Help Your Loved One Stay Drug Free

By Michael Russell

Drug or alcohol addiction is a sneaky disease. It keeps you believing that everything is under control and it all depends on your will whether you want to quit or not, but in reality it doesn’t work that way. An abuser who keeps thinking that “its no big deal” and “everything is under control” is in a state of denial. This can keep a person in the cycle of addiction for years.

Once the addict comes to term with his addiction and recognizes that a problem does exist, you can help the person stay on the road to recovery.

It is likely that most of the abuser’s friends and acquaintances also drink or do drugs. When already recovering from addiction, the person may face the biggest problem of sobriety, the loneliness of not having friends to talk to and deal with. To avoid this, be available to your loved one who is becoming clean and sober. Let the person feel that you are available to talk with and are interested to listen to his stories, so that he may not feel alone and without friends.

Many drug addicts and alcoholics become sedentary as a consequence of their addiction. You can encourage your loved one to stay physically healthy by engaging in a worthwhile exercise routine. He can take a walk, jog, ride a bike and play tennis or badminton. You can be his exercise buddy so that he will be encouraged to continue the healthy habit. Exercise will make him clear his mind of drugs and at the same time it releases endorphins that make a person feel good. This are the body’s own “feel good” chemicals.

If your loved one needs to attend support groups, offer to go with him. The first few meetings of these support groups can sometimes be too intimidating for a recovering substance dependent. Be there to support him and show him that you care and all you yearn for is his full recovery. This will enable him to gather enough courage to continue attending these support groups for his own betterment.

Help your loved one tackle difficult situations without resorting to the familiar drug or alcohol support. You may start off with facing easier situations like going to the bar with him without drinking alcohol and only taking soda or any non-alcoholic beverages. A wide range of emotions are usually expected from somebody who has been addicted to drugs or alcohol for many years. Often, the reason for taking drugs or alcohol is the person’s inability to face painful feelings like sadness and anger. Once an addict is back to sobriety, he may feel these old feelings coming back and may find it difficult to face these old enemies without drugs. Be a good listener. He may also be remorseful of his actions in the past as a consequence of his addiction. Allow him to talk to you and let him feel comfortable doing it. Do not argue with him. Let his words and sentiments flow. Never judge him or his actions. Show your concern and let him know that you will always be there to listen to him and you can be a shoulder he can cry on.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Addictions

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Quitting Smoking: How Long Do The Cravings Last

By Lloyd Morgan

Statistics say that over 70 per cent of smokers want to quit. So what’s stopping them? For many, the thought of going through lengthy withdrawal symptoms is enough to send the hand snaking towards the Camel pack. In reality, the pangs are far less than people fear. But how long do they last?

Giving up smoking is like getting addicted in reverse so it’s important to understand the nicotine addiction process. Scientists used to think addiction was a long drawn out process taking up to a year. Now they’ve come to recognize it begins with the first puff when nicotine enters the brain.

Nicotine is a psychoactive drug causing changes in brain chemistry. Researchers have found that nicotine takes over the reward pathways. These are an part of an area of the brain that rewards good and useful behavior with a feeling of pleasure. It does this by stimulating the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

The brain learns the intake of nicotine is good and remembers the sensation of smoking as pleasant. Nicotine actually causes changes to brain chemistry. So when the smoker quits and nicotine intake is stopped, the brain needs a period of adjustment to get back to normal. During this period, the ex-smoker feels the pangs of need for tobacco.

Though the blood is free of nicotine within less than 100 hours of the last cigarette, only when those brain changes are undone is the ex-smoker truly free from the physical addiction to nicotine. This is a gradual process and much is done in two to three weeks or so. But the physical component is not the only danger.

Mental addiction is another facet of smoking that makes quitting so difficult. This means associating smoking with regular activities, places and situations. It makes up the ‘habit’ aspect of smoking. Examples are morning coffee, after lunch, with a beer in the pub. All pleasurable daily routines associated with lighting up a cigarette.

During this crucial period vigilance is required as the craving to smoke can flare up out of the blue. So what to do when this happens? The pangs of nicotine withdrawal can be likened to an itch waiting to be scratched. So the thing to do is to scratch without using cigarettes. Green tea and herbal teas such as valerian are useful when the pangs come. Another option is the draw on a menthol inhaler. And any form of activity especially exercise is good. Ideally the ex-smoker to be would prepare a grab bag of techniques in readiness. And hypnotherapy can be effective in the treatment of mental addiction

The magic day arrives when you go to bed and realize the thought of a cigarette hasn’t entered your mind all day. This should happen by day 90 at the latest and is a wonderful feeling. Six months after taking the last puff, you’ll be free.

Understanding the addiction process is a key factor in quitting successfully. Make the decision to quit now and find a method that suits you.

Lloyd Morgan is a writer on health matters and reformed smoker. For more resources to help you quit smoking, please visit: smokefree.ampawan.com

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How To Quit Smoking In Ten Steps

By Daniel Fargher

Quitting Smoking doesn’t have to be a struggle with your will power, or an endless battle with withdrawal symptoms. To quit smoking successfully there are several key steps you need to take and several things you need to look at. Contrary to what most people and ‘experts’ think and say, using patches, gums will power and eating celery sticks will get you nowhere.

Before we look at the ten steps you need to go through to quit smoking we should briefly look at a few statistics.

Studies have shown that only 16% of smokers who use nicotine replacement therapy (patches and gums etc.) succeed at quitting, and only 10% of smokers who use will power succeed. Furthermore the people that use these methods still have to deal with cravings, pangs, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, weight gain and stress.

Not only that but the will power method usually takes seven attempts before a successful quit and after six months most of smokers using either method end up smoking again.

But 84% of people who use nicotine replacement therapy like gum or patches — or try to rely on will power — ultimately FAIL!

If you want to quit smoking in the least amount of time with the least amount of hassle and the least amount of stress, follow these ten simple but very effective steps.

1. Honestly want to quit - many smokers are being forced to quit by their families and children, doctors, employers and now the government with many countries around the world now enforcing a public smoking ban. As you probably know, these different sources of pressure only make it harder for you.

It’s the same reason that you probably want to strangle them when they say ‘smoking will kill you’ or ‘you’re going to get cancer or ….’ etc. These things have the opposite effect – they combine to make you want to continue smoking.

So it is important that you want to quit for yourself, yes bear your children / family in mind but ultimately you should quit for yourself and the things that YOU will get when you quit.

2. Avoid thinking that you are ‘Quitting’ or ‘Giving Up’ smoking – unfortunately adopting this attitude is as effective as taking one step forward and two steps back. Think of the words ‘quit’ and ‘give up’ – what do they imply and suggest?

Essentially they both have a negative underlying theme – you are losing out on, quitting, having to do without, giving up on and denying yourself something. This ‘something’ being the things you get from smoking.

So by saying and thinking that you are ‘quitting’ or ‘giving up’ you are subtly telling yourself and focusing on the things that you are going to be denying yourself when you stop smoking. It’s the same principle behind the reason that dieting doesn’t work – you are denying yourself the very things that you want, and not only that but you are constantly focusing on them and longing for them.

The result is that no matter how hard you are trying, you are still remembering the ‘good’ things that you are having to do without, basically you will feel as if you are depriving yourself of pleasure / relaxation etc.

Instead look forward to the very things that you will get when you stop smoking, and fully focus yourself and your mind on them. Think ‘I’m stopping smoking and I’m saving an extra $2,000 a year, I smell ten times better, I can taste my food more fully, I can spend more time on my hobbies / with my children, I don’t have to hide my cigarette breath from my partner / children / customers and I don’t have stand out in the wind and rain to have a cigarette.

3. Set a Stop Smoking Date - and look forward to a new lifestyle after that. A problem many smokers have when they set a date is they don’t do anything else other than set a date. Then the date arrives and they get onto a panic because ‘this is it’ and they are now under pressure to stick with it, this panic results in stress – and what do smokers do when they are stressed? They smoke!

Set your date and smoke without guilt until that date and follow the steps below to ensure that you avoid the common smoking pitfalls in the days and weeks before and after you stop smoking.

4. Find the things that make you smoke - your Smoking Links. In addition to nicotine addiction, there are several other things that make you smoke. Most of these other things are people, events, situations, people and emotions.

For example, you smoke when you wake up, on your way to work, after sex, when you pick up the phone, with your tea or coffee, when you finish your meal, when you argue with your partner, when you are stressed, to relax, before you go on a long haul flight, when you meet your partner’s parents for the first time etc. All of these situations and many, many more, either start with revolve around or end with a cigarette.

Once you’ve stopped smoking, these situations and events will occur again. So you have to remove these things, by breaking the associations, re-establishing new routines and by finding new ways to achieve the feelings / satisfaction / result that you used to get from smoking. If you haven’t got a reason to smoke, why smoke?!!

5. Accept that there will be problems – everyday is full of ups and downs, it’s a fact of life. So you should plan on how you are going to deal with stress and your smoking links. First remember that smoking will not put out your kitchen fire, fix your flat tire, get you your job back, fix your argument with your partner, solve your financial problems, calm your nerves after a car accident or satisfy your over zealous boss.

You should do two things, firstly find simple yet effective ways to calm your nerves and reduce stress in a matter of seconds or minutes. Breathing techniques are a good way but not necessarily everybody’s favourite choice. So take a five minute break, play with a stress ball, channel your aggression and stress and let it all out in a controlled manner – e.g. sports, call a friend or close your eyes and forget about the problem for a minute.

Secondly, make and set aside special time for relaxation and de-stressing. For example, plan a weekend retreat, set aside half an hour at the end of every day to go for a run, go to work on a boxing bag, read a book, take a bath, spend time with your partner / children with no TV or other distractions.

Know that there will be problems and accept that smoking is no longer an appropriate way to deal with them, and then find something else to help you.

6. Find a new hobby / source of pleasure to take your mind off smoking – this is crucial. Remember the above point about focus and ‘quitting’ and ‘giving up smoking’? Well they don’t work because you are still focusing on cigarettes. So you need to find one or two new things to focus on.

You need to find something that will:

a). take your mind off smoking

b). replace the pleasure you got from smoking

c). give you something to look forward to

A new hobby or two will do all three of these three things perfectly. It is very important that you find something or several things that fulfil all three of these needs. If you don’t, you will find yourself longing for cigarettes and constantly thinking about them.

It’s best to have two hobbies, one you can spend half an hour or so on a day (if you look at how much time you spend smoking it’s probably about an hour a day) and one you can spend a whole weekend on or several hours at a weekend on. Try to make these hobbies ones you can really get your teeth into and involved in, also don’t forget with the money you’ve saved on smoking you can now afford to spend a little extra cash.

If you really get involved in your new or forgotten hobby you will show and prove to yourself that you can enjoy life free from cigarettes.

7. Prepare and plan on how to PREVENT withdrawal symptoms and weight gain – these are the two most common reasons for relapse. Weight gain and withdrawal symptoms do not have to be a part of quitting smoking. The easies ways to prevent both of these are to eat!! But eat the right kinds of foods.

Withdrawal symptoms are partly due to your body realising that it’s blood sugar level is extremely low. Nicotine blocks the release of insulin which controls blood sugar levels. With nicotine in your system – your stores of sugar and body fats are released into your blood – tricking your body into thinking that you have eaten.

When you stop smoking, insulin is re-released which stops the release of your stores of sugars and fats (normally only released when you starve) and your body realises that it hasn’t eaten enough food. So you feel irritable and cranky – withdrawal symptoms.

This is why you eat a lot when you quit smoking – because eating naturally feels good – it’s comforting and also because it eases withdrawal symptoms. But the problem is you eat too much and gain weight. Why? Because today’s foods do not have the vitamins and minerals that our body needs, so you eat in excess to get the ‘vital’ foods that your body needs.

To solve the problem you should drink plenty of fresh juice (which contains the vitamins and minerals your body needs) and take vitamin and mineral supplements and eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and minimize the amount of junk food, frozen food and prepared food you eat.

8. When your Stop Smoking Date arrives - take it one hour at a time and focus on the things you are going to get from quitting smoking.

If you think ‘I haven’t had a cig since ….’ or ‘I can’t believe I can never have a cig again’ you are only punishing yourself. Accept that this is a positive step and change your focus away from cigarettes.

9. Establish new routines - what are you going to do instead of smoking during the 20 or times a day when you normally have a cigarette? e.g. after coffee, in the pub / bar, when waiting for a friend, when nervous or lacking confidence, when bored, as soon as you wake up etc. Break your old patterns of behaviour and stick to your new ones until old situations are re-written without cigarettes.

10. PREVENT relapse - No. 1 in this step is to STOP THINKING ABOUT CIGARETTES. Don’t put your headaches, stress, sore arm or stress down to lack of cigarettes.

And don’t lust after cigarettes by thinking things like - ‘Ohhh that cigarette looks soooooo good, she looks like she’s really enjoying that, I wish I could have one’ or ‘What am I going to do if my car gets broken into or, I split up with my partner etc.’

The other two things you can do to prevent relapse are to prevent weight gain and also prevent withdrawal symptoms - these two are easily prevented and do NOT have to be a part of quitting smoking.

Daniel Fargher
Quit Smoking Specialist
Stop Smoking For Good

For more free additional information visit www.thecompletestepbystepguidetoquittingsmoking.com

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The Side Effects Of Stop Smoking What To Expect!

By Chris Woodall

Maybe your family has been urging you to do it for a while, or you have been meaning to, but it is now finally the right time: you are ready to quit your cigarette habit. If you have quit caffeine in the past, you know that withdraw symptoms from any sort of drug are not very pleasant. Remember, though, that the temporary discomfort of withdraw is just one of the side effects when you stop smoking, and that there will be good benefits down the road as well. Be prepared for the side effects when you stop smoking, both bad and good, and remember that the ultimate goal is great health.

Here is a discussion of what to prepare to experience:

Changes In The Body

When you stop smoking, side effects will include a lot of physical sensations that are not very comfortable. In particular, keep the aspirin nearby, as you will be suffering from headaches during the first few days. If you have ever experienced withdrawal from caffeine, you know that those headaches can sometimes feel pretty severe, so your best preparation is with headache medicine, taken sparingly or at the start of your day for the first few days to lessen symptoms.

Other side effects when you stop smoking include a sense of tiredness, which is to be expected when you stop the use of a stimulant of a drug like nicotine. Ironically, having trouble sleeping is yet another side effect if you stop smoking, and can be a result of the other withdrawal symptoms you will have when you quit.

Changes in Behavior

Those who stop smoking report side effects in the way they act during the withdrawal period as well. In particular, those who have recently quit report irritability, depression, or feelings of anger during the withdrawal period. While those sorts of feelings are certainly not desirable, keep in mind that this is a temporary problem! If you are worried about the effect this will have on your friends and family, please let them know before you stop smoking about these side effects so they can prepare and help you through the worst of it.

Keep in mind that these sorts of effects should be expected when you quit a stimulant such as nicotine. The biggest trap with the mental as well as the physical side effects is that you will feel the urge to go back to smoking just to stop those feelings, but do not fall into this trap. If you stick with it, you will soon pass through the withdrawal phase and be experiencing health benefits that will far surpass any temporary discomfort. With that in mind, throw out your pack of cigarettes and be ready to get yourself through the hard part! You will realize that it is worth it.

If you are trying to stop smoking this can be one of the hardest things you will ever do. If you need stop smoking help go to nicocure.good-reads.com/ to get a review of Nicocure the all natural patch.

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Reasons To Quit Smoking: The Top Five Tobacco Killers

By Lloyd Morgan

Arsenic, cyanide, ammonia, cadmium…They sound like part of the arsenal of some resourceful poisoner. But some people are voluntarily sucking these toxic substances into their bodies 20 times and more every day. Yes, these scary-sounding chemicals are just a few of the 4700 or so noxious components of tobacco smoke. Here’s a roundup of five of the most famous.

Arsenic is notorious as the poison of choice for aristocratic murderers in old movies. In real life too, it earned itself the sobriquet “poison of kings, and king of poisons” as a result of popularity among high society wanting to quickly and undetectably remove someone. It lost popularity when a method was found for detecting it in the body. Now it’s used as an insecticide. Around five micro grams of arsenic trioxide is inhaled with every cigarette. It takes a lot more to kill you right off but arsenic is carcinogenic at much lower levels.

A close second to arsenic in the famous poison charts is hydrogen cyanide, also known as prussic acid. It’s the chemical of choice for use in gas chambers and is used in chemical warfare. It’s found in tobacco smoke in concentration of 30-150 nanograms. Exposure to cyanide for even a short time can damage the brain and heart and lead to coma and death. Inhalation of low levels of hydrogen cyanide in the long term causes breathing difficulties, chest pain, vomiting, blood changes, headaches, and thyroid enlargement.

Now for a toxin closer to home. After cleaning your bathroom you’ve perhaps noticed the pungent acrid smell of ammonia, a prime ingredient of bathroom cleaning agents. Philip Morris began to add ammonia to tobacco in the 1960s to convert nicotine from the bound to free state. This meant that smokers absorbed this ‘free base’ nicotine more rapidly. A 1997 study revealed that Marlboro contained up to 9.6 per cent free base nicotine.

Another killer you’ll probably find in your home is cadmium. It is an ingredient of batteries, paints and pigments. It has been described as a substance having no constructive purpose in the human body. It is however a carcinogen. In addition, it can cause kidney problems. Cadmium is also an agent in respiratory tract infections and the human lung can absorb it efficiently.

The fifth of the deadly poisons we’ll discuss here is probably the worst - nicotine itself. Not only is it the prime addictive agent of tobacco but it’s one of the most virulent and quick-acting poisons known. Gram for gram it’s more deadly than strychnine. The dose absorbed through normal smoking is too low to kill outright. But the volume of nicotine in two cigarettes taken at once would result in death.

These are just a few of the insidious components of tobacco smoke. The full list seems endless - butane, nicotine, carbolic acid, collidine, formic aldehyde, lutidine, parvoline, pyridine, nickel, and lead. And the list is by no means complete.

If you want to stop poisoning your body, there is a way out. Find a way to quit that works for you. It will be the best thing you ever did.

Lloyd Morgan is a writer on health matters and a reformed smoker. For more tips to quit smoking please visit: smokefree.ampawan.com

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End Your Nicotine Addiction Today

By Dan Gluckman

Overcoming Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine addiction is extremely powerful – ranking up there with heroin in terms of its strength. However, your physical addiction only represents only about 20-40% of your dependency — the bulk of the addiction is purely psychological. That’s good news! As humans, each of us can obviously influence the behavior or our own mind.

How do cigarettes actually affect you?
After years of smoking cigarettes, your thought processes and behaviors gradually begin to revolve around smoking. In other words, you develop the thought processes and behaviors of a smoker. I am no stranger to this. When I smoked, each cigarette gave me satisfaction and shaped my words and thoughts, getting me hooked on smoking.

Non-Smokers Think Differently
If you want to become a non-smoker, there is a simple way to quit smoking forever. Learn to think like a non-smoker. Embrace the lifestyle change. Successfully quitting smoking starts in the mind. Even highly-effective Pills and Non-Smoking programs will make no difference in your habits until you finally realize that your decision to be a non-smoker must last.

So how do you permanently quit smoking for life?
You must first understand that nicotine addiction is slowly & definitely ending your life. It eats away at your mind and body and begins to take power over many of your daily decisions. There are so many little ways that us smokers have altered our daily routine to accommodate our smoking habits. For a moment now, imagine how free you will feel, getting up every morning and knowing that your day does not have to start with a cigarette because you have finally become a non-smoker. Do you think being a non-smoker will affect the flow of activities throughout your day? Think about it!

Your Health is Your Responsibility… Nobody Elses
The bottom line is that each of us controls our own mind. Ultimately, you are the only person who can decide to stop smoking cigarettes forever. You hold that power in your own mind.

However, nobody should ever have to quit smoking cigarettes without help. Support groups are available to increase your chances of success. Plus, stop-smoking treatments are available to help break your addiction. If you have been smoking cigarettes for a number of years and think that your psychological addiction is strong, you may want to consider hypnosis. Though some remain fairly skeptical of this technique, I have used it with success and I know it has helped many others as well.

Good Luck & Best Health to You!

Dan has successfully remained a non-smoker for the past 6 years and is committed to helping other smokers break their nicotine habit. He runs the stop-smoking resource site Giving Up Smoking Cigarettes (givingupsmoking.net).

Want more info on hypnosis? Here are Stop-smoking hypnosis resources. (givingupsmoking.net/stop-smoking-hypnosis)

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Why Smoking Leads to Drugs and Addiction

By Christopher Ruane

Well its no surprise that many people know about the harmful effects of smoking even if some of them refuse to quit because of self denial. However, what is less commonly known is the fact that if you are not quitting smoking, there is a risk of other forms of addictive behavior occuring, including use of illicit drugs and addiction to these substances also.

So how do you get addicted to anything in the first place ?

Ok, let us state just exactly what is meant by addiction.

Psychologists define addiction as something that refers to the state of being dependent on something. It could either be psychological or physical, but whatever it is, addiction is a persistent urge to repeat everything that caused the person’s craving of euphoria or high.

Addictive behavior is triggered by the formation of cravings or desire. When these cravings are satisfied and met, another craving will soon start again with the same or greater intensity.Once this has happened, an addiction pattern is starting up.

Addiction with nicotine

Where cigarette smoking is concerned, the craving is for nicotine. In fact, nicotine is now recognized as one of the most addictive substances around and quitting smoking becomes so very hard. So, when a person smokes, the nicotine goes very quickly into the brain, rather like a direct injection. it is often done to ease stress and anxiety at work and home.

However, after a few stress free minutes, the anxiety feeling sets back in with the same or greater intensity and you start again. People who use smoking as an outlet to release tension and stress are already addicted. Period.

Smoking and its effects on your brain

This is where the brain chemicals (or hormonal transmitters) are directly affected by the substances in cigarettes smoking. Once smoking provides a calming effect upon a person, it gives a kind of incentive to repeat the process, and the new habit leads to addiction. Can I also point out that you are five times more likely to get alzheimers disease if you are a smoker . With medical care, our lives are getting longer and this illness will affect people in their eighties and beyond. Do not let it start sooner because of smoking.

Moreover, some experts contend that a person who lights up a cigarette from the end of his or her previous one is already an addict. They have this intense feeling to continue lighting one cigarette after another. What’s even more alarming with the situation is that there had been some reports that experts insist that nicotine, along side with marijuana, are some of the hardest type of drugs to treat and eliminate out of the body.

The dopamine pleasure factor

The satisfaction a person gets whenever they inhale nicotine is totally rewarding for them. This is because the discharge of the “pleasure hormone” known as dopamine.That’s why people who are tensed get immediate relief whenever they inhale smoke.

Of course the body has anti stress hormones which it can release throughout the day. If fact if this did not occur, some people could almost suffer a heart attack through shock to the system ! So any substance that triggers this dopamine release and high will cause addictive behavior.

Smoking and the liver

Almost every organ can be affected by the inhalation of cigarette smoke. No one part of you escapes unscathed. The stomach gets irritated and you can get an ulcer. Even the liver can be affected when it is processing prescription drugs out of your body with certain drugs.It is alright if you dont stop quitting nicotine first time around. Keep trying.

Smoking can affects mens’ health leading to coronary problems such as high blood pressure and stroke, not forgeting other issues such as impotence. To learn about illnesses affecting your health visit www.manhealthsite.com today!

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The Proven Way to Quit Smoking

By Bill Byrne

This article is dedicated to those who decided to quit smoking once and for all, and now are looking for ways to stop smoking. Here is the original program, that will show you how, following a few steps, you can forget this bad habit and abandon the cigarette.

First of all you need motivation. When you stop smoking it is important to know the reason why it has to be done. In this case the result is not a goal. The reason to change your life can be care about the health of your future children, your family, and other people you love, because they become passive smokers, winning the heart of a person that does not approve smoking is a good reason too. You can find thousands of motives to stop smoking. But don’t make a test of your will-power a reason of struggle for the health - that usually leads a person to the beginning of the way. This makes your next try twice harder.

Next step is to put away all things that remind you about smoking. Hide as far as you can or better get rid of all the ashtrays, lighters, smoking boss… (joking). Don’t feel sorry for all this stuff, if you are about to quit smoking they won’t be necessary anymore. If there are some things that are really precious to you, presents or something else, give them to your friends for storage. And take them back only when you will be ready for that.

People who stopped smoking recommend such a trick as “a last cigarette”. Before smoking this symbol of new life, you should rinse your mouth with 0,1% solution of silver. The connection of smoke and silver will give detasteble feeling, and this will protect you from nostalgic mood about the last smoked cigarette.

Smoking is mainly a psychological dependence. As soon as you quit smoking a plenty of free time will be at your service. Finally free from the cigarette your hands will not know what to do, so, to prevent the return of old habit you should find them another business. Try a hand trainer, beads of cell phone games. By the way, British scientists found out that the popularity of cell phone games has decreased the quantity of smokers. Researches showed that the game is a way to fight the stress; it is more effective and does no harm to health. > Not only your hands, but also your mouth will have to find a new occupation, when the cigarette is gone. Make a store of gums, even tobacco replacing once. However, a better idea is to use natural herbal smoking cessation products.

People that stopped smoking always mention that during first months they felt bad: dizziness, vomiting and total weakness are natural parts of the nicotine withdrawal process. These are the signs of recovery. These symptoms will disappear with the first smoked cigarette, so as the chances to be free from bad habit. Do not give up! Use any kinds of products for people who quit smoking: nicotine or - better - natural plasters, pills, gums, patches, anything, just don’t smoke!

So, you’ve made it, several days without a smoke, but smokers around remind you about the old desire. It is no use to tell how to fight the temptation, the best way is to avoid it.

People, who had passed this way to the end often tell that situations, usually accompanied by smoking, such as stress, parties with smoking friends, were the hardest to cope with. Many people had never passed this barrier. Psychologists explain this as a stereotype of behavior, which stays in the memory of a smoker. In order to fight it link up your imagination. Can you see yourself as a nonsmoking person between smoking friends? Now attune yourself. Change your memories, replace a picture of you “smoker” on you “healthy person”. Use the ability to control your desires and emotions given to humans.

In conclusion, I’ll remind you what I’ve mentioned earlier, it is all about reasons and goals. If you stopped smoking and you don’t want to go back, remember that the desirable goal is reached, now you receive from life much more then you had before. Be glad, be happy, using your new abilities, and this emotions will help you to keep on going as far as possible from old bad habit.

Stop-Smoke.org tries to help people quit smoking for life. You are allowed to distribute this article with an active hyperlink to www.stop-smoke.org/

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Quit Smoking Tip - Your Smoker’s Personality Might Be A Problem

By Sylvia Dickens

This interesting tidbit came across the wire the other day. You might find it amusing, you might find it interesting or you might find it downright insulting. You might even find that it’s the reason you have been unable to quit smoking.

According to recent studies into the behavior of smokers, it has been suggested that smokers have more anti-social characteristics than do non-smokers. So what does this mean?

Anti-social behavior, also referred to as anti-social personality disorder, is identified as acting contrary to what is accepted behavior among the masses. Anti-social behavior usually involves ignoring the rights of others and being selfish.

Other signs of anti-social behavior include: breaking laws, risk-taking, not considering the results of their behavior, being impulsive, ignoring the safety of self or others, and not worrying about hurting other people.

If you think about the actions of smokers, it’s fairly easy to see where this ‘diagnosis’ fits. This research could explain the earlier resistance that smokers showed towards new non-smoking bans. They felt their rights were being violated and continued to light up regardless of the law. Those who still reject such laws might well be experiencing anti-social behavior.

You’re probably asking, where’s the proof that smokers are anti-social?

Although small, one test was done on 346 smokers by the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It produced some interesting results. They learned that 28.8% of smokers demonstrated higher neurotic characteristics and were more likely to have symptoms of alcoholism or drinking-related problems.

They also were younger, of a lower income, and had anti-social behaviors. The interpretation is that a portion of smokers are more anxious than other smokers and have strong anti-social tendencies.

And earlier large-scale studies conducted by another group produced other interesting data. They revealed that people who smoked were either extroverted or anxious.

This second test was done among adult American males who had never smoked, who had been light smokers, those who had been heavy smokers, and those who were current heavy smokers.

The results showed that the current heavy smokers were significantly higher on the neurotic or anxiety scale than non-smokers.

So what can we derive from this?

If you want a quit smoking tip, consider that perhaps the difficulty lies in your personality rather than in any addiction.

Anxious people will certainly be more likely to reach for anything to calm them, which can be alcohol, smoking or even extreme sports. And people showing anti-social behavior will have little consideration for those around them.

This quit smoking tip suggests that you need to overcome your smoker’s personality first. Resolve your anxiety issues, and your efforts to quit smoking will be more successful.

This will require doing an intensive and honest review of your personality to determine whether you exhibit any of the traits revealed in these studies.

You’ll likely resist such scrutiny if you have anti-social behavior and believe in your right to smoke. However, if you can modify this believe and view it from a non-smoker’s standpoint, you will likely find it much easier to quit smoking. If, in fact, that’s what you want to do.

Want another quit smoking tip? Visit my site and read my success story. If you want to quit smoking, here’s a program that guarantees results. Click here to read my story and my review. www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm

Sylvia Dickens is an ex-smoker who has been smoke-free for 32 years. Today, she repeatedly gets a clean bill of health from her doctor, which she atttributes to quitting smoking all those years ago. She understands the struggle and has routed out this terrific program that is guaranteed to work, no matter how long you’ve been smoking or how many times you’ve tried to quit. Learn more at www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm. Stop Smoking, Anxiety Relief, Dog Training, Music Instruction (piano, guitar) and Family Vacation Getaway ideas are just some of the topics covered on Sylvia’s site at www.book-titles.ca .

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Quit Smoking Ways Aren’t Simple - The First Step Is To Learn HOW To Quit Smoking

By Sylvia Dickens

Still struggling to quit smoking? Anyone who has tried to quit knows it doesn’t happen on the first try. In fact, most smokers fail several times before they quit for good. This is important to realize.

Unfortunately, smokers tend to take these failures as a sign that they just can’t quit. Each failure merely enforces that belief. But that’s just not true.

Anyone can quit smoking. Ways to succeed are many – from taking medications (prescribed and over the counter) to fake cigarettes, special filters, herbal remedies, special diets, acupuncture, hypnosis, shots, gum, lozenges and others.

The thing to realize is that quitting smoking is a learning process, just as it was for you to start smoking in the first place.

You remember those times. You sucked on a butt and choked… repeatedly. But you were determined to succeed. Now you have to adopt that same determination to quit smoking.

By past trial and error, you were giving your body a chance to see what it’s like to quit smoking.

Most likely on the first try you were only able to quit for a few hours or a few days. You learned how stressful this would be. The second or third time, you might have succeeded for 2 weeks or more. That time, you got a feel for what it would be like in the long term. You now know that quitting smoking will require something more than you think you possess.

And you will probably have learned what things will trip you up and prevent you from reaching your goal; things like cravings, nervousness, tension, agitation. To move along your learning curve, you now need to find ways to deal with those withdrawal symptoms.

See? It’s all about learning what ‘you’ need to do to quit smoking forever, not what everyone else needs to do.

You might have heard of the 12-step program used by Alcoholics Anonymous to wean people off alcohol. Apparently, someone created a similar program for smokers. The first step is to admit you have an addition to cigarettes and from there, the process should be easier to accept.

As part of that admission, you are to admit that you are powerless over tobacco.

I strongly oppose this approach because, as far as I can see, it starts you on a negative note. You’re not just admitting the power tobacco has over you; you’re also convincing yourself you are powerless to overcome your smoking habit. This is a defeatist attitude.

As an ex-smoker, I truly understand the weakness of this approach. What you want to do is believe in yourself and your abilities, not succumb to the fact you’re hooked.

Really want to quit smoking? Ways to do that include taking control – not by admitting you’re unable to break free, but in knowing that you ‘can’ break away, because you are strong and quite capable of overcoming your smoking habit.

Admit that you can do this, and that you refuse to allow tobacco to take your power. Feel your internal strength grow as you constantly remind yourself that you will overcome it.

Get angry because anger is very powerful and can overcome amazing obstacles.

Get angry at cigarettes for the power they are taking from you. Get angry at yourself for allowing cigarettes to steal your money and your health. Get angry at yourself for being so weak and submissive.

Get angry at all those wasted hours spent standing in doorways smoking and shivering in the rain and cold. Get angry at how silly and pointless that is. Get angry at the way cigarettes have made you feel like an outcast.

This is all part of the learning curve and learning to reprogram your thinking so that cigarettes no longer have any role in your life. Teach yourself that it’s an unnecessary habit you got yourself into. Take a serious look at smoking and you’ll notice that it has absolutely no good purpose other than to make you ill.

Ready to quit smoking? Ways to begin include evaluating why you have allowed cigarettes to take control of you and what you need to do to take back power over your life. Use that anger to build inner strength and determination that will prepare you to fight back.

When you’ve done that, find a system that will work with you and your personality. Start by finding an alternative so you can quit smoking. Ways to replace the habit are: nibble on healthy snacks, sip on a constant supply of fresh water, pop a candy now and then, buy yourself a really neat pen that feels good to hold and chomp on it when you feel the urge. Keep your hands and your mind busy.

It’s important to find a replacement that does not include medications and chewables because they all contain the nicotine you’re trying to avoid. Besides, it’s been proven that breaking away from replacements can be just as difficult as quitting the cigarettes. And let’s not forget about the side effects of those remedies. Why give yourself another battle to fight?

If you truly want to quit smoking, ways to succeed don’t have to include those additional drugs and chemicals. There are several excellent natural quit smoking methods you can use.

Here’s one program that guarantees you will quit or you just don’t pay. I’ve reviewed it for you here and included my success story: www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm

Sylvia Dickens is an ex-smoker who has been smoke-free for 32 years. Today, she repeatedly gets a clean bill of health from her doctor, which she contributes to quitting smoking all those years ago. She understands the struggle and has routed out this terrific program that is guaranteed to work, no matter how long you’ve been smoking or how many times you’ve tried to quit. If you truly want to Quit Smoking (and are fed up with programs, patches, pills and gums that are expensive and don’t work), don’t disappoint yourself. Click here and get started in 3 minutes. Quit in 3 hours. Read the review at www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm . Stop Smoking, Anxiety Relief, Dog Training, Music Instruction (piano, guitar) and Family Vacation Getaway ideas are just some of the topics covered on Sylvia’s site at www.book-titles.ca. She offers articles and ebooks on a variety of themes in which she has previous knowledge and experience. As an avid writer and photographer, she provides family vacation destination ideas on places she’s visited and researched.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sylvia_Dickens

               

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