How To Quit Smoking

Each year over four hundred thousand deaths result in the U.S. alone from smoking related illnesses. Finding a way to stop smoking is very important if you want to maintain high levels of health and vitality. There are many approaches and strategies that smokers can use if they want to quit smoking. Perhaps the first and most important step is willpower and the strength of your desire to stop smoking.

As humans we tend to want to avoid pain and gain pleasure. For most people the reason they smoke is because the association of pleasure to smoking is far greater than the association they have in their minds of the potential pain that smoking can cause. Thus one of the keys may be to reverse these associations and make smoking far more painful than not smoking.

Focus on the positives of quitting:

This means that you will need to get in touch with the pain that smoking is currently causing in your life. Take some time and write down the pain that smoking has caused in your life and be honest with yourself and get emotional if you have to as this will make your resolve stronger.

It may be best to reduce the quantities you smoke each day instead of quitting completely as this may reduce the withdrawal symptoms. For instance you can reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke each day by 2 sticks until you smoke none at all. Also do not forget to write down the pleasure that not smoking might bring you like improved fitness levels or whatever it is that you feel you would gain if you stopped smoking.

There are also many hypnotic therapies you can take part in where the hypnotist will make positive suggestions about why you should not smoke and this again will help to associate more pleasure to not smoking and more pain to smoking so that you will eventually naturally not want to smoke. Make sure that the hypnotist you select is highly qualified and has a track record of getting positive results with their clients. Also you must be open to the suggestions made by the hypnotist otherwise this approach will not work.

Use the power of your will:

Remember that no one can force you to quit smoking but also keep in mind that the power to quit lies within you and there are many that have quit simply by making the decision to quit and focusing on the positive of aspects of living a life free of smoking. You must get in touch with the price you are paying right now for smoking and then focus on the rewards that you will get if you do quit. It is when you feel that the rewards of not smoking are greater than those when you do smoke that quitting will become a reality.

Smoking is primarily a behavioral problem however since nicotine is addictive quitting is often very difficult for most. Willpower and determination are critical because you will have cravings to smoke but in time the cravings will go away. Each time you get a craving remind yourself of some of the potential negative effects of smoking like the pain of getting sick from diseases like cancer, heart disease, asthma, arthritis, shortness of breath, depressed immune function leading to greater periods of sickness and leukemia.

Also remind yourself of the pleasure you might get from not smoking like increased energy levels and vitality, less sickness, improved breathing, better smelling breath and also saving money from not buying any more cigarettes. Remember that it is never too late to stop smoking so no matter how many times you have failed in the past, make a new commitment and reduce the amount you smoke each day until you no longer need to smoke ever again.