How to quit smoking on your own at home

According to researchers, those who decide to quit smoking make up to 30 attempts Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers before achieving success. This is due to the difficulties of giving up bad habits in general, as well as to the individual characteristics of the body.

The method that worked for five of your friends may fail for you. And on the contrary: you can come up with your own way to quit smoking, which will absolutely not suit your friends, but will be incredibly effective in your particular case.

These 11 ways to quit smoking have been proven to be both statistically and scientifically effective. Try to find yours among them.

How can a woman quit smoking?

No matter how strange it may sound, women are better at quitting smoking through willpower, without substitutes and tricks with drug support. Of course, you can’t do without stress; there will be difficult days when a cigarette seems to be the only way to cope with the stress on the psyche. However, as practice shows, women punish themselves less for breakdowns and quickly return to life without cigarettes.

A woman’s behavior is greatly influenced by the atmosphere of the family and home: if there are some family reasons (for example, a chronically ill child or adult), then women succumb to them more easily and quit smoking.

Psychotherapeutic methods, especially NLP books based on the Allen Carr method, have shown good effectiveness with female audiences. Throwing for company, with girlfriends or to spite a rival are also very feminine options.

Replace smoking with other pleasures or activities

The ideal time to How to Curb Stress While You Quit Smoking to quit smoking is on vacation. There is no stress that causes you to reach for a cigarette. There are plenty of interesting activities.

All you have to do is not take cigarettes with you on a rafting trip down a stormy mountain river or go on a bus tour of Europe, where no one will slow down or ventilate the Louvre to give you the opportunity to smoke, and you will be surprised to find that you can easily do without smoke for several years now. busy and interesting days.

The main thing here is to take away from such an experience the realization: “I smoke not because I want to, but because I’m just bored and have nothing to do with myself.”

Sounds so-so, right? Try to get rid of boredom. Look for activities that can replace cigarettes. And you will quit smoking.

How can a man quit smoking?

Men are rational, and therefore they need convincing facts. A book and video with psychotherapy (the same Allen Carr), advice from doctors - practical, without intimidation and cliques, support from friends and company - real masculine methods.

Playing sports - running, gym, team sports - are also powerful male motivating and supporting factors. Many note that if a man asks “help me quit smoking!”, then he is provided with very effective support, without ridicule or puzzling questions. Men understand that such a request requires great fortitude and the ability to admit one’s own difficulties. Not only personal communication, but also forums and groups on social networks can provide such support.

Why do people smoke?

Before you quit smoking, you need to deal with the problem. Why do we smoke, what does smoking give us, how does nicotine addiction arise, etc. Why do we need this? It's simple, without knowing how the problem arises, it will be impossible to resist this very problem. If you open the Internet and type the question “why do people smoke?” into the search bar, you will find a lot of slag that has nothing to do with the root problem of smoking. A lot of sites talk about how harmful it is, you get a dull feeling - people smoke in order to harm their health, and their body requires self-destruction. But that's not true! Nicotine stimulates the central nervous system, promotes the release of hormones and neurotransmitters, which in turn, with regular use of nicotine, provokes addiction. In the picture below you can see what nicotine actually does.

How to quit smoking for a teenager?

Ways and methods to quit smoking that are ideal for adults are, in most cases, of little use for teenagers. This is due to the peculiarity of early smoking - teenagers smoke not for the sake of “physiological” benefits (to raise blood pressure, for example), but to increase the level of socialization and status in their group.

The immaturity of the motivational sphere, and the central nervous system as a whole, does not allow the use of methods of volitional refusal, including using an elastic band on the wrist or substitution.

But at the same time, treating smoking with folk methods that cause an aversion to cigarettes works well: adding chitin to cigarettes, soaking in milk, using herbal decoctions. Persuasion on behalf of an authoritative person is also perceived adequately by adolescents. Of course, for the success of any method, contact between parents and the teenager is necessary, their joint work on a bad habit: without reproaches and scandals, without unreasonable intimidation (finding and checking information on the Internet is a matter of minutes for a teenager).

Write down triggers and eliminate them from your life

This recommendation is partly related to the point above. The point is that often we could not smoke. But there are situations that actually make us reach for the pack. These are the so-called Know Your Smoking Triggers.

Calculate them: for several days, scrupulously describe all the moments when you lit a cigarette. "I'm drinking my morning coffee." “I lit a cigarette to talk to a girl.” “I went out into the yard with my colleagues and smoked for company.” Then try to modify at least those situations that are repeated day after day.

For example, if you are used to smoking a cigarette with your morning coffee, start drinking tea. Or switch to healthy breakfasts altogether: you’re unlikely to want to smoke with your oatmeal.

Try to develop a replacement strategy for each trigger you discover. You won't get rid of your addiction right away, but you can significantly reduce the amount of nicotine you consume. And this is a serious step on the path to success.

Nuances of refusal for pregnant women

It is very risky to use methods of nicotine replacement therapy (both pharmaceutical and folk remedies) in pregnant women: nicotine penetrates the placenta, has a very negative effect on the fetus’s body, on the course of periods of its development, and affects the growth and development of the child after birth.

It should also be remembered that the use of medicinal plants during pregnancy is risky. First of all, infusions, decoctions, tinctures do not have a standardized dosage: the same herb collected in different places can have a stronger or weaker effect. This is either dangerous - half a glass of immortelle decoction with an increased concentration of active substances can cause bleeding, or it is ineffective - then the point of using herbal medicine is lost.

The hormonal background of a pregnant woman contributes to sentimentality, tearfulness, and weakness. This is what you should “play” on - to convince the woman of the dangers of smoking at this time, to convincingly prove the harm that nicotine brings to the fetus and child subsequently. Your loved ones may have to control every cigarette, but this is worth doing for the health of the mother and child.

And yet, during this important, often difficult period, it is better to avoid home methods of treating tobacco smoking: seeing a doctor will be more effective and safer.

Increase the content of vegetables and fruits in your diet

A study conducted by scientists from the University of Buffalo (USA) proved Trying to Quit Smoking? Try Eating More Fruits and Vegetables: The more vegetables and fruits a person consumes, the easier it is for him to quit smoking.

The point is that our brain often confuses the craving for tobacco with the craving for fiber.

Having treated ourselves to cabbage salad or a crisp apple, we deceive the body: it begins to think that it has already received what it wants, and therefore the cigarette seems to be irrelevant.

Changes occurring in the quitter’s body day by day

Many people, thinking about how to quit smoking more easily, are afraid of potential problems that they love to scare newbies with. The unknown is scary, that's common knowledge. In order to dispel these fears and convince that it is possible to avoid problems when quitting or prevent the emergence of difficulties with quitting, the “Smoking Quit Calendar” mentioned above was created. It has already been mentioned as a TOP tip.

In the first days without cigarettes, the body works in two directions: it experiences stress from the lack of the usual (nicotine and the smoking process) and at the same time it recovers (blood oxygen saturation increases, the bronchi are cleared, vascular tone is normalized). Accordingly, sensations, thoughts, and emotional states are associated with these processes. The “Calendar” gives advice on how to reduce the negative impact of this period, how you can support yourself, how not to relapse and not get better.

When the difficult first 10-15 days are over, restoration and cleansing begins at deeper levels, for example, after the bronchi become healthier, the bronchioles are cleansed and skin cells are restored. At the same time, physical dependence has practically disappeared, but the craving for rituals, the process of smoking, and social and environmental factors remains. “Calendar” will also tell you how to cope with psychological dependence without nerves.

Connect social networks

It sounds funny, but those smokers who talk about the progress of their struggle with the bad habit on social networks achieve success Using Facebook, Twitter To Quit Smoking: How Social Media Helps You Overcome Addiction much more often than those who try to fight the craving for cigarettes offline .

Facebook or Twitter makes you feel like other people are supporting you. In addition, social networks are full of motivational stories of those who have already given up smoking. And the more we get acquainted with other people’s successful cases, the more we believe in our own victory.

Herbs to cleanse smoker's lungs

48 hours before cleansing the lower respiratory system, dairy products should be excluded from the diet. You should then stick to a dairy-free diet for 2 weeks, because these products increase mucus production. It is necessary to drink up to 1.5-2 liters of water per day to enhance the elimination of toxic compounds.

It is important to remember that when dehydrated, the blood circulation process worsens, and poisons begin to settle in adipose tissue.

The following herbs should be used to cleanse the lungs:

• to improve blood supply to organs: strawberry leaves and roots, chamomile, yarrow, St. John's wort;
• expectorants: violet, oregano, elecampane;
• to thin phlegm: fennel fruits, plantain and elderberry leaves;
• improving the breathing process: peppermint, corn silk, wormwood and calendula flowers.

On the eve of cleansing, it is recommended to drink about 1 liter of herbal decoction from the root of rhubarb, buckthorn, senna or joster. The drink enhances the peristalsis of the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, which leads to bowel movement.

Switching attention

Support your friend or family member in planning free time with people who do not smoke. If you continue to smoke, then do not take out a cigarette near him, especially if you initially planned a “non-smoking” event.

Good options might be:

• going to the cinema (and let him choose the movie);
• walk in the park;
• game night with friends;
• cooking dinner together;
• evening in a restaurant;
• master class in photography, painting or cooking;
• a concert of your favorite band or even a philharmonic orchestra;
• going to a hockey or football match where smoking is prohibited.

There is no escape from events that can lead to a breakdown and the craving for smoking. However, you can help your loved one cope with this. For example, find ways to distract yourself until the urge to smoke passes. The strong urge to smoke in most cases only lasts a few minutes, so just calling someone or keeping your hands busy is enough.

We can offer:

• chew gum or take a lollipop;
• play on your phone or look at photos;
• hold a match or toothpick in your teeth;
• switch tasks for a change of scenery;
• play with a rubber band;
• chew seeds, nuts, carrot slices;
• crush the anti-stress toy;
• take a deep breath and try to relax;
• drink a glass of water.

It's a good idea to put together a quit smoking kit with a few distraction items for your friend or family member to give them a better chance of fighting the urge to smoke.

Physical nicotine addiction.

Nicotine, when entering the body, provokes the release of many hormones and neurotransmitters. This causes euphoria in a person, relieves irritability, facilitates the perception of information, increases concentration and attention. Due to the release of neurotransmitters, the transmission of nerve impulses between cells improves.

Yes, now I’m writing this and suddenly a thought arose, why did I quit smoking if nicotine has so many benefits? But I immediately remember that the effect of nicotine is short-lived. To repeat such a great effect, you need to take nicotine again. Regular intake of nicotine depresses the central nervous system, its own normal production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Our subconscious, that part of us that is responsible for the functioning of the body, for the heartbeat, breathing, intestinal contractions, etc., moments of the functioning of the body beyond our control, it is this that makes us subsequently smoke.

Our brain always looks for the easiest way to solve problems. And in this case, the brain sees, for example, that why produce acetylcholine if there is nicotine, which settles on the receptors and replaces it. The brain decides - I will reduce the production of this neurotransmitter, I will not strain to synthesize my own, because it is so easy to get the same effect from smoking. That's all. The body begins to require a regular supply of nicotine - this is physical nicotine dependence.

Nicotine patches, gum and e-cigarettes.

Under no circumstances do I recommend using drugs containing nicotine. Throwing with their help is nonsense. After all, we remember why we quit and what we need. Let me remind those who forgot. We need to wean the body from regular intake of nicotine into the body. We quit, the body must learn to do without this substance, restore normal secretion of neurotransmitters and hormones. But all drugs containing nicotine, in essence, do not help us with this, but support addiction. I would even say this, this is equivalent to the fact that an alcoholic will give up alcoholism by drinking 3 liters of beer daily - well, he’s not drinking vodka, he’s being treated