The Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is on November 20. The third Thursday in November has become a day each year where participants quit smoking for 24 hours. If you it the day as the day to quit or begin to quit smoking, you won’t be alone. If past Smokeouts are any indication, as many as one-third of the nation's 46 million smokers could be taking the day off from smoking.

So you make it one day. Congratulations! How about the next? And the next day? Quitting smoking is not easy for most people. Aside from simply knowing it’s bad for your health, you must decide that it really is time to quit smoking and be committed to doing so. Even so, it’s not unusual to have four or five false starts before truly quitting. People find a variety of ways to quit smoking that work for them. With that in mind, here are a few general tips.

  • Believe in yourself. You’ve been through tough times before, you can do this. But be aware of the emotional phases you’re likely to endure, such as a normal sense of emotional loss when quitting that gradually transports you through different phases (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and complacency). This emotional journey is normal part of the process.
     
  • Write down why you want to quit. Read it daily. Or create a blog on the internet and write about your experiences there.
     
  • Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit.
     
  • Exercise. If necessary, start slow, with a short walk, and build up your endurance.
     
  • Visualize yourself as a nonsmoker and all the positive behaviors and benefits of living a tobacco free life.
     
  • Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a date on which you will quit). Or quit smoking “cold turkey.” Whichever works best for you.
     
  • Find a "quit buddy" and support each other.
     
  • Work at adopting a realistic victory “yardsticks” that celebrate nonsmoking freedom. If you start out insisting on seeing success only in terms of quitting forever you may feel overwhelmed. So pat yourself on the back after an hour, then a day at a time and celebrate the nonsmoking milestones.  For example, after two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant. And so on.
     
  • Know your triggers and plan ways of coping with them to stay smoke free. Most triggers are re-conditioned through encounters during which the brain does not receive the expected result - nicotine. You’re relearning behaviors and rewiring your brain.
     
  • Some people find a temporary substitute to hold in their hand or mouth helpful, like a small drinking straw. Others find such things a crutch that if quickly removed could easily result in their relapse. Again, different things work for different people.

The internet is a great resource to find tips, strategies and programs for people who want to quit smoking. So what are you waiting for?

 

John Holt
Cornerstone Psychological Services
11-18-2008