Tips to quit smoking and manage cravings (Part 2)
Tips to deal with common cravings and withdrawal symptoms
• Stay active: Keep yourself distracted and occupied, go for walks.
• Keep your hands/fingers busy: Squeeze balls, pencils, or paper clips are good substitutes to satisfy that need for tactile stimulation.
• Keep your mind busy: Read a book or magazine, listen to some music you love.
• Find an oral substitute: Keep other things around to pop in your mouth when you’re craving a cigarette. Good choices include mints, carrot or celery sticks, gum, and sunflower seeds.
• Drink lots of water: Flushing toxins from your body minimize withdrawal symptoms and helps cravings pass faster.
• Look for new ways to relax and to cope with depression or anxiety: There are a lot of ways to improve your mood without smoking.
Keep a craving journal
For a couple of weeks make entries into a log book to monitor your daily progress. Think about different moments in your life when you enjoy having a cigarette, these are your triggers to smoking. Are there certain people or environments that trigger your cravings? How do you feel when you smoke? Jot down some other things you can do to feel that way. After you quit, if you’re having a bad day, you can look back at the comments you wrote in week one to get perspective on how far you’ve come.
Get support from others
Quitting smoking is challenging, and having the right people around you can make all the difference. Let your friends and family in on your plan to quit smoking and tell them you need their support and encouragement to stop. Look for a quit buddy who wants to stop smoking as well. You can help each other get through the rough times.
Keep the pounds off
Weight gain is a common concern when quitting smoking. While it’s true that many smokers put on weight when they stop smoking, the gain is usually small, on average 3-5 pounds.
Weight gain occurs because the oral gratification of smoking is replaced by the self-soothing mechanism of eating.
Don’t let the fear of putting on a few pounds weigh you down. Eating a healthy diet and staying active can help you maintain your current weight.
Source: helpguide.org
Other links:
Addiction and Health
How Drugs Work
What is drug addiction treatment?
Young smokers more prone to MS
Importance and Length of Drug Addiction Treatment
How effective is drug addiction treatment?
Causes and Physical Signs of Drug Abuse and Addiction
