"After years in
the same old routine we can almost run on autopilot. We do the same things as yesterday, the day
before, and most days before that.
Habits and routines are good for us because they reduce stress - accomplishing tasks from memory rather than active though. Habits, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy,
make up most of our day. If you know how to control your habits, then even a
small effort can create big changes in your daily life and health. The same is true for changing your smoking
habit" [1].
"Multiply over
ten drags on a cigarette from a pack a day, and you get roughly 250 hand to mouth motions. Smoking is a ritualized behavior
that must be replaced by something productive and healthy. The trick is using your triggers. A trigger is an event that causes you to
perform some action. Usually for smokers
it is something like morning coffee, traffic, or lunch break that causes them
to reach for a pack of cigarettes and light up.
If you want to stop smoking, that means every time you feel the urge for
a cigarette, you have to do something else besides smoke, until you create a new
habit" [1].
"When smokers
generally try to quit - and then fail, it is because they try to give up cigarettes
without making changes to their lifestyle and routines. You can’t just pull out old habits without
finding another way to replace the needs that those habits fulfill. Smoking fulfills needs such as having a few
moments alone when you take a smoke break.
But that smoke break can be taken without cigarettes. You don't need a cigarette to stop what you
are doing and sit quietly for a few moments and reflect. You could just as easily make a cup of herbal
tea, and sip on that quietly away from your place of work" [1].
"This method of habit
replacement is often called the Substitution
Strategy for Quitting Smoking. First
you have to become aware of when you smoke.
Then you will be able to find something different to do in that time. It is best to pick something healthy like
breathing exercises, stretching, eating raw vegetables, drinking herbal tea - like QUIT TEA, or playing brain games.
There are endless possibilities that are healthier than smoking! If you can stick with doing that for a few
weeks or months, you will have created a new habit, and instead of being
triggered to smoke, you will be triggered to do something healthy and
beneficial. This Substitution Strategy
for Quitting Smoking definitely works to recondition the automatic response - and after a period of time, your new response to the same old triggers will feel
natural. Stick with it - it works!" [1].
Matt Bucklin, the author of this article, is the creator of "Quit Tea," which forms part of the protocol in"The Winning Way to Quit Smoking".
Ref: [1]. Bucklin. Matt (2013). The Quit Company.
https://www.amazon.com/quittea
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