Stage 4: A Change Is Coming
Nothing is permanent in this world except change. So when you plan to stopsmoking, bring about other changes in your life style as well. Take a look at
all those things that have become a kind of routine and break that routine.
Try to do things differently and will make a lot of difference.
What we are trying to do as part of this exercise is that we are trying to
create a new environment for you. It is not possible for you to shift to a new
apartment so bring about a few changes in the way things are as part of your
exercise to quit smoking. Let every thing have a new feel about it. If there
was a favorite chair in which you used to sit when you smoked, change the
upholstery of the chair or maybe you could stash away the chair into a
corner.
Try to set a new routine. Try working out or going to the gym. If that is not
possible, try waking up a little earlier and go for a short morning walk. If
you can make that a run or a jog, it is going to be very stimulating and is
going to be the best way to start your day.
Exercise does not necessarily mean pumping metal. If you do have the time
to go to a gymnasium everyday, then that is well and good. But I suppose
most of us do not have the time for a regular work out in a gym. So what is
the other alternative? Do it at home of course.
But whether it is at home or at a multi-gym, there is something that I want to
tell you. Regularity is the rule of the day. It is not getting started that is the
difficult part, it is sticking to a regular exercise routine that is difficult and
this is what proves to be the stumbling block for most people.
Most people have a wonderful start. In fact it is truly spectacular. They buy
track suits and gym-wear, running shoes and a whole lot of other gear. Their
first day at the gym is almost a celebration. Then as the days go on, they find
it increasingly difficult to meet the domestic and professional demands and
so their routine slows down and finally comes to a complete workout burn
out.
One mistake that many people make is that they choose the evenings or a
work out. If that can suit your lifestyle, then that’s fine. But for most of us,
by the time the evening lifts up its curtains we are completely pooped. We
find ourselves physically and mentally drained. And at that time our bodies
will be just too tired for a work out. So it is best to set aside some time for
exercise in the morning itself.
There are two advantages of setting apart time in the morning. The first
advantage is that in the morning our bodies are fresh and full of energy. Now
over here I want to make one point clear.
Many people believe that exercise depletes the body of energy but the
case is just the opposite. Exercise pumps up more blood through the
different parts of the body and warms up the body, so in fact, after exercise
we feel more charged and ready to face the challenges of the day.
The second advantage is that in the morning we can plan for the whole day
without letting the exercise routine affect the rest of our activities.
What about those of us who have never worked out before? In such cases
you might need to start off under the personal supervision of an instructor
and that may require that you go to a gym. But what I would suggest is that
there are two simple things that any one can do for which you do not need
the help of any instructor.
You know what these are? They are walking and swimming. Any body can
walk and those of you who know how to swim can swim. For these two
activities you do not need much gear and experts say that these two exercises
have no side effects and are excellent stress busters.
So in the morning wake up just half an hour earlier, put on your walking
shoes and hit the roads. Most roads will be less crowded at this hour and less
polluted too. It is a wonderful way to start a day.
Take a break form coffee and try tea instead. If you are moving around the
house, try playing music. Redecorate your room by adding a few pictures
here and there preferably of scenery. And while you are redecorating, do
what I mentioned earlier that is get rid of every thing that even remotely
reminds you of smoking.
Plan your day in such a way that you have something enjoyable to do at the
end of the day. It does not have t be something that involves money. We do
not want you end up bankrupt. It can be something as simple as spending
some time with the family playing a board game or something. Or it can be
going out for a walk together.
But I would like to add that watching television just does not fit into this list.
The reason is because T.V is not something that demands too much of our
attention. We can easily do something else while we are watching TV and
what can be easier than taking a smoke while our eyes are glued to the T.V.
While you are working on breaking the habit of smoking, you need to move
about with people. You need the company of people who can take your mind
off that craving and TV doesn’t help you do that.
Make a list of those things that build up your stress. Try to steer clear of
them. If that is not possible try to find out some stress busters and use them.
Do not use stress as an excuse to start smoking. There are a hundred other
methods of beating stress. As mentioned earlier, you could try breathing
exercises, mediation or even music. There is another excellent way of
beating stress and that is using the distressing ball. If you do not have one of
those, try wriggling your fingers and toes. That too is a natural method of
beating stress.
The point that we are trying to drive home over here is that you need a break
from whatever you have been doing for this exercise of quitting to work.
Since it is impossible to change your job or your home, you have to bring
about as many changes as possible to get that whole new feeling.
Try developing new interests or hobbies like gardening or painting. Such
things would keep your mind off that urge to smoke. All of us have a certain
measure of creativity that often remains untapped. It would be a wonderful
thing if you could try working on that creativity. Join a dance class or a
drama class. Or you could try learning a new skill like pottery or clay
modeling. Try to involve yourself with other people. Do same social work,
or try helping out at the local volunteer organizations.
Do not feel shy to tell these new acquaintances that you are trying to quit
smoking. You will be surprised at how understanding people will be. The
advantage of doing such things is that it not only takes away all your
brooding (read that as spare time that you other wise smoke away to glory)
time but it also makes your life a whole lot richer. In other words it lends a
lot of meaning to your life so that you will become accountable to more and
more people.
Such activities make us appreciate the meaning of life in a better way and
we will stop to think twice before we waste away this life at the end of a
cigarette.
Once you stop smoking you might notice significant changes in your food
habits. Most smokers experience weight gain as soon as they stop smoking.
There are people who have gained nearly 15 pounds once they stopped
smoking. But there is no reason to worry. This is just a very temporary phase
and you will soon get over it. It is however important that you develop a
proper diet routine and watch what you eat. That is why I have included this
supplement on proper eating habits.
Work on your diet as well. If you have erratic eating habits, it is going to
affect every thing you do and that indirectly affects your smoking habits as
well. There are many of us out there who skip breakfast. Now, this is the
best way to start your day badly. Just check the very meaning of the word. It
is break-fast. So what does it mean? It means that this meal is meant to break
the fast that we were undergoing.
The effects of skipping breakfast may not be felt immediately but sometime
during the day this is sure to tell. Our body needs the energy from the food
we have at breakfast. And we can either start our day with good breakfast or
smoke a couple of cigarettes and gulp down a cup of coffee and work away
towards a highly stressful day.
So what does a proper breakfast mean? In this context, I would like to point
out that a cup of coffee is not breakfast. Many people believe that a big cup
of coffee is breakfast. Sure coffee perks you up but it also takes away your
hunger and as the caffeine and other alkaloids present in the coffee hit the
different parts of your body, it completely takes away your appetite. Couple
that with the nicotine of cigarettes and you are done for. You will have
succeeded in fooling your brain that it is fully equipped to meet the
challenges of the day.
So it is advisable to go easy on coffee especially in the morning. Drink tea
instead. Tea is supposed to be good for your heart and can prove to be just as
stimulating once you get used to it. But those of you die hard coffee fans,
what you could do is take a lesser quantity of coffee if you must, in the
morning. A breakfast drink is fine, but there is nothing that beats a tall glass
of fresh fruit juice in the morning along with two pieces of toast, an egg or a
cereal. Then you are all set for a wonderful day.
The same thing that I said about having breakfast applies to the other meals
as well. Our body needs nourishment at fixed time intervals and at those
times you had better grab something to eat. The human stomach is a
remarkable thing and can even digest small bones and small stones. So if
you do not give it something to digest from time to time, it will very well
start attacking its own walls. That is when people end up with conditions
like acidity, ulcers and digestive disorders. If you have never experienced
such disorders before in spite of your erratic eating habits, don’t wait for it,
believe me a digestive disorder is not something to play with.
It was my experience that in order to silence those maddening pangs of
hunger that hit us during work, there was nothing like a couple of cigarettes.
I used to do just that and in a couple of years I ended up with a severe
acidity condition.
Noon time is meant for lunch so have it then itself. There are many people
who find it difficult to have lunch between 12 and 2, which is the right time
for lunch. For such unfortunate souls, the best thing you could do is gulp
down yet another glass of fruit juice or probably nibble on a cookie. But
again coffee is not a substitute for lunch. And nor are cigarettes.
Again in the evening it is best to eat something that is not too filling like a
light sandwich or a couple of cookies. A glass of milk along with that, and
you will have had the perfect tea. But of course tea time is not an absolute
no-no to coffee or tea whatever be your choice. But any how I suppose all of
us do our share of downing cup after cup of coffee during the day time.
It is those coffee breaks that you have to extremely wary off. Those are the
times when you will have to exercise the maximum mind control and there is
nothing better than that meditation or breathing exercises that I described.
I suppose supper is not such a big ordeal because by evening most of us are
relatively free. But there we have another foe to battle with. Most of us are
so pooped in the night that we cannot be bothered with supper. Even putting
something to warm in the microwave can be a chore so most of us settle for
something fried which is usually munched while sitting glued to the
television.
I would like to say it now once and for all fried foods are bad for you and the
more you cut out on fried foods the healthier you will become. Most people
go for a smoke after meals and this is something that must be tackled
carefully. You are going to find it increasingly difficult if the people you
have just dined with make a beeline for the balcony to smoke.
It would be best if you could stop dining with such people, but if you do,
muster up all your will power and do not accompany them to the balcony. It
is ideal if you pop in one of those gums or spices after meals to control the
urge.
While you are trying to quit smoking, try to double your intake of fluids.
Drink as much water as you can at least 12 to 15 glasses a day. If you can
have fresh fruit juice, then it is even better. But I don’t think it is possible for
a person to have 12 glasses of fresh juice every day.
A few more pointers on what to eat…
• Choose a variety of foods from all food groups every day. This is a
fine way of keeping deficiency diseases at bay.
• Steer clear of food supplements or nutraceuticals as they are
sometimes called. If you are eating properly, you do not need any
supplements.
• It is best to go for natural foods instead of processed or packed
foods.
• Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fresh juices whenever you can.
Fresh fruit has a lot more fiber, which your body needs.
• Go crazy on vegetables and salads; they can never do much harm.
• If you can say no to alcoholic beverages please do.
• The next time you are thirsty, try drinking water instead of soda.
Your body prefers water in its purest form.
• Increase your intake of fluids. Try and drink at least 12 glasses of
water every day; it helps to flush out all those toxins.
• Wash your vegetables and fruits well before consumption and
search for packets that say ‘free from pesticides.’
Practice these eating habits and before you know it, you will have a whole
new body, which you certainly won’t want to pollute with cigarette smoke.
Some people make it a habit of taking a puff or two before going to bed.
And this is precisely something that should not be. A smoke or two before
going to bed is the worst thing you can do when your brain is just preparing
for the much needed rest. The nicotine that you inhaled goes straight to the
sleep centers of your brain and then everything goes hay wire. The result is
that you have a bad night’s rest.
In the morning you wake up feeling any thing but refreshed and the only
way to take away that feeling is by having that smoke again. Below I am
going to discuss sleep in general and when you alter your life style and
habits it would be good if you could include these pointers in your sleep
routine as well. You see, everything is connected; your eating patterns, your
sleep patterns and every thing. So if you are not doing any of these tings
right, you might just bounce back into becoming a smoker.
The National Sleep Foundation reports (2002) that America is on the
verge of a poor sleep epidemic, characterized by the following eye-opening
statistics:
• 64% of American adults get less than the eight hours of sleep that
experts recommend is required to maintain optimal physical,
mental, and emotional health.
• One-third of the US population says they get less sleep now than
they did five years ago
• One-half of Americans have experienced insomnia (sleeplessness)
• Drowsiness due to a lack of a proper night of sleep interferes with
the daily activities of 37 percent of all adults.
Amazed? Well, you should be. Sleep has become a critical issue as far
as most adults are concerned.
You know what is funny about sleep? Most people believe that sleep is
something that the body will take care of by itself. They feel that their bodies
will give them signals when it wants sleep. That maybe true, but the question
here is, do these people know how to read or sense these signals that the
body is trying to give them.
If such people think that the tendency to nod off to sleep while working or
driving is the signal that their bodies are going to give them, then they are
mistaken. The body starts by giving subtle signals like dark circles around
the eyes, listless eyes, a general lethargy, a lack of interest in everything,
unwarranted yawns, poor performance and so on. But of course, most of
these ‘symptoms’ can be washed away with a cup of coffee or a puff of
nicotine.
Again let us go back to the lower animals. Look around you and you will
find that most of the animals sensible enough to get the sleep that they want.
Whether it is horses, or cows or dogs or cats (cats the most) they sleep when
they want to, and that is probably why they are more wiry and energetic than
humans.
You won’t find a dog sitting up half the night to watch a ball game, nor
would you find a cat browsing the net all night long. An important point that
most people do not know is that our bodies are influenced or governed by
what experts call circadian cycles. These are cycles of sleep, rest and activity
that are in fact governed by sunlight and darkness.
You might have seen certain plants that let their leaves droop their leaves in
the night to revive them when it is day. Just like this, our bodies too are
influenced by light and darkness. For every stimulus there should be a
response. Here the stimulus is darkness so the response must be to sleep.
Thankfully however, our bodies do not really need 12 hours of sleep.
Experts tell us that adults need 8 hours of good sleep to become fully
functional. If you cannot manage eight hours, try to make it at least seven.
Anything below that is not good for your body, and is going to take its toll at
some time or that other.
Similarly think about all those activities that are constantly going on in our
bodies. Think of your heart that never stops pumping blood not even for a
couple of seconds. Think of those lungs that help you breathe in and breathe
out and the various other parts like you digestive system, your organs and
you sense organs. Don’t these wonderful systems deserve some rest? They
certainly do. And I have news for you.
Experts have found out that when the human body is in a state of
sleep, all these functions slow down (they can’t stop of course) and get
carried out at a much relaxed pace. This is the only rest that these parts of
our bodies get. So don’t you think that it is highly unfair to deprive them of
the rest that they really deserve? Often we use the brain or the muscles as a
measuring stick. When these parts are tired we decide that we need to rest.
And so we relax with a book, or plant ourselves in front of the idiot
box, or listen to some music. Ah, but that is just rest, it is not sleep and when
the body needs sleep, you should give it sleep itself. When a cat is hungry
you cannot give it dry oats or raw carrots.
Of course there is another extreme where some people need more than eight
hours of sleep. Such people sleep too much. But that is altogether a different
issue, which I cannot address here. In such cases all I can say is that such
people might have a physiological condition for which they might require
medical assistance.
Other people can never sleep properly and I was one of them. I used
to go to bed in the night and wake up in the morning feeling no way better
for my “sleep.” Phrases like sleep like a baby or sleep like a log were
completely alien for me. But now I have over come this completely and on
most days I do sleep like a baby.
Below, I have included some pointers that really worked for me. Try
them out I’m sure that they will work for you as well.
If you have problems falling asleep:
• Fix a bed time routine and stick to it religiously
When I say religiously I mean it. It does not mean from Monday to
Friday, and then wild nights on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe once
in a month you can have a wild night but if you want to break this
routine every week it is not going to help.
• Go to be early.
Now, that is a tough one. I’m sure that most of my readers are very
late sleepers. And when I say go to bed early they will probably
think that I sound like a fussy old parent. Well, I think it is good if
I do sound like a fussy old parent because our parents knew what
was good for us. Now coming to the reason why I suggested that
you go to bed early.
Most of us are working people right? So our work demands that we
get to our offices at fixed times. That of course deprives us of those
couple of extra winks that we hope to get in the mornings. So it
becomes going to bed late and getting up early. When we should
wake up is decided by our work.
So the only thing that we have the freedom to decide is the time we
crawl into bed. So the ideal condition would be to go to bed by 10
or 11. If your wake up time is 8 in the morning, this can be
extended up to 12 or even 1 in the morning.
In any case, let your wake up time decide your bedtime, work
backwards so that in any case you give yourself those blessed 8
hours of sleep.
• Don't eat two hours before bed time
It is difficult to get a decent sleep with your tummy full. So try to
have supper at least two hours before your bed time. And keep
supper as light as possible. If you have a heavy meal there is a
greater chance for you to have disturbing dreams and even
nightmares…oooooh!
• Have a glass of warm milk at least 30 minutes before going to
bed
Milk is the best sedative that nature has to offer so go for it by all
means. In order to really make your eyelids droop, just before
boiling add a pinch of ground ginger, pinch of cinnamon and 1
clove. But remember; drink it warm, not hot. A date along with the
glass of milk is the classic sedative that has stood the test of time.
• Wash your feet and calves up to the knees in warm water.
And also wash your hands and forearms. It really works!
• Gently massage feet and calves, hands and forearms for few
minutes preferably with some moisturizer or baby oil
• Diffuse some lavender essential oil in the room 30 minutes
before bed time. This will help tremendously.
• No reading in bed and absolutely NO T.V.
• If you are a light sleeper shut off all disturbances like a loud
clock, a dripping faucet, a telephone that might ring or even a
creaky bed.
If you wake up and can't go back to sleep:
• Have a jar filled with dry rose petals by your bed. When you wake up,
inhale the rose scent for minute or two. You'll be back to sleep in notime
at all!
• But my strongest advice is to steer clear of sleeping pills of any kind. Let
nature and your natural body cycles do the job for you. If you need
external intervention, then realize that everything has been thrown hay
wire and you are not on a safe track.
When you start your first day of quitting, in the morning you will feel very
glad about it. You might experience an uneasy feeling once or twice but it
does not affect you very much and you start wondering about the great fuss
that is made about quitting.
But as the day progresses, the feeling gets worse and it’s almost like a
monster raising its fearful head every now and then. If you are chain smoker
this feeling becomes terrible as the clock ticks away and by noon time, it
becomes almost unbearable.
You start feeling terrible and it is almost as if something has taken
possession of your body and mind. You end up feeling so depressed that you
begin to think, “What the hell? Who cares a damn about quitting?”
But this is not the worst. The worst is still to come. It is almost as if you are
at one end of a tunnel and have started advancing. As you keep moving
forward, the darkness of the tunnel engulfs you. You inch forward slowly at
first and then at a faster pace. But the tunnel seems endless. There is no end
to the darkness. It is so black inside that you can almost walk on the
darkness.
There doesn’t seem to even a glimmer of light. To make things worse you
lose your sense of direction and do not know whether you are advancing or
retreating. Along with that the air starts to get stuffy. You find it increasingly
difficult to breathe and before you know it you are gasping for breath.
Every part of your body seems to be tearing itself apart and the feeling is just
too much to bear. You cannot identify what exactly the feeling is. It is not
pain but yet you feel tormented and tortured. It is sheer agony for you.
It is almost as if someone has got a grip on your throat and is slowly
squeezing the very life out of you. To make things worse you start stumbling
and have to reach out to steady yourself from falling. You reach out and you
feel a hand. It is not a strong supporting hand but a wet, slimy and cold hand
that makes you shudder. But you hold on to it to steady yourself.
Then before you know what happened, the hand gives you a tug and sends
you whirling around. You try to stop yourself from going round and round
but you cannot. The hand keeps on exerting force that you can hardly resist.
You feel dizzy and realize that you will hit the floor at any moment. The
experience is sheer agony.
You do not want to fall down because you realize to your horror that the
tunnel has started filling with water. But then you stop caring. Your agony is
so great that you just want to fall down and die. At this moment when you
feel that all is lost and you are about to lose your senses, you see a sudden
ray of light; the exit of the tunnel.
If only you could get there. If only you could steady yourself. You make one
last effort to stop swirling around and to your surprise you stop. But your
head is swimming so much that the exit of the tunnel keeps passing in front
of your eyes. You topple over and you are on your hands and feet. The water
is dangerously close to your head. You literally crawl towards the opening
but you just can’t seem to reach there. At last, after what seems like eternity,
you reach the opining of the tunnel.
But you are so exhausted with your efforts that you just want to lie where
you are with your eyes shut and so that is what you do. You lie there for
what seems to be a very long time but in effect is only a couple of hours.
And then the feeling seems to disappear almost as fast as it appeared. You
mind starts getting clearer and clearer and you find it much easy to breathe.
There is no longer the sound of swirling waters around you. Your hands and
feet seem to have lost the numbness that hat hit them. Your breathing
becomes more regular and you calm down a lot. But still you do not want to
open your eyes, but there is bright light that is beating down on your eyelids
which is trying to force them open. Unwillingly you pry your eye lids open a
little bit and lie there squinting.
You cannot believe what you see, you stare upwards into the bluest sky that
you have ever seen and after your dark experience in the tunnel you had
almost stopped believing that there could be any ting bright in this world.
But here it is the bluest sky ever.
You sit up and though your hands and feet feel a bit sore, there is a perfect
freshness about every thing. The grass seems greener, the air seems cleaner
and all around you there are smiling faces. For a minute you wonder whether
you are a heaven but it takes you only a moment to realize that you are still
on earth. But it seems to be a very different earth indeed. You get up to walk
and you feel fresher than you ever felt in a very long time.
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