TOP TIPS TO STOP SMOKING
1.
WHY
CHANGE?
Know your reasons for why you want to be a non smoker. All smokers know that smoking can kill, if it
was as simple as knowing that, I don’t suppose anyone would smoke. Understand the impact and consequences on your life and that of those you love, of being a smoker. What will be the impact on your children or
grandchildren, if you die prematurely of a smoking related disease? How do you feel about your children and/or
partner living through terminal illness with you? As a parental role model, what will the long
term impact be on your children as they observe you smoke? What are the medium to long term financial
implications of continuing to smoke? How
has smoking affected your skin, your teeth, your breath and what will be the
impact in another 10 years? Everyone
needs a motivator to change their behaviour, know yours and use it to give you
leverage to take action.
2.
BENEFITS
OF BEING A NON SMOKER
Now
you are more aware of the consequences of smoking, focus your mind on the
benefits you will enjoy as a non smoker. A 20 a day smoker will spend just under £2000 per year on smoking. What else could you spend that money on? How proud will your family be of you
achieving such a positive change? How
influential will your changed behaviour be on your children? How much fresher will your clothes, hair and breath smell. How
much easier will travelling and socialising be (especially after July 2007)? How will your health improve – improved
breathing, energy, taste and smell.
3.
DEALING
WITH THE CRAVINGS
Nicotine
causes the cravings. The nicotine is
however out of your bloodstream within 48 hours, so it doesn’t take long for
your body to begin to get things back to its natural balance. If you need to give it a little extra help,
take several deep breaths, breathing in through your nose and out through your
mouth. This increases the oxygen
entering your blood stream and encourages your body to release its own natural
‘happy’ chemicals, thereby helping you eliminate those old cravings and making
it easier for you to be a non smoker.
4.
IT’S
HORRIBLE – SO WHY DO I DO IT?
I
guess this is the million dollar question! Over the years, you have programmed your mind to associate particular
‘gains’ to smoking. These gains might be;
the opportunity to take breaks from work throughout the day, a ‘reward’ after
completing a task, a quick ‘get-away’ from the children, to replace hunger
pangs, to give you something to do when you are bored etc etc etc. There are many different associations that
people have. The reality of the
situation though, is that these are just ‘perceived’ benefits. They are reasons or excuses to remain a
smoker. You don’t need a cigarette to
take a break. Take a brief walk, get a
drink of water, take the opportunity to find a quiet spot and take a few deep
breaths. Really think about your
associations and how you can do something (positively) different instead.
5.
MAKE
IT EASY FOR YOURSELF
You
wouldn’t leave chocolate bars lying around at home or at work if you wanted to
stop eating chocolate, so why keep hold of cigarettes/tobacco/cigars, ashtrays
when you’ve decided to become a non smoker? Follow through with your convictions by demonstrating to yourself and
those around you that you mean business! This is not just a half hearted attempt, you’ve made your decision and
now you are going to make it as easy as possible for yourself to be a non
smoker. Give your car a valet and/or do
a spring clean at home. Alter your
routines slightly, if in the morning you used to get up, put the kettle on and
have a cigarette, now instead, get up and have a shower first. Make your home and car a non smoking environment;
ask others to support your decision to become a non smoker by respecting your
clean space.
6.
A NEW
CHAPTER
Recognise
that you are moving into a new chapter of your life. Smoking is a habit that was once a part of
your life, but it does not now reflect who you really are. We all leave behind things as we move through
our lives. We leave homes, towns, friends,
work colleagues, jobs and many other things. As we move forward, we constantly make decisions based upon where we’ve
come from and the experiences we’ve had and where we want to go to. Once we’ve taken action on a life change,
that we’ve considered and chosen, our focus should be on harnessing our
energies, drive and motivation to get where we want to be. This is your new chapter. The title and words are not
yet unwritten – choose what you want them to be and go for it!
7.
SOUND,
CAMERA, ACTION!!
You
will have memories in your mind of when you had wished you were a non
smoker. Perhaps that time when you had
to ‘sneak’ out during your child’s show for a quick ciggie, or maybe that time
when you were the only smoker and had to find an excuse to nip to the loo for a
quick fag. Could it have been when your
eyes met those of another across the room and then you saw the look on their
face when they saw you light up. Or
perhaps it was when your partner refused a kiss because your breath was so
bad. I’m sure you can think of
something. Gather those memories
together and imagine they were back to back on a recording that you were
watching. One after the other they were
repeating and playing again and again. Try turning up the volume, the sound and the brightness. Replay it again and again and see how that
really emphasises the negativity you feel and how it strengthens your resolve
to be a non smoker.
8.
MY
HAND FEELS EMPTY?
Take
the hand that you used to hold your cigarette with and press the finger nail of
your middle finger into the fleshy part of your thumb. As you do this, breathe deeply in the way
that I described earlier (in through the nose, exhaling slowly out through the
mouth) and at the same time repeat to yourself inside your head (out loud if
you are able to) “I am a happy, healthy non smoker”. This ‘trigger’ is a way of enabling you to
combine the release of your own ‘happy’ chemicals with positively programming
your mind to feel good about being a non smoker. You can practice this often, in fact the more
you practice using this trigger, the more effective it becomes and the more
quickly you begin to feel the positive benefits, without your previous need for
a cigarette.
9.
OH
YEA, OH YEA, OH YEA!
Make
sure everyone knows what you are doing! Keeping it to yourself makes it easy to ‘give
in’ and the only person you let down is yourself. The more people you tell, the more support
and encouragement you will receive. People often say that it’s important to do it for yourself and no-one
else. This is of course true, however in
life, we will often be far more committed and motivated to achieve changes, if
we have involved others and they become a part of the change process. Most people find it much harder to let
someone else down than they do to let themselves down.
10.
GO
ON, TREAT YOURSELF!
If
you passed an exam, got promotion, got a new job or excelled in some other way,
the chances are, you would celebrate your success in some way. Becoming a non smoker is a major achievement
and should be celebrated too! Don’t let
the moment pass by without acknowledging it in some way. Recognise the positive change you have made,
celebrate and mark the day. Then
continue to recognise the significant achievement by rewarding yourself in some
way – maybe a night out with family or friends, maybe a trip to the cinema,
perhaps some new clothes or maybe something you had planned to buy for your
home. Make sure you pat yourself on the
back and say “well done”.
Produced
by Andrea Lindsay, March 2007
HALO
Hypnotherapy Ltd,
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