Tips for quitting smoking

We all know that smoking isn’t good for us, yet it isn’t always so easy to stop, even when we want to. I’ve smoked on and off since I was 13 years old. I never had a problem stopping in the past, in fact, I stopped for seven years until eighteen months ago. With the breakdown of my marriage, I found myself smoking again and I have really struggled this time around to quit.

Part of the problem was that I didn’t really want to quit, as much as I hate smoking – I also kind of enjoyed it too. It was the way I handled stress and I had a lot of it in my life! Over the last year, I’ve stopped and started so many times, trying different ways to help me quit. I’m currently a week into another attempt, but this time feels different – so much of quitting is in your mindset.

If you are trying to quit here are a few tips that might help you:

* MAKE A DECISION ~ It might sound obvious, but the biggest barrier is your mind. If you don’t really want to quit, noting that you do to quit will work. Think of all the reasons to quit, and make a firm decision with yourself.

* START NOW ~ there is no time like the present – once you have made your decision to quit, then stop right now. I used to tell myself I’d stop after x, y or z – or after I’d finished the pouch of tobacco – there was always an excuse to why I wasn’t just stopping.

* THINK ABOUT AN E-CIG ~ If you have struggled in the past to quit, then consider switching to an e-cig to make it easier. Do a little research, and make sure you choose the best mod you can afford

* THROW AWAY YOUR SMOKING GEAR ~ Keeping tobacco, papers, filters etc just in case is only setting you up for failure. Once you quit – throw it all away

* REPROGRAMME YOUR MIND ~ reprogramming your subconscious mind is one of the best ways to quit and make sure you quit for good. Subliminal messaging and binaural beats are a fantastic way to help you quit. I used a video that you left playing whilst you slept, I quit cold turkey and it made it so much easier to beat the cravings.

What have you found that helped you quit smoking?