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Help to stop smoking
Started
by Jenny Yost
on October 23, 2009
I could really use some food remedies to help me to stop smoking
Sunflower seeds are a great way to satisfy the neurotic habit of keeping your hands and mouth busy. Just avoid the salty ones or your tongue will feel like sandpaper.
OK thank you I'm new at the whole vegan thing but I am going full out superhero minus the smoking (and that's a BIG problem!)
Kudos for kicking the habit! I am a respiratory therapist and see the effects of smoking every day. Of course everyone knows smoking is bad for you. No matter how much info you have on why smoking is bad quiting is not easy. Tips on quiting...First smoking is an addiction. There are many products to "help" you stop smoking, they don't often work. Its not just and addiciton but a habit. Patients of mine that have been able to stop did so by completely changing their daily routine. Keep a journal for a few days on your smoking routine. Then analyze how your daily routine revolves around smoking. Example: you get up every morning, use the restroom, have a smoke while drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper before getting in the shower. Changing the routine will help break the "Habit" portion of smoking. If there is a certain time of day when you generally take your smoke breaks change that too. The key is changing the rountine to break the habit!
The addiction - treat it as any other addiction. You may even want to attend a 12 step support group type meeting. The steps are the same, nicotine is an addiction. I would recommend going cold turkey, the nicotine will be out of your system in 24-48hrs. Drink plenty of water during that time, you will go through withdrawl. Your body has to detox and you will feel like crap, thats why I recommened the H2O. Keeping a few around and slowly cutting back doesn't often work, people keep wanting just one more or they need to finish the pack. Just throw it out! .There is often an oral fixation as well, the sunflower seeds were a good healthy suggestion. A pen or other such object held in your hand will help as well at first. For the first several weeks you may want to avoid places/situations that make you want to light up (changing the routine)
If you have any other questions feel free to ask!
hey there. good work! i think the more superhero you get the less your body will accept the smoking. i used to smoke 1 pack a day and never had to quit. my body just refused it after a while...and that was just from going vegan. i would try to have a cig cause i was young and dumb and thought it was cool...but just couldnt get it in me anymore...so hopefully by balancing your body out on the kind superhero path this will happen for you too! and get all the support you need! hypnosis? do you live in la? have a great hypno therapy lady could really help...or you could just call her...want her #? its 818 274 1193. i bet she can help you!
Some of my patients reported that acupuncture had helped the process.
Hi Jenny, that's so great that you are deciding to break the tether of smoking. You can do it. I quit smoking over a year ago after smoking over a pack a day for years. It is important to make a plan that works for you. You know yourself so make little tricks to keep you happy and focused. Also set finite goals but forgive yourself and recommit if you slip up. I set up a system where I cut down for one week while I resisted in normal smoking sitations. So I had 2-3 per day but not with other people (like my roommate who smoked), not with coffeee or alcohol or first thing when walking. So I kicked the psycological addiction a bit first. Then had my last one after my midterm exam on a set date and found that I didnt even want to finish it. I treated myself to some little lolps and had a lot of tea , especially iced tea for walking and keeping busy.
I focused on healthy things that would focus on my health and my lungs healing. Take a yoga class and focus your breathing. Take big breaths and feel and smell the air when you step outside. It is way better that just lighting a cig right away. Also, you can still enjoy breaks outside, take a tea or break something. It takes time and creativity to adjust to doing activities without cigarettes.
Also, you might have a major mucus issue, where your body finally clears out everything, maybe try some of Alicia's lotus tea. Once you get through it there is a world of clear breathing and better tastes and smells now a healthier life on top of a longer healthier life down the road.
I just celebrated my second month smoke free! I took CHantix for a while- if you go that route, make sure you take some probiotics with it- Chantix totally messes with your digestive system. I took the Chatix for 2 weeks and then I stopped on a day that I had very little to do but have fun. I made sure that I was super duper busy with fun things (took my nieces to the park, went to the flea market) and I just redirected my thinking when I felt the urge coming on. Like after a meal, I'd breathe or take a short walk. So far, it's worked for me. I rarely have urges to smoke anymore, and I smoked every day for over 10 years! These days, I feel better, things taste and smel different, and I'm more at peace. I also reward myself every month with some sort of present- earrings, shoes, whatever!
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