STEP 4 (Contd)
ALCOHOL
| CRAVINGS
| HABIT CHANGING
| HEALTH & FITNESS
| IRRITABILITY
| RELAPSE PREVENTION
| RELAXATION KEY
| SMOKING & WEIGHT
| SUPPORT
| WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
| HOME
RELAPSE PREVENTION
Anyone can stop smoking for a short while, but staying stopped is what counts.
Depending on how long it is since you quit, there will be different pressures on you, different triggers to tempt you back to being a smoker again.
The most insidious and dangerous of all the triggers that could start you smoking again is the idea that just one cigarette, or even just one puff won't hurt - it will.
Nicotine is one of the fastest-addicting drugs known to man - it addicts you even faster than Heroin. ONE CIGARETTE IS ENOUGH TO REKINDLE THE OLD ADDICTION.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 'JUST ONE' CIGARETTE.
See 'Staying Stopped', Relapse Prevention CD
TOP
RELAXATION KEY
This is probably the single most important thing to know when you stop smoking.
As a smoker, when your body gets low on nicotine it sends a signal to your brain telling you to have a cigarette. This signal gets more and more insistent until you light up, and if you don’t have a cigarette and don’t get your nicotine fix the low nicotine signal CAN become a full-blown a nicotine craving.
As this signal gets stronger and stronger, and the craving gets stronger and stronger, PHYSICAL TENSION builds in your body (as it does with any anxiety-producing event). Having a cigarette satisfies the craving and relieves the physical tension caused by the craving.
When you stop smoking, the physical tension caused by nicotine craving has nowhere to go and builds up, making you tense and irritable. It can make quitting smoking a hellish experience unless you do something about it.....
Relaxation Key - technique
This fast-acting technique is very easy to do anywhere, anytime.
1 Let go of physical tension - Approximately 80% of tension is held in 20% of the body. Relax the area where your body holds MOST tension and you lose the bulk of it in one fell swoop.
2 Switch off adrenaline - Adrenaline is released under stress or anxiety, speeding up your heart and breathing and pumping muscles full of oxygen (and tension). It also makes you feel ‘wired’. Making yourself breathe deep and slow (the opposite of stress breathing) switches off adrenaline.
In a nutshell, depending on where your body holds most tension, your Relaxation Key will be something like this:
RELAX your eyebrows and shoulders*, and
BREATHE deep and slow
*The most common area of tension is the head/neck/shoulder area. Just relaxing your eyebrows and your shoulders releases nearly all of it!.
YOUR own personal Relaxation Key will depend on where you tend to hold most tension in your body, so the first part may be different. However, the second part - breathe deep and slow - is the same for everyone.
Use your Relaxation Key at the first sign of ANY stress, tension or anxiety. Nip stress in the bud so it never gets out of hand, then many potential nicotine cravings just don’t happen, and any others are kept to an absolute minimum.
Using your Relaxation Key frequently also means you avoid irritability as a result of a build up of tension.
TOP TIP - Keep your Relaxation Key simple and unobtrusive so that you can use it any time, anywhere.
TOP
SMOKING AND WEIGHT
A small weight gain of a few pounds is to be expected for SOME people as the body adjusts to less of the stimulant, Nicotine, and your enhanced senses of taste and smell enable you to enjoy your food better.
However, not everyone puts on weight, and you won't put on excess weight if you plan carefully for stopping smoking and make sure you DEAL with cravings in other ways, without resorting to food. The last thing you want to do is replace one bad habit with another!
Don't fall into the trap of letting yourself put on a lot of weight, thinking you can lose it later. Losing the weight afterwards is not easy and could even become an ‘excuse’ to start smoking again.
Eating instead of smoking seems natural for some, particularly those people who have lost the ability to distinguish between hunger and nicotine craving. This is common in those heavy smokers who tend to eat irregularly and miss meals. (If this applies to you, you may benefit from Glucose Treatment).
REMEMBER - When you replace cigarettes with food you are in effect trying to satisfy a cigarette craving with food. The only thing that can truly satisfy a craving for a cigarette is a cigarette, so food will STILL leave you feeling dissatisfied - and fatter too!.
TOP TIP 1 - Train yourself to distinguish between hunger and nicotine craving.
TOP TIP 2 - Adopt a strategy to DEAL WITH CRAVINGS instead of trying to mask them. (See 'Relaxation Key')
TOP
SUPPORT
Groups
A support group can be invaluable for some. Being around other people who are going through the same as you can be a source of encouragement and inspiration. Because everyone has at least one thing in common (ie quitting smoking), the bond between group members can be instantaneous and new friendships are easily struck.
NHS Clinics
The NHS now run smoking cessation clinics and support groups all over the UK since a recent Government funding initiative aimed at reducing smoking. They vary from county to county but most involve a series of 6 or so weekly meetings in which you are given medical advice and support in conjunction with NRT or Zyban.
Buddy Support (Quitting with a friend)
Having the support of close friends or a partner can help you along enormously. You can compare notes, enjoy smoke-free socialising and encourage and support eachother through the difficult times.
BUT be aware of some drawbacks of groups:
- You are as strong as your weakest link. If one weakens it can be an 'excuse' for the other to start again too.
- When a close friend or partner starts smoking again there is a certain amount of pressure on you to do the same (whether spoken or unspoken) because it can feel like a barrier between you.
Buddy support is invaluable while its going well, but it can be DOUBLY hard to remain a non-smoker if one of you weakens. You need to resolve from the start that whilst you will support eachother to the hilt, you will each remain independent as regards staying stopped.
Help lines
Help lines can be an invaluable source of support when you quit smoking, and there are several to choose from. Most are run by the NHS or else NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) product manufacturers and so naturally lean towards the clinically-proven methods of quitting, ie NRT and Zyban. (see 'Links')
TOP
WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
NB: Many people suffer no withdrawal symptoms from nicotine at all.
However, SOME people do experience SOME of the following symptoms - all of which can usually be alleviated and all of which are temporary - THEY WILL PASS:
Anxiety
Irritability
Constipation
Sleeplessness
Restlessness
Inability to concentrate
Lightheadedness
Headache
Depression
TOP
|