Health

The Day After The Smokeout: The Next Step for Those Who Quit Yesterday

Del Mar, CA -- November 16, 2000 -- /Xpress Press/ -- As the smoke clears after yesterday's Smokeout, some who quit yesterday will feel increasingly positive about their lives today as they grit their teeth and remain smoke-free. A much larger percentage of yesterday's quitters will have lit up by their first coffee this morning. As an ex-smoker and as someone who has been researching smoking cessation products and techniques for the last 20 years, I offer food for thought here to both groups.

I know that stopping smoking can be tough. It took me ten years after I decided I wanted to quit to let it go for the last time. I was one of those who was obsessed with both feeling I had to smoke and with wanting to quit. More than once, I tore up cigarettes and threw them away, only to go and re-assemble one hours later so that I could get my fix. I later learned that lots of smokers have done just the same thing.

Were you one of the thousands of Americans who quit smoking yesterday as part of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout? If so, and if you're not puffing away already, let me offer my congratulations. You've accomplished something worthwhile. Now go out and get some real exercise today. Drink plenty of water. Put a smile on your face. Treat your loved ones and yourself with kindness. If it'll help to tote around a pillow to scream into, by all means, vent that way. It's a lot more productive than yelling at your kids for no reason.

And look at those cravings you'll get for a little while as symptoms of healing. That is really what they are. Also remember that there is no such thing as "just one". It didn't work with those potato chips and it doesn't work for ex-smokers.

One more thing: Recognize that its worth exchanging a little short-term discomfort a longer, happier, healthier life.

If you are one of those who quit and has started smoking again, the best thing you can do for yourself this morning is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on with your life. Recognize that you made an attempt. Know that that took some courage. Then ask yourself this question: "What did I learn that will help me get it right the next time?"

The simplest lesson may be this: If you have tried specific things in the past, and those things haven't worked, try something different. The main reason that only 8% of quitters manage a full year being smoke-free is that they're usually just repeating the use all the antiquated methods and products that they already know do not work. I did it, too, for years. And the power of will is, by itself, never enough.

If you're chronically depressed, get some help for that first, before you try quitting again. It's as simple as this: many smokers who want to quit are depressed. If the problem is chronic and they don't get help for it, they will quickly relapse after any quit attempt.

If you haven't prepared to stop smoking, it is much tougher to make it last. My clients generally spend at least a month in making small changes to their lifestyle habits before quitting. If you try to do too much too quickly, you'll end up not doing anything at all. The real cornerstone to quitting is learning how to trust yourself in areas that may not seem to have anything to do with smoking. One way to do that is making short daily lists of things you intend to do, then checking them off as you complete them. That's a great way of rebuilding your self-reputation.

Probably the most important factor for short-term success is learning how to effectively handle stress and emotional turmoil. Building up the amount of time you devote to exercise and self-discovery are keys to long-term success. I recommend taking small steps in experimenting with stress management practices such as deep breathing, self-massage and enjoyable exercise. Of course, it's easier for most smokers to laugh at these kinds of ideas than it is to actually see for themselves if they can work. The ego always laughs at or derides anything that would require a lifestyle change or truly experimenting with your life. Ego wants everything to stay just like it is now.

If you've just stopped smoking or if you've just started again, have some compassion for yourself today when you ask this question: "What small thing can I do for myself today that will make my life better?" And then tell your ego to shut up.

Charles Tedesco is the founder of Smoking Release Associates in Del Mar, California. You may write him at ct@SmokingRelease.com or visit the company web site at www.SmokingRelease.com

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