Giving up smoking is usually thought of as being very difficult.
There is the mixture of an actual physical craving and also a psychological craving you will need to contend with, so it's not really surprising that many people who decide to give up smoking don't succeed on their first attempt.
One of hardest issues that affects many smokers is how to manage those cravings.
This fear is one of the major reasons that prevents many people from quitting smoking or even trying.
Has this fear ever stopped you quitting? I know it was something that I worried about when I decided to stop smoking.
One obvious way to lessen these cravings is by using distraction.
When you try to stop smoking you will always continue to have issues if all you ever do is keep on planning the way you will actually do this.
This sort of planning keeps the cigarettes in your conscious thoughts and makes it very hard to give them up.
However, if you are able to distract your mind with other activities, you can stop thinking about the cravings.
This is especially important during that first week.
You need to change your mindset from thinking about the cravings (which will keep them in the forefront of your mind) to thinking about what new activity you can do next.
This could be taking up some form of exercise such as jogging or playing a sport.
Whatever you try, it must be something completely different to what you used to do when you were smoking.
For example, if you enjoyed sitting in your comfy chair in front of the TV and having a cigarette while watching your favorite program, either sit somewhere different for a couple of weeks or even forgo TV until you feel you won't want the crutch of a cigarette.
Once you have broken these strong psychological and physical cravings, you stand a much better chance of giving up smoking.
Sometimes the cravings will go away entirely and immediately, sometimes they won't.
It's quite possible for you to still miss your cigarettes, including certain times where you will think that you can't get through these cravings.
But when you learn to control your thinking to stop feeling that strong physical urge to smoke, it will become quicker and easier to handle the cravings.
And after that, you will find it much easier to give up smoking completely and to not worry about any cravings.
There is the mixture of an actual physical craving and also a psychological craving you will need to contend with, so it's not really surprising that many people who decide to give up smoking don't succeed on their first attempt.
One of hardest issues that affects many smokers is how to manage those cravings.
This fear is one of the major reasons that prevents many people from quitting smoking or even trying.
Has this fear ever stopped you quitting? I know it was something that I worried about when I decided to stop smoking.
One obvious way to lessen these cravings is by using distraction.
When you try to stop smoking you will always continue to have issues if all you ever do is keep on planning the way you will actually do this.
This sort of planning keeps the cigarettes in your conscious thoughts and makes it very hard to give them up.
However, if you are able to distract your mind with other activities, you can stop thinking about the cravings.
This is especially important during that first week.
You need to change your mindset from thinking about the cravings (which will keep them in the forefront of your mind) to thinking about what new activity you can do next.
This could be taking up some form of exercise such as jogging or playing a sport.
Whatever you try, it must be something completely different to what you used to do when you were smoking.
For example, if you enjoyed sitting in your comfy chair in front of the TV and having a cigarette while watching your favorite program, either sit somewhere different for a couple of weeks or even forgo TV until you feel you won't want the crutch of a cigarette.
Once you have broken these strong psychological and physical cravings, you stand a much better chance of giving up smoking.
Sometimes the cravings will go away entirely and immediately, sometimes they won't.
It's quite possible for you to still miss your cigarettes, including certain times where you will think that you can't get through these cravings.
But when you learn to control your thinking to stop feeling that strong physical urge to smoke, it will become quicker and easier to handle the cravings.
And after that, you will find it much easier to give up smoking completely and to not worry about any cravings.
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