Since childhood we have been told about the terrible dangers of smoking, which is confirmed by medical research and facts from the life of smokers. But why do people smoke and not pay attention to the harm it is doing to their own health?
Where does smoking addiction come from?
prolonged stress
A long chain of stressful situations can unsettle even the calmest and most balanced person. At this point, instead of looking at the situation from a different angle or distracting it with some activity, many start looking for a quick way to calm down and relax. And very often it is smoking.
Having found such a quick way to get moral satisfaction, a person lights another cigarette every time during the next quarrel with someone or just during a serious conversation, believing that this will calm his nerves and put the situation rightcan estimate. The most interesting thing is that it really helps him. But not because smoking supposedly "calms you down, " but because he's firmly ingrained in the idea.
fashion influence
As unfortunate as it sounds, fashion trends often lead people to make mistakes. So, for example, the publication of a photo shoot in the glossy magazine with the participation of a model smoking in the frame can become another trend in smoking fashion. In addition, such fashion trends spread very quickly. Literally the next day after the publication of the magazine, it will be possible to observe how many teenage girls and girls who have not previously used tobacco smoke imitate the famous model.
transition age
Replenishing the ranks of smokers at the expense of high school and college students cannot be done just because of a new fad. Among the most common reasons teenagers start smoking, the following are also popular:
- The need for approval from peers and the desire to be like everyone else. Adolescents' fear of becoming a black sheep is sometimes so great that they are capable of many stupid things, including smoking.
- On the contrary, the desire to stand out from the crowd.
- Protest. Sometimes young people start smoking in protest, going against society and trying to show everyone their independence and self-reliance. Think rockers from the 80s. They had a very distinctive pattern of behavior: they smoked cigarettes, poked fun at society's vices in their songs, drank heavily, and behaved defiantly, to say the least.
nicotine addiction
Cigarette smoker addiction can be of two types: physical and psychological. At the heart of physical addiction is the body's addiction to nicotine. Psychological dependence is based on a person's clear belief that smoking is relaxing, calming, helps to concentrate faster, etc. The difference between these types is that psychological dependence is often the reason why smokers start using tobacco, while thephysical dependence becomes the result - the main problem that people smoke and cannot quit this bad habit.
How to quit smoking?
Once you figure out why people smoke, it's much easier to start the smoking cessation process. However, you need to prepare for such a move from the moral side. It is necessary to at least briefly familiarize yourself with the medical literature and accurately understand the harm caused by smoking on health and calculate how much money is spent on buying cigarettes per year. After that, put all your will into a fist and quit smoking.
Quit once and for all
Most ex-smokers are advised not to "reinvent the wheel" but to quit abruptly and immediately - once and for all. Once you have chosen this path, you should not succumb to weakness and thinkthat one cigarette (or more) a day won't change anything (and justify that it's still less than it was) Once the decision is made, there's no turning back!
Gradually throw
A similar method is suitable for those who have a clear nicotine addiction. To quit smoking, they must gradually reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke per day. For example, if a person smokes one pack of cigarettes a day, you should try to reduce the number of cigarettes by at least one piece each day. When it comes to 2-3 cigarettes a day, you can abruptly quit smoking altogether.
live a healthy life
Psychologists have found that smokers who start eating right and exercising eventually break this negative habit on their own. How does this happen? The secret, again, lies in self-hypnosis. A person's psychology is such that when they start eating healthily and exercising, they involuntarily reject unhealthy foods and other obstacles that prevent them from leading a new, healthier lifestyle.
In addition, the smoker will experience shortness of breath during many recreational exercises. Swimming and running are particularly vivid examples in this regard. After unsuccessful attempts to combine smoking and exercise, a person will probably come to the decision to give up cigarettes.
The following recommendations can also be of great help in combating addiction:
- Listening to audio files and reading books about the dangers of smoking.
- Drink enough water.
- Replacing ordinary cigarettes with electronic ones, which later turns out to be much easier for some than regular ones.
- If you really want to smoke, you can also try replacing cigarettes with something sweet or seeds. Or take a cigarette and, without smoking it, mimic the act of smoking for 10-15 minutes.
- Refusal to visit places where smoking is allowed (smoking areas and halls in nightclubs, restaurants, etc. ).
- An agreement with acquaintances that they do not smoke during communication.
- Placing affirmations on the walls of the house (words and images that carry the meaning of what is desired) on the theme of a healthy lifestyle. For example, images of healthy, beautiful people and images of smokers that evoke disgust. This helps to fix in the subconscious the right behavior in the fight against smoking.