Breaking The Smoking Habit

So you’re ready to walk away from your cigarettes for good. And chances are, you’ve probably tried to quit in the past. But like most, you find yourself drawn back again and again to that “old friend,” the cigarette.

There are many ways that your doctor or even a hypno-therapist can help you quit, but maybe you’re not ready to go that route just yet. If you are going to try to quit on your own and want to be successful you have to recognize it’s a habit.

One of the reasons it’s so hard to walk away from cigarette smoking is because it’s a physical habit, and these are very hard to break.

For example, one woman spoke of how her mother always taught her to turn the lights out when leaving a room.  If she didn’t do this, her mother would make her go back and do it, and eventually she learned to just automatically reach for the light switch whenever she walked out of a room. Except that she would do that even when at work, in a public restroom, or when other people were still in the room!  She would also often find herself reaching for the light switch even when the lights were already off.

This is obviously because this habit of reaching out when walking out of a room was so ingrained in her that there was no conscious thought on her part as to what she was doing. It’s almost as if her arm was acting on its own, just grabbing at the switch whether she wanted it to or not.

So with smoking, you need to recognize how very difficult it is to just simply drop a physical habit that’s been so ingrained in you. Think about the common times throughout the day when you reach for a cigarette without thinking about it, such as after eating, when driving to work in the morning, or even after sex. Chances are it’s not that you really want that cigarette, you’re just reacting to your habit.

It would be helpful right now to take out a sheet of paper and actually write out those times as a list. Also mention any social occasions when you find yourself lighting up, such as the weekly poker game with the guys or on Fridays when the girls go out for martinis. Leave nothing out.

Now that you’ve made a list, think of what things you can do to get yourself away from that immediate habit of reaching for a cigarette. For example, after eating, try to immediately get up from the table rather than linger with your coffee. If this is the time you spend with your spouse or family just talking, go in another room. You’d be surprised how just a change of scenery can help break that habit.

If you light up in the car on the way to work, bring something to occupy your mind. Obviously you can’t keep your hands busy in the car, but try a book on tape. If books aren’t your thing, rent a tape of your favorite comedian. Keeping your mind occupied is the first step toward keeping your hands busy as well.

Go through your list of times when cigarettes are just a natural reaction and write out other things you can do to get away from that situation, keep your hands busy, or distract yourself. Think of magazines you can read, music to listen to, or chores that can be done around the house during some downtime.