Quitting smoking is one of the hardest and most frustrating processes. It takes most people many tries to make it stick. If you've ever been around someone when they're trying to quit, you probably know how irritable they can be at the beginning.
Whatever method you choose to help you quit, there are things that can make the process a little easier.
1. Avoid Triggers.
Identify your triggers and try to avoid them in the beginning of your quitting process. For example, if a big trigger for you is alcohol, try staying in the next few weekends or stick to water to avoid feeling like having a smoke with your drink. It may seem difficult to quit even more habits, but it could help your quitting process. You can always go back to your habits once they are no longer triggers for you.
2. Chose your reward.
The amount of money you will save when quitting smoking is astronomical. Visit smokefree.gov to calculate just how much you save. Once you have your amount, pick out something you want to do with that money after you've quit. This will set up a bit of motivation for yourself to quit because you will have something to look forward to.
3. Look up the benefits.
I think we all know most of the benefits of quitting smoking, the most important being, extra years on your life, of course. It helps to remind yourself of these benefits. Set up a checklist and put it somewhere you'll see everyday.
Put things on it like "Day two: Nerve endings have began to regrow and smell and taste has improved. Month one: Heart attack risk has decreased greatly." You can check these things off as you reach them. This makes the benefits seem a lot more real once you're recognizing yourself reaching them.
4. Find something to do every time you get a craving.
It doesn't have to necessarily be a hobby, but just find something to do that will replace the cigarette routine. It could be going for a walk, chewing on a toothpick, or literally anything else. Replacing the habit with something else will help you kick it quicker, rather than sitting at your desk dreaming about cigarettes.
5. Take it one day at a time.
If you look at quitting smoking as the entire process, it will look endless and nearly impossible. Try to take it day by day. "I am not going to smoke today," is not nearly as hard as, "I'm never going to smoke again." It might even help to have a calendar to cross off each day to mark your daily success!
I am not trying to tell you that these tips will make quitting smoking painless, because nothing in the world will make quitting smoking completely painless. You have to be ready to quit when you decide to. It will most definitely suck but these tips will definitely make it suck a little less. When it's all over you'll be so happy you did it.