Want to quit smoking? Jump in the pool!
We now have two different studies showing that unplanned attempts are more likely to succeed. The newest study found that "the odds of a spontaneous quit attempt lasting for 6 months or longer were twice that of preplanned attempts," 2.6 times greater to be exact! Why wait? Jump in the pool!
Concerned that you lack the ability to navigate challenge?Most of us were.Truth is, we all have the ability to fully control the next couple of minutes.Freedom starts when we stop being afraid, when we at last put our hopes and dreams to work.When we do we gradually grow to realize that we were always able to control the next few minutes, no matter what challenge comes our way.
Freedom is watching an ability many of us felt we didn't have transform concern into pride, challenge into victory, and freedom into healing.
There's a wonderful prize at challenge's end.We extinguish another nicotine use cue and are awarded the return of another aspect of life.Nicotine dependency recovery is about meeting, greeting and defeating cues, about taking back life one activity, time, place, person and season at a time.It's an amazing period of self-discovery where, contrary to years of chemical dependency brainwashing, we learn that everything we did as slaves to nicotine can be done as well or better without it.
Why hesitate any longer in starting your journey home? Slowly but surely watch the hours build. Within 72 hours your brain and blood will be nicotine-free and peak withdrawal will be behind you. Baby steps, just one hour, challenge and day at a time.
A couple of quick tips. If you are used to skipping meals, don't. Nicotine will no longer be pumping stored fats and sugars into your bloodstream via the body's fight or flight pathways. Failure to properly fuel your body may add low blood-sugar symptoms to withdrawal (an inability to concentrate, anxiety, hunger craves), making recovery far more challenging than need be.
Are you a heavy caffeine user?If so, consider a caffeine reduction of up to one-half as nicotine somehow doubles depletion of blood caffeine concentrations. But there's no need to worry about adding caffeine overdose jitters and anxieties to nicotine withdrawal if you know you can handle twice your normal caffeine intake.
Once in the quitting pool stay prepared for the possibility of a brief emotional train wreck. But take comfort in the assurance that your brain will be working hard to down-regulate receptor counts and restore natural sensitivities, and the wreck will soon be cleared.
Visit commercial-free websites like WhyQuit, Joel's Library, and Freedom from Nicotine where you'll find the quality motivation, education and support needed to transport you to home to Easy Street. These sites exist to stand beside quitters while showing them why nicotine addiction is about living a lie, that nicotine use does not define who we are, to assure us that there's absolutely no need to be afraid of coming home to a come and quiet mind that goes entire days without once thinking about wanting to use nicotine.
They exist to share the most important recovery lesson of all, the Law of Addiction, that just one hit of nicotine and the quitter's period of freedom is over.
Research has shown that just one puff of nicotine will cause up to 50% of the brain's a4b2-type acetylcholine receptors to become occupied by nicotine.This results in chemical stimulation of the brain's dopamine pathways, an event that the brain's priorities teacher records in high definition memory, making it nearly impossible to forget. While we may walk away from relapse thinking we've gotten away with it, like an alcoholic taking a sip, our brain will soon be begging for more.
Knowledge isn't just power, it's a quitting method. All we can control are the next few minutes and each is doable! Yes you can! Millions of words being shared at online quit smoking forums but just one life jacket that if worn guarantees success to all ... no nicotine for the next few minutes, no nicotine today!
Why wait? Jump in the pool. Recovery's cleansing waters are waiting!
