Many experts believe that smoking is only about 10 percent physical addiction and a whopping 90 percent psychological addiction. Your body will recover fairly quickly from nicotine withdrawals (the worst symptoms usually abate in three days or less), but your psychological dependency on cigarettes can be much more difficult to defeat.
In column one, list all the reasons why you started smoking in the first place. Was it peer pressure? Rebellion? Did you think it made you look cool? Did it make you feel like a grownup? Really try to remember the exact reasons why you started smoking and write them all down.
Now look over that list. Do any of those reasons still apply in your life today? Probably not. If you’re like most people, you will see that your reasons for becoming a smoker are no longer valid, are often just silly, and are easily outweighed by the risks to your health and your family’s well-being.
So let’s move on to column two… Why do you want to stop smoking? This may seem obvious, but it can be a bit tricky. You really need to take some time and think hard about this. Don’t just list the obvious health reasons. You’ve been reading the Surgeon General’s warnings for years with little effect, so you need to come up with reasons that truly have meaning to you.
I don’t want to get lung cancer.
I don’t want to have a heart attack or a stroke.
I’d like to live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.
…or you MIGHT NOT! You’re not likely to break a strong psychological addiction based on what MIGHT happen. Your mind will work hard to convince you that it won’t happen to you! Instead, list health problems that you are already experiencing.
Why Do I Want To Stop Smoking?
I get so out of breath when I exert myself even a little bit. Just vacuuming the house makes me pant and gasp.
My feet are always cold. This could be due to high blood pressure and poor circulation associated with smoking.
I have a nasty wet cough and I have to blow my nose way too often. Mucus build-up is the body’s reaction to all the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke and could be a precursor to serious respiratory disease. Even if I don’t get cancer, I don’t want to have to tote oxygen bottles around everywhere.
I’m always tired. Could it be that my body is using up all its energy trying to eliminate the toxins and chemicals from cigarettes?
Smoking causes premature aging and drying of the skin. I’m starting to look like a wrinkled up old prune!
My fingers, fingernails and teeth are all tobacco stained. Disgusting! How embarrassing.
When I get on the elevator after a smoke break at work, everyone wrinkles their nose and tries to edge away from me because I smell of cigarette smoke. I feel like a pariah. It’s embarrassing to always be the big “stinker” on the elevator. I feel like I have no self-control.
My breath is awful. Kissing me must be like kissing an ashtray. I spend a fortune on breath mints.
If I save all the money I used to spend on cigarettes, I’ll have enough to take a vacation in Cancun (or some other warm tropical place) every winter!
I could use the money to pay off my credit cards!
I could donate money to my favorite charity or sponsor a child. My cigarette money could make the world a better place!
My family can stop worrying about me.
My children will be proud of me and (hopefully) they’ll never start smoking themselves, having seen firsthand what a nasty destructive habit it is.
The walls used to be white. Now they’re a nasty, dirty-looking brown. I need to repaint… again!
I stink, my car stinks, my house stinks; everything I own smells of cigarette smoke. I can’t even lend a book to a non-smoking friend because they can’t stand the smell of smoke permeating the pages!
Does any of the above sound familiar? And you may have many more reasons of your own. Find as many compelling and emotion reasons to stop smoking as you can think of and write them all down.
If you can retrain your mind to think of smoking as a silly and self-destructive thing to do, then you’re almost sure to succeed.
Theresa Jackson is a certified clinical hypnotherapist and nutritional counselor, also pursuing a doctorate in natural health. She is the founder & president of Wellness Within Centers, offering programs in weight reduction, smoking cessation, stress relief, healing from chronic illness, business and motivation, and golf performance improvement. You can reach the Wellness Within office at (843) 986-9700.
Have a question you might like answered? E-mail your questions to theresa@wellnesswithincenters.com.