Whether you’ve quit smoking before or you’re considering quitting smoking, knowing about what works in your life for you in terms of modifying your behavior is important in choosing your program for quitting smoking. Use the suggestions below to choose a program that will help you quit smoking.
Use incentives offered by your insurance plan if there are any but first check and see what type of program is available and whether more than one program will be reimbursed before participation. In the event the program you choose does not work there may be limitations on what’s available for you to try next.
Consider the types of support that work for you in terms of support groups, online support or merely being held accountable through an internet diary.
Consider whether a combination of approaches is right for you including behavioral support and medication to support you during the time of your withdrawal.
Use guidance from programs based on other programs that have worked for chemical addictions such as step programs. By participating in programs with established track records you gain the benefit of the approaches used for other sorts of chemical dependencies that might effectively work with nicotine addiction.
Before choosing a prescription medication from your physician for help in quitting smoking, make sure that your physician is well aware of all other medications and vitamin supplements you take in order to make sure that your health is not worsened with the use of an anti-smoking medication.
If you are nervous about the side effects of a well-known anti-smoking aid, don’t look for your healthcare provider to reassure you but instead choose a different anti-smoking aid. Your belief system is very important when overcoming addiction and in modifying your behavior so that starting a medication that you are worried about taking is likely not to produce the likeliest way for you to quit smoking.
Celebrate victories instead of focusing on failures in your efforts to quit smoking. If you go two or three days or two or three months smoke-free focus on the fact that you can do it and use that experience to support subsequent efforts to quit smoking.
Focus on other areas of your life where you successfully practice self-control and determine whether you can incorporate the motivational skill set from those areas to quitting smoking. If you exercise every day, consider why, if you diet well, similarly consider why.
Consider what types of habit substitution might work for you in quitting smoking including chewing gum or drinking water or merely talking on the phone instead of lighting up a cigarette. Frequently you’ll find a new habit accompanies a change in behavior.
If you’re sensitive to being shamed or made to feel guilty, don’t share your efforts with individuals who you believe will try embarrassing you if you are unsuccessful with your next effort to quit smoking.
Quitting smoking is frequently a combination of personal motivation and choosing the right support program to quit. Use the suggestions above to craft a program that you believe is likely to help you quit smoking.