The Sure Road for Quitters
A self-help guide designed to help stop a smoker’s cravings
By Stephen Swift
Copyright 2009 Stephen Swift
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
DISCLAIMER
The material in this book is for informational purposes only. As each individual situation is unique, you should use proper discretion, in consultation with a health care practitioner, before undertaking the techniques described in this book. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained in this book.
Table of Contents
GOAL #2: Reducing in Small Numbers…
GOAL #4: Identifying Triggers…
GOAL #5: Back to Reducing by Numbers…
GOAL #6: Disabling the Triggers…
GOAL #7: More Cigarette Reduction!
GOAL #8: Working Toward the Half Way Point!
The Sure Road for Quitters
A self-help guide designed to help stop a smoker’s cravings
This self-help guide is not meant for everyone, and is definitely not meant for those who want to quit by next week, next month, or even as a New Year’s resolution. It is not a one size fits all solution. And those who read on may think this is a ridiculous approach, but at least you are reading. And you must be curious or wanting to try something (or anything) different, or maybe this is your last ditch effort. Whatever the case, I say with confidence that this works! So read on and give it a try. What do you have to lose besides your addiction? This guide is to help those who want to quit and leave the cravings behind. This self-help guide is for those who have tried quitting several times before with no solid results (by going cold turkey, using the patch, the gum, by going to therapists and hypnotists).
You may have tried several methods with no success. I’m confident that if you commit to this step by step guide, you will see positive results.
Before looking over this self-help guide any further, answer this question.
“Do I really want to quit smoking?”
Yeah, cigarettes are great from time to time. They feel comforting during stressful situations and they may go great after dinner, a drink, sex, and we cannot forget about that perfect morning cigarette that gets the heart pumping. This begs a repeat of the question.
“Do I really want to quit smoking?”
“If I make it to the end of this self-help guide and I do not have anymore cravings for cigarettes even during work-breaks, after sex, after dinner, after drinking, Will I be okay with that?”
If the answer is yes to both of these questions, then it is time for the journey to begin!
Okay, the desire to quit has been established, but you need to ask yourself another question:
“Why do I want to quit smoking?”
This is a great question because people who want to quit smoking should know why they want to quit. The question “Why” is the foundation for quitters and if the foundation is not established beforehand, when the time comes to choose whether or not to smoke a cigarette, the cravings will likely win!
Why do I want to quit? Is it due to an illness or a recent event? Am I sick of my clothes smelling like cigarette smoke? Am I concerned with my health? Why?
For me personally, I love my life. I want to be healthy. I live life with others who love me and want to see me continue on and flourish. And smoking greatly reduces my chances of a life at all. The number of people that die from smoking cigarettes every year is outrageous. Smoking is considered the number one cause of preventable deaths. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people die from diseases associated with smoking such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and emphysema (American Lung Association, 2011).
This guide is not like the other “How to” guides or programs you’ve seen advertised. This will take all of the nicotine, the cravings, the habits, and slowly flush them out of the mind and body.
I used to smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day. For some, that might seem like many, but for others it might. My intake use to equal about 25 cigarettes a day and I was smoking that for over 10 years. That is a lot of cigarettes. After following this step by step guide, I can say with confidence that I was smoke free and had no residue. No cravings; no left over habits: I was done, and so glad to be free from the prison of needing to inhale nicotine, tar, and the dozens of toxins released from cigarettes in order to feel functional.
My suggestion is that you not read ahead. Move through this self-help guide one hurdle at a time. Rushing through this process will likely hinder the progress, rather than help. Patience is the key to Success!
Do not get discouraged if this process seems like it may be taking longer than expected, because it’s not. Each body is different.
I was extremely addicted to cigarettes. I tried quitting several times without success. One time I quit cold turkey and had not picked up a smoke for almost a year. The entire time I felt the cravings, the longing for another drag and that’s exactly what it was… a drag. Over the course of several months, I chewed through several pens and pen caps, and also came to realize that my finger nails did not require clipping any longer. Finally, after having a few drinks one night, I picked up a cigarette to ease the craving and thought it would be okay. Wrong. Lowering those inhibitions broke down my last line of defense and quitting cold turkey turned to picking up right where I left off.
I understood then that the only way for me to be free of smoking forever would be to conquer the cravings.
But how could I possibly remove something that seemed so strong and innate?
Over the next few months and several cartons of cigarettes, the answer dawned on me like a light from the stars above. The universe had finally provided me with the information I needed to quit for good. When the thought first crossed my mind, I snickered because I tried this method before and had failed miserably.
What was the difference then? Why did I feel that this information was different than before?
I realized that the failure was not in the method itself, but in my approach and execution of the method, in addition to my misguided expectation for results.
Patience is the key to Success! Patience was always the key to anything I had ever completed successfully in life. To quit smoking, I required patience in order to completely wean from the drug. The method of attack is different than simply quitting because one other variable is involved that I had not accounted for in the past: My body’s tendency to relapse due to both physical and mental addiction.
Some readers may be thinking… mental addiction? What mental addiction?
But like all addictions, two parts are necessary to completely remove the addiction. One we all know to be the physical aspect which we may associate with detoxification of the body. The other is detoxifying the mind by disassociating the want or craving to smoke during or after certain activities.
In order to quit for good, I had to remove both the physical and mental cravings. The physical cravings consisted of my body’s need for the chemicals in order to feel functional. By slowly reducing the amount of nicotine and other chemicals taken into my body, I could rid my body of the need and relearn how to cope without them. The mental cravings were a bit different however. While reducing my body’s need for chemical satisfaction, I would also need to disassociate cigarettes as a reward during or after certain actions or activities. Other physical and mental cravings that required attention were the feeling of smoke entering and exiting the lungs and throat, the placement of a cigarette in the mouth, taking a 5 minute break every 30 or 45 minutes, the social smoking circles around the neighborhood and at the office. Disassociating and replacing the cravings were much more difficult than preventing nicotine from entering my body. And this essential piece of information is what I missed in earlier attempts at quitting.
After months of working through the process laid out in this guide, I slowly reduced my chemical input and need during or after certain activities and actions. I worked out more at the gym and participated more in meditative and control exercises such as Tai Chi. My carnal desire to inhale cigarette smoke dissipated over months as the cigarette count slowly ticked down as did the desire to put a cigarette in my mouth. I continued to take breaks every time I felt the urge to get up, roughly every hour, but went for walks instead of standing in a smoker’s circle. Some of the activities I chose had to change also. Anything that lowered my inhibitions would put me into a regressive state, and so I discovered my drinking habits also had to change. That’s right, going to the bar after work, going out clubbing on the weekends or going to parties several times a week had to be reduced along with the number of drinks at any gathering or social event I might attend. My time with smoking crowds also had to be reduced to effectively work through the addiction. Now, I’m not saying I cut these things out entirely, but remember that part of the addiction to smoking is the mental aspect and for the time period during and after the journey, the mind is vulnerable. Any activities associated with smoking may rekindle the desire to smoke.
As I progressed and cut down the number of cigarettes by a significant portion, I did purposely put myself in the situations that I had previously associated cigarettes with in order to gauge my mental state. The results were invigorating. During the final stages of my journey, I was astonished by my physical and mental state in the mornings and after strenuous activities. One of the ways to describe it was I no longer felt clogged up. I no longer felt imprisoned. I no longer felt controlled.
After I quit smoking, continuing to gauge my mental state over several months of my journey was important. Doing so helped me to understand and adapt to my new lifestyle. And keeping that new lifestyle intact is extremely important.
Did I go out to the bar or an event a week or even a month after my last cigarette, get hammered and stand in a smoker’s circle? No.
If I had, would I have asked for a cigarette? Most likely, Yes.
Smoking, like drinking, can be a social activity. And even though the body does not need a smoke, the mind may still be associating the two actions together so having another drink means having another cigarette. As we continue to drink, the defenses are lowered and the mental state breaks down. Now, if I were to go out to an event sober, socialize and have one drink, then stand in a smoker’s circle, I would be fine. I have been able to do this with no problems. And if I felt the need to engage in smoking, then like any addict I would need to retire for the night, regroup and try again. Whenever I may have felt the urge to smoke during this guide, the question “Why?” would always come back to mind. Why am I quitting? The answers to this question should be seared into your brain. Once I had quit smoking for a period of time, additional answers to this question came to light. For some of you, the answer may be the same as if one were to ask why jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is a bad idea.
I would like to make a quick side note in regards to the above paragraph in which I was referring to inhibitions being lowered through the use of alcohol. If I was also facing another addiction such as alcoholism or some other drugs, then I would need to refocus and prioritize my efforts to remove the other drug addiction from my life before attempting to quit smoking. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs. So if I was an alcoholic and actively drinking, my chances of quitting smoking would be greatly reduced.
In completing my journey, I found there to be no more cravings and I finally felt free! Even though the cravings are still gone to this day, I continue to gauge my mental state in crowds and at events. And because this process was so successful for me, I want to share this with others who are trying to find a way to live without cigarettes. And so, this self-help guide was born.
Now, let’s work toward achieving the same results for you.
Some items required to help complete this self-help guide are:
Calendar (paper or computer, your choice)
Extracurricular activity away from work (gym, martial arts, art class, culinary, etc…)
Journal or Diary to track emotional progress and help identify situations that may promote smoking
Instead of taking steps, let’s begin by setting small goals. Each goal that you attain brings you closer to success. Do not look ahead. Doing so might distract or discourage you from your present goal.
The reason for setting and attacking each small goal is simple: The method of establishing small goals and completing each in succession is proven to be successful for achieving desired outcomes.
Setting larger goals may become overwhelming and greatly reduce the chance of success. And in order to quit smoking, we need to ensure that the mind is not at a disadvantage, but is reassured of success with each passing goal.
For instance, if one is 10,000 dollars in debt and sets a goal to pay off the entire debt, attempting to do so may seem almost impossible. However, the goal of paying off a portion of that debt seems much more attainable and mentally acceptable.
When do I want to start this program? (Set a date and mark it on your calendar or notepad)
This goal is essentially committing yourself to begin the process of quitting for good.
Set a date of when you would like to start. Then mark the date on the calendar. This in itself is a goal because it is a mental hurdle. When the date arrives, your commitment begins. Congratulations on reaching your first milestone! Move onto the next goal.
GOAL #2: Reducing in Small Numbers…
Once you have the start date marked, then you need to do the following:
Write down the number of cigarettes you smoke a day next to the start date you set on the calendar.
Starting exactly 1 week after the start date, reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke a day by 2 and write that number in the calendar.
You are probably saying “Only take away 2 cigarettes??? This is going to take forever!”
But understand that this is how the process needs to work in order to completely rid you of everything that goes along with smoking cigarettes. And remember, setting smaller goals greatly increases the chance for success.
So to reiterate, 1 week after the start date, subtract 2 from the total number of cigarettes you smoke and write that number on the calendar. Smoke 2 less cigarettes a day when that date arrives.
Now on your calendar, move 2 weeks forward and place a check next to that day. This is going to be your check-in day. On check-in day, ask yourself the following questions:
“How am I doing today?”
“Do I notice the decrease in the number of cigarettes I smoked in the last 2 weeks?”
If the answer is that you still notice the decrease in cigarettes; stay with the current decrease for another 2 weeks. Come back to the same 2 questions. Continue this behavior until you feel comfortable with the decrease in cigarettes. This may take longer for some than others, which is okay. This is expected, especially for those who have been smoking for many years. And remember, you started this guide by answering YES to the 2 questions on pages 3 and 4 and have already set goals to begin the quitting process, so you are committed. You can do this! You might regress some days and smoke too many cigarettes, but do not let that stop you. Setbacks happen, just keep on track.