Quitting smoking is easy. But staying a non-smoker for life is not. Addiction is a debilitating condition that strikes at the time you least expected it. Even if you have not smoked for months or years now, you are still vulnerable to lighting up again.
But just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean you couldn’t quit for life anymore. Of course you can. Other have done it, why can’t you? Although there are challenges to come your way, you will be able to take away cigarettes from your life. And all through your endeavor you will learn different lessons, and among the most important are:
Some people won’t understand what you are going through.
Unless they have been in the same situation such as yours, it can be difficult for some people to understand what you are going through. If after months or years of not smoking you slip and light up, a friend might be shocked and will ask you “What’s wrong?” Even you may not understand it. Even you don’t have the answer.
You don’t always get what you want, even after several times of trying.
Quitting smoking is a process of trial and error. Lucky you are if you are able to overcome it in your first try. But you don’t have to be discouraged if you slipped. It’s normal. 90 percent of smoker encounters a relapse within one year of quitting smoking. So don’t blame everything on yourself. Even the people with the highest level of willpower get slip at times. What matters most is that you try hard to achieve your goal of quitting smoking for life.
Remembering is important.
You need to be aware of what you feel every now and then. Is it anxiety? Is it gladness? Is it irritability? Is it distress? You need to be aware of the physical and emotional signals your body sends to your brain as they can increase the possibility of relapse. A major life issue, such as the death of a loved one, a breakup or divorce can all trigger you to smoke. You need to know whether your body is stressed or not so you can do something about it.
Taking control of your mood is your responsibility.
You can’t always hide from the people you don’t like or you don’t want to be with. You can’t always hide from your smoking buddies. You can’t always run away from your fears, worries and problems. Many times, you’ve got to face them. Taking control of what you feel is your responsibility. You can’t always blame your mood swings to cigarettes, to your family, to your friends, and to everyone else around you. You can’t blame it to the waiter who took a little while to serve your order, or the call center representative who’s handling your computer issues.
Sometimes, it’s going to be super tough.
Quitting smoking for life is an unending process. Once you’ve got hooked, you can still experience the urge to smoke even after a long period of not smoking. But even though it’s tough at times, you can definitely get through each day, each month, and each year without lighting up.
