They are trying to defeat nicotine addiction today with the help of various tricks - electronic cigarettes, plasters, psychotherapeutic techniques. At the same time, many are thinking about how to quit smoking on their own at home, and whether this idea is feasible, because over the years, a real dependence on tobacco is formed not only on the physical, but also on the psychological level.
The suffering of the smoker
Today it is hard for amateurs to lift. The state, in caring for the health of citizens, has significantly limited the rights of smokers. And now, a large army of fellow citizens, addicted to tobacco, is forced to clump together in designated smoking areas, leave the usual "smoking rooms" in the entrances, suffer from nicotine "hunger" when visiting various institutions.
And then there's a new law on the way - it is proposed to ban smoking closer than 10 meters from the entrance, as the residents of the lower floors complain about the tobacco house penetrating from the street into the premises. Can you imagine the picture - a respectable father of the family leaves the house, runs 10 meters away from the entrance and hides in the bushes to smoke? Only one thing remains - to smoke at home, that is, to endanger the health of loved ones.
In this situation, even an experienced smoker thinks about how to break with a long-term habit. As he winds himself up, he remembers how much money literally dissolves in the air along with tobacco smoke. After all, a pack of cigarettes has risen in price several times over several years, and the quality of tobacco products has fallen in the same ratio and instead of the usual aroma of tobacco from a cigarette today it smells like manure. In addition, health fails - a dry cough in the morning tears at the lungs, pressure jumps, and the heart is playing pranks.
Sighing resignedly, the person decides to quit the bad habit. But how to quit smoking on your own if there is no willpower, and any stressful situation is unsettling? A real "withdrawal" begins, the hand itself reaches for a cigarette, and the body requires a "sedative" dose of nicotine, otherwise the surrounding people are forced to communicate with an inadequate person who reacts with irritation to any trifle. In response, the lucky ones who managed to quit smoking argue that the main thing is motivation.
Motivation to quit smoking
Many experienced smokers themselves understand that their addiction is not physical, but psychological. The cigarette gives confidence, helps to relax, calm down, think about your actions in stressful situations. Everyday ritual becomes a habit and now a morning cup of coffee is unthinkable without nicotine "recharge".
At the same time, a person understands that smoking causes a serious blow to his health, but he cannot give up a bad habit. Any confidential conversations on this topic, requests from loved ones, an example of friends who parted with cigarettes will not have the desired effect until the person realizes his problem.
Good to knowYou can quit smoking only when you want to! A person must independently motivate himself to fight smoking and come to an agreement with his subconscious, which plays a key role in attaching to an addiction. An example is the story of two men.
The first of them smoked for many years, automatically noting that after each smoked cigarette, a characteristic cough appears, in the morning the heart presses, and viscous phlegm leaves the lungs. Gradually, he began to realize that the smell of cigarettes and smoky clothes disgusted him. As a result, one day he simply realized that he did not need it and gave up tobacco forever, and without the accompanying "withdrawal" and breakdowns.
Another successful young man with 10 years of smoking experience succumbed to the persuasion of his wife and pressure from relatives and was determined to "quit". He could not take a cigarette in his hands for several weeks, but as soon as he got to an event with alcohol, his subconscious mind lifted the restriction, and he smoked again with rapture and returned to his old habit until the next attempt to cope with the tobacco monster.
How to motivate yourself to quit smoking, which method is considered the most effective and will help to cope with psychological addiction to smoking at home? Let's consider the most popular techniques.
How to quit smoking on your own without pills?
To begin with, you need an appropriate mental attitude. If you are determined to give up a bad habit, try following 5 basic guidelines:
- Don't listen to advice about quitting smoking gradually. Reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke will not solve the problem. You need to quit smoking immediately, at once, without stretching your decision indefinitely.
- Get rid of any items that remind you of an addiction - send the remaining cigarettes to the trash bin, remove the ashtray, lighter, matches. Send clothes that smell like tobacco smoke to the wash.
- Reconsider your habits and be aware of the action associated with psychological addiction. If your morning cigarette was associated with a cup of coffee, replace it with tea. If a party with alcohol or friendly gatherings is unthinkable without traditional smoke breaks, give them up for a while. Better yet, make a bet with your friends that you won't touch a cigarette for the next 10-15 years. Just put something really valuable for you on the line.
- Do not succumb to provocations and the opinion of "knowledgeable" people who claim that it is impossible to suddenly quit an experienced smoker, because latent diseases will immediately appear. On the contrary, every day the internal organs and lungs will gradually be cleansed of nicotine and tobacco toxins, as a result, the state of health will improve.
- Motivate yourself to fight smoking, realize all the "minuses" of a bad habit, make sure that tobacco rejection comes from the inside, this will help get rid of nicotine addiction at the subconscious level.
The main stages of motivation are awareness of the harm of smoking and the degree of threat to one's own health, which can be supported by undergoing a full medical examination and watching videos about the severe consequences of long-term tobacco use.
Popular smoking cessation methods
So you've decided to give up cigarettes and are looking at a variety of options to help you get through a tough period of relapse. In this case, simple tricks will help that do not require a visit to a doctor, purchase of medicines and special material costs.
How to quit on your own for a man at home?
There are several popular methods for developing aversion to smoking, one of them is called:
Four Smelly Breaths
- It is necessary to strengthen and fix the maximum sensations from inhaling tobacco smoke. To do this, you need to draw in the tobacco smoke and hold it in your mouth for at least 30 seconds, while making chewing movements with your mouth closed.
- After half a minute, you can let smoke into your lungs. In this case, there is a desire to cough. Do not resist him, cough.
- Using the same technique, take 2 more puffs while chewing the smoke and holding it in your mouth.
- For the 4th time, simply draw on lungs full of smoke and then slowly cough it out, contracting your abdominal muscles. Then, on the packet, write the time when you took "smelly breaths" and no longer smoke.
If an unbearable urge to smoke arises, repeat the procedure with chewing smoke and try to increase the intervals between such sessions. Soon the body will react to the cigarette with disgust, and the desire to smoke will evaporate.
Milk cigarettes
This technique builds a strong aversion to tobacco. It is enough to soak the cigarettes with milk or fermented milk drinks and dry thoroughly. They taste disgusting, so smoking them longer than 5-7 days is impossible. During this time, a special reflex is developed, which causes rejection of any tobacco products.
Substitution Method
This is a much nicer way of replacing cigarettes with different tasty substitutes. As soon as you feel the urge to smoke, immediately put candy, chewing gum, chocolate bar in your mouth, or nibble on seeds and nuts. This method is more suitable for men, as it has a side effect that is unacceptable for women - weight gain. But in this case, you can avoid the appearance of extra pounds if you replace sweets with natural candied fruits (for example, from pineapple) or dried fruits.
Pain stimulus
A regular wrist band can instantly bring a former smoker to his senses at the moment when there is an uncontrollable desire to smoke a cigarette. It is enough to click the rubber band on your hand, and thoughts about smoking switch to painful sensations. With strong motivation, this is a pretty effective way to prevent relaxation.
How can a girl quit smoking on her own?
Many psychologists note that the fairer sex is much more motivated to quit cigarettes than men. And this is not surprising, because smoking affects the appearance in the most unfavorable way.
Teeth yellow from plaque, bad complexion, hoarse, smoky voice, smell of tobacco from clothes and hair do not add charm to a woman. Such a lady would rather alienate a man than attract his attention. In addition, nicotine has a very negative effect on reproductive function and can cause fetal defects if a pregnant woman smokes. Therefore, ladies are much more successful in overcoming the craving for a bad habit and return to a healthy lifestyle. What methods help them in this?
Nicotine patch
You can buy such a patch at any pharmacy. It is glued to the forearm or the outside of the thigh. They change records every day. Nicotine from the patch penetrates the skin and deceives the body, drowning out the desire to smoke. 
On average, the course of treatment takes about a month; every week the nicotine concentration must be reduced. For the same purpose, you can switch to nicotine chewing gum, herbal cigars, and similar substitutes.
Electronic Cigarettes
For many, it is vaporizers (electronic cigarettes) that have become a real salvation from nicotine addiction. It's even fashionable to be a vaper now. Instead of tobacco, such devices contain a special liquid, which evaporates from the surface of the heating element and transforms into a cloud of aromatic vapor that looks like tobacco smoke. This is a real find for a smoker with a strong psychological dependence, since all the signs of smoking remain, but without the harmful nicotine component.
Tablets and drops
Nicotine cravings can be relieved with medication. For this purpose, take Tabex or Nicorette tablets. The dosage of medicines and the duration of the course of administration should be determined by the doctor. These drugs gradually reduce the urge to smoke and form an aversion to nicotine.
Another drug, Tabamex, has recently appeared on the pharmaceutical market. This innovative drug against nicotine addiction is available in the form of drops and gel. For many smokers, the drug has become a real lifesaver, which discourages the desire to smoke without the accompanying side effects - gaining excess weight or mental instability.
The preparation contains a complex of vitamins and extracts from medicinal plants, the action of which is aimed at reducing the need for nicotine. Users note that taking drops almost immediately discourages the urge to smoke, and the gel removes yellow plaque on the teeth and eliminates tobacco odor. One course of therapy is enough to obtain the desired effect. So far, you can order the drug only on the manufacturer's website, it is not sold in pharmacies.
Acupuncture
Psychological addiction to nicotine is formed at the level of the reflex, which is fixed in the cerebral cortex. During the acupuncture procedure, the reflexologist acts on certain points that interrupt the chain of impulses going to the brain and thereby suppress the desire to smoke. After just a few sessions, a person ceases to feel nicotine hunger and soon can easily do without the addiction.
Neurolinguistic programming method
Judging by the reviews, this is one of the most effective methods, but only if the person himself decided to quit smoking, and the procedure is performed by a professional practicing this method. In fact, this is ordinary hypnosis that reprograms consciousness. As a result, negative attitudes change to positive ones, and a person abandons a habit that is harmful to health.
Of course, all of the above techniques are suitable not only for women, but also for men. In addition to these options, a variety of folk remedies can be used to help relieve nicotine cravings.
Folk recipes
To reduce dependence on tobacco, herbalists suggest using the following recipes:
Oats
The old old-fashioned way of combining tobacco with dried oats, ground into powder, helps well from tobacco addiction.
But today no one smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, and pouring tobacco out of a cigarette, mixing it with the desired ingredient, and then refilling the shells is a long and dreary process. Therefore, it is better to use a decoction of oats. To prepare it, grind oat grains and add 1 tbsp. l. powder in a glass with cool boiled water. Leave the composition overnight to infuse, boil in the morning, strain and drink instead of tea.
Anti-tobacco gum
Peel, chop, and mix fresh horseradish root with an equal amount of chopped plantain leaves. Then spoon this mixture into your mouth and chew. The released juice should be swallowed, and the dry residue should be spit out. In this way, you can drown the urge to smoke and avoid relapse. For the same purpose, you can use branches of bird cherry, currant, ginger root or calamus.
Rinses
Mouthwash with soda or saline solution is recommended to fight nicotine cravings in the early days of quitting. As soon as there is an irresistible desire to smoke, you should rinse your mouth with a solution that is prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. soda or salt in 200 ml of warm boiled water.
The Pros of Life Without Cigarettes
When quitting smoking, the first week is the hardest thing to do, and then it will be much easier. Along with cigarette smoke, ailments will go away, health, mood will improve, and soon you yourself will notice the following positive results:
- shortness of breath and dry cough of a smoker will disappear;
- free breathing will return, the lungs will be cleansed of toxic substances;
- the risk of cardiovascular and oncological diseases will be significantly reduced;
- chronic pathologies of the upper respiratory tract will disappear;
- functions of the immune system are normalized, the body's defenses are restored;
- mood will rise, the nervous system will be strengthened;
- the complexion, skin and hair condition will improve;
- yellow tobacco plaque will clear your teeth;
- efficiency and mental activity will increase, since the brain will not suffer from hypoxia;
- the unpleasant tobacco smell from clothes will disappear;
- and finally, a significant saving of the family budget will be a pleasant bonus.
For the sake of this list of benefits, it is worth considering quitting smoking. Moreover, a healthy lifestyle, snow-white smiles, a fresh complexion and other evidence of excellent health are in fashion now, which is absolutely incompatible with smoking.
Reviews of smoking cessation methods
Review # 1
Smoked for over 20 years, smoked his first cigarette as a teenager. At that time, the cigarette was a symbol of independence for me, it gave me authority in the eyes of others. Over the years, health problems began, youth left, but the habit remained. When doctors warned that there were problems with blood vessels and everything could end with a stroke, I seriously thought about quitting smoking.
I have tried many remedies - from nicotine patches and pills to electronic cigarettes, but I constantly failed. In the end, the remedy for smoking Cytisine helped me. Since it cut off. Now even the smell of cigarettes is disgusting.
Review # 2
Quit smoking two years ago. At that time, my wife and I were waiting for our first child and she simply could not stand the smell of tobacco. Even if I immediately used toothpaste, clothes and hair were still soaked in smoke. I myself have long thought about how to say goodbye to a bad habit.
In the end, I just gave myself a set of instructions, but did not quit abruptly, but gradually reduced the number of cigarettes smoked. When I got to 2 a day, I noticed that I almost didn't feel like smoking. And there was no time for smoke breaks - work, part-time jobs, family, a small child. As a result, I just forgot about cigarettes and now I am absolutely indifferent to smoking.