From childhood, we are told about the terrible dangers of smoking, which is confirmed by medical studies and facts from the lives of smokers. But why do people smoke without considering the damage it causes to their health?
Where does smoking addiction come from?
Long-term stress
A long chain of stressful situations can disturb even the most calm and balanced person. At this time, many people start looking for ways to quickly calm down and relax, instead of looking at the situation from a different angle or distracting themselves with some activity. And he smokes most of the time.
Having found such a quick way to get emotional satisfaction, a person lights up another cigarette every time during the next argument with someone or just during a serious conversation, believing that it will calm his nerves and he will be able to assess the situation correctly. The most interesting thing is that it really helps him. But not because smoking supposedly "calms down", but because it firmly inspires this idea in itself.
fashion influence
As sad as it sounds, fashion trends often lead people to make mistakes. So, for example, the publication of a photo shoot in a glossy magazine with the participation of a smoking model in the frame can be the next increase in smoking fashion. Moreover, such fashion trends spread very quickly. Literally the day after the release of the magazine, it will be possible to observe how many teenage girls and girls who have not used tobacco smoke before, imitating a famous fashion model.
Transition age
Filling the ranks of smokers at the expense of high school students and students cannot happen only because of a new cycle of fashion. Among the common reasons why teenagers start smoking are the following:
- The need for recognition by peers and the desire to be like everyone else. Teenagers' fear of being the black sheep is sometimes so great that they are capable of many stupid things, including smoking.
- The desire, on the contrary, to stand out from the crowd.
- Objection. Sometimes young people start smoking as a sign of protest, thus they oppose the society, they try to show their independence and independence to everyone. Think 80s rockers. They had a very characteristic pattern of behavior: they smoked cigarettes, mocked society's vices in their songs, drank a lot of alcohol, and were defiant, to put it mildly.
Nicotine addiction
Smoking addiction of smokers can be of 2 types: physical and psychological. Physical dependence is based on the body's addiction to nicotine. Psychological addiction is based on a person's clear belief that smoking relaxes, calms, helps to concentrate more quickly, etc. The difference between these types is that the reason why smokers start using tobacco is often psychological dependence, while physical dependence is its result - people smoke and cannot quit this bad habit.
How to quit smoking?
Once you understand why people smoke, it's easier to start the process of quitting. However, from the spiritual side, you need to prepare yourself for such a step. It is necessary to at least briefly familiarize with the medical literature and understand the harm of smoking to health, as well as to calculate how much money is spent on cigarettes per year. After that, put all your willpower into a fist and stop smoking.
Exit once and for all
Most ex-smokers are advised not to "reinvent the wheel" but to quit smoking suddenly and once and for all. Having chosen this path, one should not succumb to weakness and think that one cigarette a day (or more) will not change anything (justifying himself by the fact that it is still less than before). Once the decision is made, there is no going back!
Drop it gradually
A similar method is suitable for those with an open nicotine addiction. To quit smoking, they should gradually reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke during the day. For example, if a person smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, then you should try to reduce the number of cigarettes by at least one per day. As for 2-3 cigarettes a day, you can suddenly quit smoking altogether.
Live a healthy lifestyle
Psychologists have found that smokers who start eating right and exercising eventually get rid of this bad habit themselves. How does this happen? The secret is self-hypnosis. Human psychology is such that when he starts eating healthy foods and exercising, he involuntarily gives up unhealthy foods and other obstacles that prevent him from living a new, healthy lifestyle.
In addition, when doing many recreational exercises, the smoker will feel short of breath. Swimming and running are particularly vivid examples of this. After unsuccessful attempts to combine smoking and exercise, a person may decide to give up smoking.
Also, the following tips can be of great help in fighting addiction:
- Listening to audio files and reading books about the harms of smoking.
- Drink enough water.
- Replacing regular cigarettes with e-cigarettes is later easier for some than regular cigarettes.
- Also, when you really want to smoke, you can try replacing the cigarette with something sweet or seeds. Or take a cigarette and simulate the process of smoking for 10-15 minutes without smoking it.
- Refusal to visit places where smoking is allowed (smoking areas and lounges in nightclubs, restaurants, etc. ).
- Agreement that they do not smoke when communicating with acquaintances.
- Placing affirmations (words and pictures with any meaning) on the walls of the house on the topic of a healthy lifestyle. For example, pictures of healthy beautiful people and pictures of disgusting smokers. It helps to fix the right type of behavior in the fight against smoking in the subconscious mind.