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Smoking habit
Understanding your habit is one of the first steps you can take in your journey to stop smoking. Learn more about when you smoke and why to help you overcome your habit...
The Pavlovian reaction
In the same way that you might associate certain times of day with specific activities - such as a shower when you get up in the morning - certain situations and events become very strongly associated with smoking in your subconscious. Pavlov showed that if he rang a bell when he fed his dogs, after a while purely ringing the bell was enough for the dogs to salivate. In the same way, even though you have made a conscious decision to stop smoking the association with certain situations will take time to disappear.
Before you stop, try and become aware of when you smoke and why (see Understand your habit). Once you have identified your reasons for smoking and your triggers, they will become much easier to break.
Emotional triggers
Whilst breaking the physical addiction to nicotine is hard, for many smokers breaking the habit - the psychological addiction - is much harder. This is mainly because smoking is likely to have become deeply ingrained over many years and has therefore become an integral part of many emotional occasions. Sad or unhappy, bored or having to concentrate hard, happy and relaxed with friends - cigarettes are likely to have played a part in almost all of these situations. Again, being prepared helps. See Understand your habit.
Sometimes, a cigarette is just a cigarette...
It helps to remember that sometimes we ascribe too much power to cigarettes. They don’t have the power to change anything or to make things better. As Freud once said, ’Sometimes, a cigarette is just a cigarette’.
However, to stop and stay stopped you do need to keep a strong and focused mind. The associations you have established with smoking are likely to outlast your physical addiction to nicotine. Reminding yourself that you are in control, together with a positive mental attitude will help you to stay stopped - and enjoy life as a non-smoker!
About the author:
http://www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
More health information - More smoking information
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