'Hmmm... how to stop smoking the easy way. Who is this guy
kidding,' you may be thinking, 'there is no easy way to stop smoking.'
Well I beg to differ. This method worked for me eight years ago and I
haven't as much as touched a cigarette since let alone put one in my
mouth. I will tell you the secret later.
The only thing that you
do need is to want to stop smoking. I don't mean 'should give up' or
'being badgered to give up' I mean really want to give up. There is
really no point in trying if the will to stop smoking is not there. You
will just be wasting your time. You will just end up feeling anxious and
frustrated and certainly not committed. You will start again almost as
soon as you stop.
I wanted to stop smoking before my 40th
birthday. I had set that as my goal. They say that it takes ten years
for the effects of smoking to be clear from your body and I wanted to be
clean by the time I was 50. I wanted to enter my 50s, commonly known as
the minefield of life, with every chance of reaching my 60s,70s and so
on.
Obviously, if you continue to smoke then the chances are that
you won't and certainly not with a clean bill of health. I wanted to
enter middle-age being able to enjoy my children growing up and later on
being able to appreciate my grandchildren. I don't want to be a
hindrance to them. I know how much I still appreciate my parents despite
them being in their 80s'. They live independent lives together and are
still able to spend time, enjoy time and help out with my children and I
want to be the same.
I began smoking at school when I was 14.
Peer pressure I suppose, but I really enjoyed it and did right up to the
day chose to stop smoking. I made a number of half-hearted efforts to
quit, including, at one time, hypnotherapy, but to no avail. Patches,
chewing gum. I tried to stop smoking on an impulse once at New Year but a
couple of days later I was back on again. And No Smoking Days ...those
days that you don't know are here until the actual day itself. No, it
may work for a few days but not for good.
What you need to do is
set a target date to stop smoking maybe three or four months or more
into the future. A significant date for you as my 40th was for me. Have
this date in mind but subconsciously try and bring that date forward a
little bit maybe to a period three or four weeks before. The last thing
you need to do is be anxious about it. Remember, you must really want
this. It is you that wants it and not your partner, children, parents or
friends. By bringing that date forward a few weeks it prevents you
focussing on the exact date too much and it presents you with a window
within which you can stop.
And now for the secret, a secret that I
very rarely see or hear anyone suggesting. At the time you set your end
date to stop smoking make the switch, switch to Ultra Low, to the Ultra
Low nicotine variety of your favourite brand. I don't mean Low, I mean
Ultra Low. If your are used to Medium or High levels of nicotine you
must switch to Ultra Low. I know you will say that it will be like
smoking fresh air but within a week or so you and your body will get
used to it and it will feel like you are smoking your normal cigarette. I
happened that way for me and it will work that way for you.
The
nicotine level in your blood when you stop smoking is the most important
factor in being able to give up easily. If the nicotine level in your
body is low when you stop smoking then the actual chemical that causes
the addiction is in extremely small quantities. Therefore, any likely
effects of withdrawal symptoms are minimised.
So you need to build
up to the day you stop smoking. You have your actual date and you have
your window a few weeks before. Aim for sometime within this window and
don't leave it until your actual date. You don't want to start getting
anxious. If possible, make the period of smoking Ultra Low longer. This
will help reduce the addictive nicotine levels in your body even
further.
I actually gave up six weeks before my 40th birthday and I
started the process four months before. The day I stopped smoking, I
had a last cigarette in the morning and decided that that was that. I
threw the rest of the packet away and until this day, nearly eight years
later, I have not given smoking a second thought. So to be absolutely
clear, plan well in advance and switch to Ultra Low to rid your body of
nicotine. Then the withdrawal symptoms will be minimal and it will
prepare your mind and body to cope easily with the best thing you could
ever do.
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