Some Tips On How to Cope With Nicotine Cravings

06 Sep

Posted by wilson in Quit Smoking

Here are some tips on how to cope with nicotine cravings that you may find useful. The first few days after you quit smoking can be the hardest and challenging with the most problematic being cravings for nicotine.

Few smokers quit without getting cravings and to succeed, you must get through them first. Make a list of situations which will likely trigger you to smoke. Your list may include but not necessary restricted to the following:

With your morning coffee and reading the papers.
On the way to work.
During tea break at work.
After a meal.
Whilst watching television.
Socialising with friends at a party, in a pub, bar with alcohol involved.
When you are feeling stressed.
When you are feeling bored.

So what are you going to do when you get the craving to smoke in those situations above? You need come up with another action that will take your mind off the cravings. Besides providing alternatives to smoking a cigarette, you might want to change your routine to avoid some of the tricky situations.

Cravings for nicotine only last for about three to five minutes, however your sense of time during this period may seem like hours or forever. However, once your brain realise that your body is not going to get any nicotine during this period of time, your cravings will gradually disappear.

The first few days will be the most difficult but quitting is not an impossible task, each time you resist an urge to smoke, your confidence will build and the next time round will be easier. How about marking off each smoke-free day on your calendar to boost your confidence and keep you going?

If you feel the urge to smoke or if you need ideas for activities to keep you busy and your mind off of smoking, try some of the following:

Take the bulls by the horn! Confront your cravings head on and learn to ‘overcome the urge to smoke at will through sheer determination’.
The choice to quit smoking and the responsibility for not smoking is YOURS alone.
Cravings only last 3- 5 minutes and they WILL subside. Once the urge to smoke has gone your resolve will strengthen.
Focus on the reasons you decided to quit. Take a look at your quitting plan.
Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in slowly through the nose and fill your lungs, then breathe out again slowly through the mouth.
Stimulating drinks such as coffee, tea or alcohol should be avoided, try drinking juice with your breakfast.
If you smoke while watching television or reading, prepare some pieces of fruit or vegetable sticks in advance to snack on.
Drink ice water. Sip it slowly and try to savour the taste. This will also help to satisfy any increased appetite.
If you tend to smoke when stressed, try going for a walk or jog instead, or try doing some housework, an alternative to smoking and more things accomplished.
Take up a new hobby, preferably one that will keep your hands busy.
Keep your mouth busy too. Chew on some sugarless gum, toothpick. If you have a partner, start kissing and enjoy the freshness of a kiss without the smoker’s cigarette breath.
Join the gym, go bowling, attend exercise or dance classes.
Keep a piggy bank and fill it with the amount of money that you would have spent on cigarettes every day. At the end of the week/month, empty it and treat yourself to something you fancy. Or you can put invest the money saved and with compounded interest earned over the years, you can see your money grow.