7 Smoking habits and how to break them

Every single smoker has smoking habits or as I refer to them smoking links. That is - things, people, places, emotions, events or routines that begin with, revolve around or lead up to a cigarette.

To stop smoking successfully, you need to find out what your smoking habits and links are. These are the things that make you smoke, make it difficult for you to stop and can cause you to smoke again when you do stop.

Here are seven of the most common smoking habits. You no doubt will have one or two of these and perhaps even all of them.

1. Smoking when you get up - either right away or within half an hour - in bed, waiting for the kettle / coffee maker to finish, getting out of the shower etc.

2. Smoking on your way to work - either on the walk or drive there or just before you step in the door / building / site etc.

3. Smoking at the end of a meal - usually with a cup of coffee / tea or after finishing your food.

4. When you pick up the phone - not necessary during a phone call but also before you pick up the phone. You do this because you feel that you may be talking for a while and you'll need a cigarette or you'll hear something you don't like or you enjoy sitting down chatting with a friend on the phone with a cigarette in your hand.

5. When you hear some bad news or are stressed - maybe there is a problem at home with the family or children, or your house gets broken into or yo have a flat tire or you burn the food you were cooking for a dinner party

6. When you need composure / self-confidence / concentration - maybe you are about to meet a partner's parents for the first time, or you know you have to deal with an awkward customer, or you are entering an exam or test

7. You are about to go on a long haul flight / train journey / business meeting / spend time with your family for several hours e.g. birthday parties / Christmas et.c

These things keep you smoking - if you didn't need to acheive a feeling of relaxation, concentration, composure, calmness,confidence, ease, pleasure etc. you wouldn't smoke when these situations and events happen.

So first of all you need to find out what makes you smoke (other than nicotine addiction). When you have found that out, you have two options.

a. Learn how to deal with that situation, event etc without cigarettes

or

b. Ensure that you break the link and establish a new routine

For most people option two is the best - re-programming yourself into new patterns of behaviour, habits and routines is probably the best way to stop smoking quickly. So take the following into consideration when you stop smoking:

You need to find alternative ways to acheive those feelings of compoeure, relaxation, confidence etc. And you need to create new routines that are completely disassociated from smoking and cigarettes. Try the following fot eh seven habits lsited above.

1. Move the position of your bed, get out of the other side of the bed or sleep with your head where your toes used to be and vice vesa. Also immediately drink a glass of water juice or milk and change any routine you have. This will help you to re-establish a new wake up routine that doesn't involve cigarettes. This chanage confuses your brain and prevents any triggers from reminding you to smoke.

2. Take a different route to work and arrive ten to fifteen minutes earlier than you are used to. Again the change in routine confuses your brain into a pattern diasassociated with smoking.

3. Immediately after you finish your meals or food, drink a glas of water, juice or milk. And go for a five minute walk or just get up out of your seat and sit somewhere else. You can also start off by sitting in a different place.

4. Find something to play with when you are on the phone - eithe a stresss ball or a coin or a pen. Also move the position of your phone and do not sit in the same place you used to when talking on the phone

5. Try some breathing techniques or find new methods to boost your confidence - think about how you have done it before and how you felt good and confident about yourself before you smoked.

6. Again try some breathing techniques. Also avoid thinking about how stressful the situation actually is. The majority of the time the stress is only so huge because you made it so huge - there is no point in worrying. Worrying is only having a fear or anxiety a bout a thing that could happen - if it does happen deal with it. But it is almost definitely not going to happen

7. Forget about cigarettes. The most common reason for relapse is because you constantly think about cigarettes! You think 'I haven't had a cigarette since...' or 'I've still got another .... hours till I can have a cigarette.'

This tye of thinking is the basis of why diets almost always fail - you are concentrating on the things you cannot have. if you are dieting you are thinking 'oh I wish I could have some of that chocolate but I just can't' - you are constantly thinking about the one thing you can't have!

And if you are constantly thinking about it - you are going to want it more. So forget about cigarettes and how you cannot deal with life without them and how long it has been since you had one.

Just move forwards, know that you have stopped and change your focus elsewhere.

I can't emphasize this enough - 99% of smoking and stopping smoking is in the mind! Not will power but knowing how to adjust your thinking.