Psychological Triggers for smoking

[pygora1994]

I've been trying hard to quit smoking for a month. I have gone down from 3-4 a day in february to a couple a week (one or two days where I'll smoke a couple in a row, none the remaining days in the week). I just can't seem to get to quitting completely. I don't get physical cravings for a cigarette usually, but I get mental cravings where I am in a situation where I really want a cigarette. Its usually triggered by stress.

 

Right now I am in a difficult place in life. I am in between jobs, and I am mentally not in a great place. I am trying to conserve money, and I know smoking is a stupid and expensive habit, but its become my crutch for stress.

 

I have only been smoking for a year, and I never smoked that much, usually less than 5 a day during that period. I haven't had any health issues, yet, and it was still somewhat enjoyable to me, but I know I should quit. The long term risks are just not worth it.

 

My boyfriend is going through a quitting process too, and I know he is going through the same issues. He smokes about as much as I do right now, and is going through a stressful period at school. He has been supportive, but because of the distance, since he's away at school an hour away, he can't always be there for me, and I can't always be there for him.

 

I want us to be successful at this, but I don't know how to overcome some of the psychological triggers.

[pureinheart]

IMO you have to be determined, letting nothing get in the way of quitting once and for all. There is always going to be stress, so your mind must be set.

[markleymassraff]

Force yourself to quit cold turkey for a month, no matter what happens. After that, even when something stressful happens, you'll be out of the habit of turning to cigs. Just get it out of your system. It can be done. I quit for ten years and stayed quit even through breakups, job changes, academic pressures.

[Taramere]

I want us to be successful at this, but I don't know how to overcome some of the psychological triggers.

 

People always tell you to focus on the negatives (the harm to your health, the expense etc) in an effort to help you stop a destructive habit like this. Which is right, but I think to really defeat it you have to take a look at what you regard to be the positives of your habit. Those "positives" might be things others would mock you for perceiving, but you have to put that to one side for a moment....because it's not other people's judgements that will help you stop smoking. It's your own.

 

I smoked years ago, and in all honesty apart from the nicotine addiction aspect... I genuinely believed it was cool. Even into my thirties, there was some teenage rebel aspect of me that thought "this is cool, rebellious, anti-authority" etc etc. People will often deny, even to themselves, that they perceive something like smoking in that way...because it sounds (and is) a juvenile way of perceiving things. But to to really get to the root of destructive behaviour you have to be honest with yourself about the positive connotations that behaviour has for you.

 

One thing that had a strong impact on me was when a friend's mother told me I looked very young for my age. She and my friend had a difficult relationship, and I think she was making this big thing about "you look soooo young" to piss my friend off. It worked. My friend almost immediately said "well, you won't look young for much longer. You're starting to get the physical signs of being a smoker."

 

Well, it's one thing to be a baby faced rebel puffing away on a cigarette. It's another thing to be a wrinkly, hollow cheeked old woman. I went to a mirror, examined my face and decided I would never have another cigarette. That was years ago, and I stuck to it. Nowadays, I never want a cigarette. I'm not one of those people who says "it's been 10/20/50 years, but I still miss a cigarette after a meal." I miss nothing about it, and it's bizarre to me now that I ever smoked.

 

That day I stopped, the "positive" connotations were gone for me. It was a moment of realising my years of adolescent rebellion were far behind, but that deep down I was still harbouring these notions of being an adolescent rebel - that it was ridiculous, and that it was part of what was keeping me entrenched in an expensive and disgusting habit.

 

Here's another blow to the "anti-authoritarian rebel" inside that might keep you smoking. Edward Bernays - nephew of Sigmund Freud and, more or less, the inventor of modern PR (or manipulation of the masses) as we know it.

 

 

I don't know what will work for you, but focusing on this stuff worked for me. I no longer see anything positive in smoking. And that's the part you have to identify. Not the well known negatives associated with the habit, but the "secret" positive connotations. It's those false positives that you have to recognise and attack. The actual physical addiction aspect is easy to sort out. Some people do it cold - I used nicotine replacements (the lozenges worked for me) then gradually weaned myself onto sugar free mints, and then stopped those too. In the early stages, when I got those moments of high stress you're talking about, a lozenge would be of great assistance. Plus, there's nothing to stop you popping a nicotine lozenge into your mouth - regardless of the environment you're in. Having a cigarette is far more of a hassle, because you have to find a location you're allowed to smoke in.

 

It is, as you recognise, the psychological factors that you need to identify and address. And it has to come from within you. Other people's negative perceptions of smoking won't help you quit. They might actually just reinforce a stubborn determination to keep on doing it.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Taramere

[Vegeta2]

I strongly recommend Allen Carr's " The easyway method".

[pureinheart]

I strongly recommend Allen Carr's " The easyway method".

 

LOL, is there an 'easy' method? I haven't looked it up yet, although the only easy way I can think of is sleeping through the entire withdrawal period. Quitting smoking is hard for most people which is why most hesitate.

[chelsey]

i vape (and it doesn't seem as addictive but take this how you will)

 

i find i crave it less when i'm distracted or happy. keep a diary of your triggers. pinpoint what makes you really want a cigarette, then you can try to avoid it. at the end of the day reflect on the time you went the longest without smoking, what were you doing?

 

try other stress relievers. i used to go for drives because it chilled me out but driving=vaping for me. so i found an alternative in going for a long walk or jog.

 

i also suggest trying the refillable e-cigs. you can pick the nicotine % and taper off. after a while you will just smoke the flavor when you're stressed! then habit kicked. also they are much less of a health risk. it also helps with the weight gain because you can still vape 0% instead of eat

 

good luck