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Ways to curb your cravings for nicotine
Smoking & Quitting | Last Active: Apr 16, 2020 | Replies (27)Comment receiving replies
A very dear friend of many years is a smoker and is working at quitting. However, she says that with COVID-19, the progress she'd made by reducing the # smoked ea. day or week. Now she is smoking more than before she began trying to stop. She tried Chantix in the past; she's used gum, patches but now is terrified ... not only by the added stress but also because she is afraid to shop for more. Any tips I can share that might help? I like the "mantra", Merry, and will share it with her. I've mentioned that meditation is calming for me and I know focused breathing helps because I have compromised lungs from chronic bronchitis. Thank you.
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@fiesty76- Good afternoon. I smoked for 35 years. When I was told that I had cancer the first thing that happened was an urge to smoke. I couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough to light up. My husband didn't understand and was shocked that I didn't immediately quit. Somehow smokers think that any outside stress will be relieved by smoking and it's physically the opposite. Although true physical cravings last up to a month psychological cravings last much, much longer. I think that as smoking turns into an addiction and a habit, it's the habit that needs to be broken. A habit is horrible to break, especially if you have smoked a long time.
Your friend has lost her inspiration. She thinks that she needs to smoke to help calm her. What she needs is a new inspiration to quit, not pressure. She already feels shame and guilt. Perhaps the following links will help.
https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-disease/stress-smoking#2
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323012