It is a top priority for smokers to quit smoking today, but if you’re someone suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, chances are, you have felt the urgency to quit soon. Think about this, if you quit smoking now, there is a greater chance to slow down the development of the disease and lessen its effect on your breathing. But definitely it’s not as easy as lighting up. Putting-off the habit takes more than a simple courage. You need to stay focus on your goal and fight the urge to smoke the soonest possible time, but how do you do this with the urgency brought by COPD. Below are 5 tips to quit smoking today if you have COPD.
Find the Right Motivation and Stay Motivated
Getting to know that you’re suffering from a chronic disease is extremely exhausting. No doubt about it. But you can also use it as a motivation to take the necessary steps to make changes in your life. You may want to take advantage of what you’re feeling.
Smoking only adds to your burden, especially in the case of COPD. Do not let it takeover your life. Quitting smoking do more than just controlling the progress of the disease, not only does it help in your COPD medication, but it as well gives back the life you lost because of smoking. It helps you feel better about yourself.
With COPD, you may feel defeated. But if you quit smoking now, you’ll feel the immediate benefits. Stay motivated by these benefits in your life.
Relapse Doesn’t Mean You’re A Smoker Again
Your persistence to quit is very important if you want to win the battle against smoking. Lighting up again doesn’t mean you failed in your efforts to quit smoking. It only means you need try even harder to stay in your track and to focus more on the goal.
Smoking is a habit you built over the years and you cannot overcome it overnight. But this doesn’t mean however that you can use this every time you feel like lighting up again. You need to have the will power to say no and throw the cigarette in the bin.
You Need to Be Prepared
Make a plan before you quit. Seldom smokers become successful when they quit in a whim. Build a plan. Write down your reasons for quitting, COPD is more likely to top your list. You may also want to pick the weeks or months that are less likely to encourage smoking. These weeks or months should also be less stressful dates.
You also need to prepare yourself by knowing the common withdrawal symptoms so you’ll have a better perception on what to do to manage them. You can set a reward system for yourself. You can treat yourself with a vacation if you manage not to light up in a month. This will all better prepare you.
Find Your Support Group
You can find several resources to help you quit smoking. You can find free quit-smoking hotlines that can actually help you quit for good. It is also advisable to combine your quit smoking medication with therapies, counseling or education. And most importantly, your family and friends play important roles in your efforts to quit smoking for good.
Keeping a Positive View is A Key
Being diagnosed with COPD is sometimes enough to send you down in the dungeons of despair, but by keeping a positive perspective on things you can see through the darkness and find the light. By keeping a positive attitude you’ll be able to accept the things as they happen in your life and find the best solution.
