to reward yourself. Keep a positive outlook, and with motivation and willpower, you win.

Never quit quitting. Keep trying, even if it may take a few tries to Quit for good.

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Till next time…

Celebrate Your Milestones!

Diana O. Debreczeni

Founder of Dare & Be.

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Contact: support@dareandbe.com