Are You Ready To Quit Smoking?
How can I tell if I'm ready to quit smoking?
I've never had someone walk into my office who said, "Dr. Ferry, can you help me figure out if I'm ready to quit smoking?"These people have always been really ready to quit. So if you're even thinking about, "Am I ready to quit smoking?", here is a checklist that I'll give you. A) Do you recognize that there are benefits to quitting and do you embrace those for yourself? Do you think you will get some of those benefits about quitting? B) Do you recognize that there are dangers from smoking if you continue? If you have already accepted that and internalized that, you know that you'll benefit by quitting, you know that there's continued risks by smoking and you're willing to talk to someone, get some help, read some material about the process of getting through quitting smoking quickly and easily, then you're ready to quit smoking.
Is there a bad time to quit smoking?
The only people I would recommend to not trying to quit smoking, is when a major life crisis is going on. When that occurs, you need to focus on that. Get the things in your life calmed down. When you can take a deep breathe and feel that you can handle one more change in your life, then come back and talk to your doctor, but don't let that go on for years.
What steps do I need to take before I stop smoking?
There are probably three phases to the process of putting tobacco out of your life. The first one is changing your whole environment: the habits, rituals and routines that you have incorporated to make cigarette smoking convenient, enjoyable and pleasant. The second step is changing the way you think about smoking. You think cigarettes calm you down, make you feel good, make you feel relaxed, help you when you are stressed, but you know cigarettes are really killing you. And start figuring out the reasons why you smoke. But work on those two areas first; get rid of your habits, your rituals and routines, and start thinking more realistically about the risks and the benefits of cigarettes in your life.
How can I cut down on the number of cigarettes I smoke?
I'd encourage you to stop smoking in your normal places. Change your routines. Make cigarettes unpleasant, inconvenient, and not enjoyable to get to and to smoke. Quit smoking inside your car and quit smoking inside your home. Take those steps first. They're the easiest ones to change. It doesn't mean you can't smoke, but what you'll find is that'll often get you to cut down.
How can I change the way I think about smoking?
Start figuring out the reasons why you smoke on a piece of paper, and keep it wrapped around your package of cigarettes with a rubber band. Every time you smoke a cigarette, "Why? Why am I smoking this cigarette? Am I stressed? Am I bored? Am I hungry? Am I angry? What is the reason?" Then you have to find a substitute for that. Every cigarette takes seven minutes off your life; it takes about five to seven minutes to smoke it, so it's kind of an even trade. Every cigarette you smoke wastes a certain number of minutes and it's going to kill you that much sooner. So start changing the way you think about a cigarette, it's not your friend; it's actually your assassin.
How can I figure out my reasons for smoking?
How can I motivate myself to quit smoking?
When someone says "I just lack the motivation to quit smoking, or to change anything in my life, lose weight, start an exercise program", we know in the study of human behaviour people make changes when either there is a real desire for the goal and the outcome, or they have overcome the pain of making a change. So what is it for you? Is it because going through the pain of quitting keeps you from quitting and therefore you aren't motivated because you don't want to go through pain. Or is it because you don't really believe you're going to get any benefits? So I would encourage you to think about "what is my perception of why I smoke? What are the risks I am taking by smoking? What would be the benefits in my life if I made these changes right now?" And then reward yourself, say, "If I smoke a pack a day for a week, how much money would I have saved up? Okay at the end of a week of not smoking, I am going to take that money and do something I really want." So link the rewards that you give yourself to something that you have a high desirability for. The second thing that you can do is chart and journal everyday, do something every twenty-four hours, don't wait a whole week, that's too long to wait for. If you don't smoke for twenty-four hours what will the benefits be? You'll start saving money, you'll start feeling better, maybe your girlfriend who doesn't smoke will like that. You have got your own reasons that are very unique to you, so make a "Why do I want to continue smoking every day" list and make a "Why would I benefit from quitting", and look at the difference between the pros and cons. You know if you put it on paper and it becomes really clear to you because it has come out of your head onto paper - it is much more obvious how to motivate yourself to quit.
How can others help motivate me to quit smoking?
The key is that you have to want to. You have to surround yourself with people who will reward you and you have to be committed to change. If that's not happening in your life, talk to a friend. Call the 1-800 number, and get counselling support by someone else who understands what all the risks are and isn't caught up in your own addiction inside your head. Sometimes you just need to get it out of your own head, perhaps because you've been an addict for so long that you can't think what it would be like to not be an addict. It doesn't even occur to you because you have done that since you were maybe 12 or 15.
Why is it important to have a support system to quit smoking?
In any recovery plan for addiction, whether it's Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, no one says, "Oh, here's a nice little brochure of the ten steps. Do it by yourself, and you don't even need to tell anyone about it." We know that changing behavior, especially changing addictive behavior, requires a connection, often with a friend, a sponsor, a community, the people who have been affected by your addition before, and a health professional. If you are someone who has tried to quit smoking and had difficulty on your own, I would really encourage you to say, "Who have I not included before in my plan, who holds me accountable?" It's really the accountability of others that makes you stick to a plan that otherwise might be difficult.
