Step 1: Decision Time
Let’s get one thing straight. Wanting is very different from deciding.
It may seem like the same thing but really it’s not. There is a sea of
difference between wanting to quit and actually deciding to quit. You have
probably wanted to quit the very day that you started smoking, but as can be
clearly seen, it just didn’t happen.
On the other hand, deciding is a very serious issue. It is something that can
affect our self esteem and our dignity because once we decide then we have
to stick to the decision right? And that is not going to be easy.
Any decision that one takes must be based on sound common sense and in
the case of smoking too, this holds true. I would support any smokers
decision to quit; but my request to every such prospective quitter is that they
should get their facts right.
The problem is that if the prospective quitter is not proceeding in the right
track, there is a greater tendency to fail. And once a person tries and fails, it
is going to be all the more difficult to break the habit.
Before we come to the real decision we might have to do some serious
thinking. The decision to quit smoking is not something that can hit your
mind in the middle of work. You need to feel composed and have everything
well within your control. You need to sit and think about it for at least ten
minutes. Oh yes ten minutes is more than enough time.
You have to remember what I told you the odds are all against it. You have
to work really hard to think of a reason to go on smoking “the feel good”
thing is not good enough an argument. Obviously you are going to end up
feeling terrible maybe within the next couple of months if you do not break
the habit. So there is absolutely no point in dwelling on temporary pleasures.
What I would suggest would be to browse through this manual, an exercise
that would hardly take you ten to fifteen minutes and then sit and think about
it for another ten minutes and then hit the right button (which means take the
right decision). Hey, come on, we’re just talking about half an hour of your
time. Surely any one can spare half an hour of their time for a matter of life
and death...their own life and death to be precise.
Right, so now that we’ve done the serious thinking, all we have to do is
make up our minds. Please remember that it is not the decision making that
is difficult. It is sticking to the decision that is going to be the difficult part.
So go ahead and make up your mind.
Once your mind is made up, you have a very important thing left to do. You
have to announce your decision to quit smoking to as many people as
possible. Tell all your friends that you have decided to quit and ask them
earnestly to help you as much as they can. Remember, that bit is not going to
be an easy task and you are going to need all the help in the world so it is all
the more better that a lot of people know about your decision to quit.
There is one good thing about letting others know about decision to quit. It
makes you more accountable. It lessens down your chances of taking a sneak
puff. Having people who support you all around you, keeps you distracted
from that great pull. And believe me it is a lot easier to stick to promises
made in public than to keep promises made in private.
In one word, it just makes you all the more accountable. Hey you have a
word to live up to, and the fear of being scorned and ridiculed by others for
breaking your promise is a strong force that can keep you going. Discuss
your decision with your family, tell them about your decision and the
difficulties that you are going to face. Tell them that you are going to need
their support and help ad that it is not going to be easy for you.
An excellent thing you could do is draft out a contract for your self about
your decision to stop smoking and sign it. It would be an awfully good
decision to hang up this contract for all to see so that the next time you take
a puff and somebody sees you with the contract above you ganging on the
wall; they would at least raise an eyebrow.
It is best if you can get one or two others to quit smoking with you. Quitting
smoking is a lot like loosing weight, so it is best if it can be done in small
groups. If your partner also smokes then it’s a wonderful thing for both of
you to take the decision to together so that you can go on backing and
encouraging each other.
The battle is not going to be easy, because you will be pitted against a very
formidable foe. Most people tend to under estimate the intensity of the issue.
Again I repeat that quitting is not an easy task. I would recommend that you
do not measure the size of the enemy by the size of the cigarette. Size does
not matter sometimes. After all a stick of dynamite is not very big but just
consider the amount of damage that it can bring about.
It is not just one cigarette that you are going to be fighting against. Consider
that great chunk of humanity that has been removed from the face of the
earth just because of tobacco. You have the statistics given above to prove it.
If so many people have succumbed to cigarette smoke, then obviously it’s no
ordinary killer.
That is why it is highly recommended that you approach the issue only after
thorough preparation. I suggest that you compare yourself to a commando
who’s preparing to venture into a thick forest shrouded with danger to rescue
a hapless child from the clutches of some hardened criminals. Such a
commando would be armed to the teeth. He would have been taught all the
survival skills and would be a force to reckon with.
The commando would be constantly on his guard and even while
resting his eyes and ears would be alert. Success for him is not a matter of
luck but comes as a natural consequence of his training, his skills and his
alertness. He’s brave, he’s sharp, he has nerves of steel and that is just what
you must try to be. This battle should be fought to be won, because just like
for the commando, for you too this is a matter of life and death.
First, let us break a myth. Most smokers honestly believe that they can
quit at any time they want. This is far from reality. The fact is that most
smokers can’t just do that. The decision to quit is not something that is
wholly controlled by the brain.
This exercise of control by the brain happens only in the first few days. After
that, the brain or mind takes the back seat. It will seem as if the whole body
is screaming out for more and more, and the brain has no choice but to
comply. As we can see, every part of our body is connected and the brain too
prefers to toe to line.
So when a smoker believes that he or she can quit at any time that he or she
wants, then the person is actually fooling himself or herself. I don’t want to
under estimate any body. I agree that some people do have more will power
than others. But what I would like to point out is that we are talking about a
force that is more than just a physical or mental control. We are talking
about withdrawal symptoms.
This is the stumbling block over which many a would-be quitter trips. The
problem with many smokers is that they fail to recognize these symptoms as
symptoms. A withdrawal symptom is something that a person experiences
once he or she stops using a substance that gives them a kick. Opps, is that
too hard to digest? Well, let’s try to make it simpler.
There are many things that are identified with substance abuse. Alcohol is
one of them, narcotic drugs are another and tobacco is in no way to be left
behind. The problem, or let us say that the similarity among all these
substances, is that once one gets used to them, breaking away is not easy.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the fear of deprivation of the pleasantly
high feeling that drives the person to use the substance again and again so
that it is used, misused and eventually abused. The person returns for his or
her daily shot because of certain altered conditions in the body. These
substances are indeed very potent and they affect certain specific spots or
centers of the brain.
The brain quickly gets used to these alterations and then before we know it,
these centers of the brain cannot do without the daily doze of the substance.
The brain did not ask for the substance in the first place but we gave them to
it. When we experience that pleasantly high feeling we do not bother about
the changes that are taking place within.
It is common knowledge that the entire processes carried about in the brain
are maintained by a delicate balance of the various chemical salts there.
Once we start using substances like the above mentioned tobacco, narcotics
and alcohol, the balance of these chemical salts gets altered. The body as I
mentioned earlier is a self adjusting machine and so this new chemical
balance is established and it takes no time for the brain cells to get adjusted
to the new balance.
Then when the brain cells do not get what is required to maintain the new
balance (read that as the daily puffs) things go hay wire. The old balance
was disturbed and altered and a new balance was set up. But this new
balance is not the real natural thing. It is something that has to be artificially
supported and when that daily, or timely dose of nicotine does not get to the
brain, the new balance gets upset.
That is when a person gets those peculiar feelings, which can be broadly
called the withdrawal symptoms. You know what I am talking about don’t
you? Haven’t you felt uneasy and jittery when you were unable to get that
puff? It’s a strange kind of feeling isn’t it?
It’s a feeling that can only be soothed when you take that long refreshing
pull of highly toxic smoke. Some people break into a sweat, some get the
tremors, some feel queasy, some get constipated…
All these are withdrawal symptoms, so unless you prepare yourself to
face the pressure of withdrawal, you’re going to face a losing battle.
Psst…let’s not leave out an important detail...
The new balance in the brain that was established with the help of the
used substance can indeed be broken. I’m not saying that it is easy but once
you start conditioning your brain, that it just not going to get what it wants,
that is the external substance, the brain will be left with no alternative than to
go back and restore the old balance.
Of course the brain is not going to give up without a fight and that is what
we are going to experience as the withdrawal symptom. Initially the brain
had been doing all too well without the help of any external substance; and
then we made the brain become dependent on something. So when we stop
using that something, it is only a matter of time before the brain goes back to
its original state of functioning. All we have to do is to muster up the will
power to over come the withdrawal symptoms that might set in.
But again I do admit that it is easier said than done. In the end, however,
knowing that withdrawals will come (and recognizing them as such), is a
vital part of the quitting process.
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