Tobacco Helps you Relax?
In my job, I’ve helped a lot of people quit smoking. And I’ve heard a lot of reasons why smoking is a good thing.
Smoking helps you think, relaxes you, de-stresses you, keeps you from getting upset at your family, tastes good with coffee, tastes really good after a meal. Basically, makes things “better” and makes you feel “better”.
You don’t believe these reasons. Not really. If you did, you wouldn’t also want to quit smoking. Right? Actually you CAN have it both ways. You can believe your reasons to smoke at the same time you don’t believe them. It is the difference between ‘knowing’ something and ‘feeling’ something.
A part of you MUST believe your reasons or you would have quit smoking by now. Now may be a good time to know there are no laws that say your reason to keep smoking has to make sense. They rarely do.
In fact, 99% of the reasons you continue can easily be proven incorrect. Maybe smoking keeps you from blowing up and yelling at your spouse because you’re mouth is full of smoke, or even better, you have to go outside to smoke.
Most of the time you KNOW the reason doesn’t make sense. That doesn’t change the craving though, does it? Just one more one more reason in your list of reasons to quit. A list that doesn’t have much chance against the well-rooted cravings to smoke.
It all comes down to two things. The belief that smoking will make you feel better and what you’re trying to feel better than. That’s it.
If you’re thirsty you crave something to drink. If you’re hungry you crave food. If you feel bad (tired, stressed, overwhelmed, angry, lonely, whatever…) you want to feel good. And, whatever your mind has been taught feels good, you will crave.
This feeling to do something is what you probably call a craving. Many smokers have more than one type of craving going on. The ‘after you wake up’ craving might feel different than the ‘after a meal’ craving. The same principles apply.
So, what are you supposed to do? I can write several pages talking about this (and I have, look for them) But, it all comes down to modifying the feeling, motivation and belief involved.
First, the bad feeling needs to be helped. If it’s about stress, get it managed, if it’s a difficult situation, do what you can to take care of it or get some help. If it’s a bad feeling you get that is beyond what the situation deserves, behavior modification might be what you need.
Second, you belief that smoking helps you feel good (it’s probably the innocent mistake that smoking equals being an adult, in control, strong, capable, etc…) In truth, a cigarette is a plant leaf and chemicals wrapped in paper. The good feeling you’re anticipating from smoking is created by your mind. YOU make yourself feel better when you smoke. So it only makes sense that you can make yourself feel good by doing something that is healthy. If, your mind believes it makes you feel good.
And that’s the bottom line. The bulk of the quit smoking issue is about behavior modification - changing the way you feel. That’s why the success rate of most prescription medication and nicotine replacement (like the patch and nicotine gum) alone is so low. The only current exception is Chantix and even Pfizer, the makers of Chantix, recommend behavior modification go along with the medication.
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