Quitting smoking is not easy for many people. Smoking cessation calendar can help you quit a habit that destroys health.
The withdrawal calendar allows you to learn about all the upcoming changes in the body and prepare for them.
What is a cancellation calendar
The smoking cessation calendar for months and days is a powerful support on the way to getting rid of nicotine addiction. It allows you to understand how the body will react to nicotine withdrawal at different times and psychologically as well as physically prepare for possible difficulties.
Note!In addition to keeping track of changes in your body and mind on a calendar, it is advisable to keep a diary as it helps you better understand the causes of your tobacco addiction.
Often the desire to smoke another cigarette is not related to the body's physiological need for the next dose of nicotine, but to certain psychological triggers. For example, a morning cup of coffee or a break at work are strongly associated with smoking. Noticing the urge to smoke at such times, you should move on to another, more useful routine. For example, you can make another entry in your diary or call your loved one.
What to expect from the body
The daily calendar of a smoker who has given up smoking contains all the possible sensations and experiences that accompany the process of quitting smoking. Most often, people who quit smoking experience the following symptoms:
- Nicotine disaster. This is a very painful condition, especially irritating in the first days of quitting smoking.
- Psychological breakdown. The main reason why people continue to smoke is not physiological, but psychological. Cigarette smoking is perceived by the smoker as a certain ritual by which he reacts, reacts to different situations in his life. With the rejection of the usual ritualized actions, a very empty space appears, which the psyche often has nothing to fill. Hence the often-occurring feeling of anxiety and restlessness in a person who has recently given up smoking when he suddenly has nothing to occupy his hands and mouth under normal circumstances.
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases, often hidden. It is the annual calendar of the sworn smoker who has abruptly quit smoking that makes it possible to understand that the unpleasant physiological symptoms in the first weeks and even months of quitting smoking are signs of cleansing the body and restoring the normal functioning of its systems andorgans.
More information.The intensity and duration of withdrawal symptoms are different for everyone. However, in most cases after a few weeks the body regains the ability to produce nicotinic acid in the right amount and the physiological desire to smoke disappears. It is much more difficult to get rid of psychological dependence.
Emotions and thoughts
A person who has given up cigarettes can experience completely different emotions about it: from self-pity to pride in the willpower shown. To achieve this goal, you need to get rid of the idea that quitting smoking is a restriction, a severe asceticism that requires great effort and the strictest self-control.
Quitting smoking can be easy and fun. You just have to agree with your subconscious, to convince your "inner child" that life without cigarettes is much more interesting, more enjoyable and "cooler", that quitting tobacco can be a real pleasure.
For example, smokers lose their sense of smell and taste. However, this process is reversible. You just have to stop smoking and the familiar dishes will shine with new shades. Why not a reason, the most hedonistic, to quit smoking?
Helps you tune in to the right wave of rethinking global life goals. It is necessary to understand why all these changes in the usual way of life. For example, a rare woman does not dream of becoming a mother one day. When it is realized that the pleasure of cigarettes is nothing compared to the health and well-being of the unborn child, it is much easier to give up the bad habit.
Preliminary preparation
It is not recommended to quit smoking without serious preparation. Ultimately, this means exposing your body and psyche to a strong shake. It is better to take a week, two, a month to mentally prepare for the upcoming events.
You need to analyze in writing all the "pros" and "cons" of smoking and quitting and for yourself. If a loved one demands to quit smoking, you should not check the "health" element. Here we are talking about the value of the relationship and the comfort of the partner. Only finding real and positive motives will facilitate the process of changing your lifestyle.
Then you need to observe yourself and note what situations and emotions make you want to take out a cigarette and smoke. Then you need to invent compensatory activities. For example, they smoke a lot to calm down. For the same purposes you can use different breathing exercises, visualization techniques, drink herbal teas. Each of these activities can become your hobby, a new, "healthy" addiction.
Disposing of all lighters, ashtrays and other things reminiscent of an old habit is not necessary at all. Sometimes a pack of cigarettes hidden "for a rainy day" helps to more calmly endure the process of weaning from nicotine. The absence of any emotions when watching your favorite smoking devices is a sign of the final release of nicotine addiction.
Smoking cessation calendar by months
After learning detailed information about the upcoming changes in the body for next year, quitting smoking will not be surprised by any of his reactions and will not lose confidence in the correctness of the decision.
First month without smoking
This is the most difficult period, characterized by unstable physical and psycho-emotional states. Therefore, it is desirable that the first days and weeks without cigarettes coincide with weekends or holidays. By reducing the number of physical activities, stressful situations and increasing the number of new positive impressions, it is much easier to experience the withdrawal syndrome.
To minimize the unpleasant effects of nicotine cravings, it is recommended to include more green vegetables and fruits rich in pectins (apples, oranges, apricots, plums) in the diet. Buckwheat, legumes, nuts will help fill the lack of nicotinic acid. To reduce nervousness and improve sleep, you can use a decoction of motherwort.
Restoration of taste sensations leads to increased appetite, which can negatively affect body weight. So do not abuse sweets and high-calorie foods.
Second and third month
The stage of active recovery begins in the lungs. Occasionally there may be dry mouth, cough and sputum production, especially with increased physical activity. But this is a good sign - it means that the body has the resources to cleanse.
The cardiovascular system is also undergoing changes. By the end of the third month, vascular tone returns to normal and the ex-smoker stops suffering from dizziness and migraines.
Important!The end of the three-month cessation period is a critical period when many return to smoking. That is why at this moment it is necessary to stay away from temptations. Any attempt to smoke, "remember" the taste of a cigarette can bring a person back into the ranks of smokers.
Fourth to sixth month
The work of the gastrointestinal tract is restored, the stools are normalized. The ability to fully absorb all the necessary nutrients is returned to the intestines, which improves the condition of the skin. Peeling, itching that can embarrass a person in the initial stages of quitting smoking, no longer bothers him.
Many ex-smokers notice that by the fifth or sixth month, breathing becomes easier, as if their lungs have dilated. This is a sign of recovery of the broncho-pulmonary system. From this point on, it is recommended that you start exercising.
Cycling, swimming are the best options for physical activity for a still weakened body.
from the seventh to the ninth month
Coughing and sputum production are no longer a problem at this stage. You are allowed to include running and strength training in your training program.
At that time, many forgot the difficulties of the first weeks of giving up, but the strength of the habit is still great. It is important not to allow the cigarette to be lit "on the machine", mechanically.
tenth to twelfth month
Physiological dependence on nicotine is completely overcome. However, the risk of returning to the old habit is still high, as many continue to experience psychological discomfort due to a change in their normal daily life, loss of some elements of communication. As long as a person learns to fill these psychological "gaps", the desire to smoke a cigarette, to engage in "business", can continue to torment him from time to time.
Tips for people who quit smoking
An ex-smoker should not be criticized for relapse. It is better to consolidate each of your even the slightest success with positive emotions: praise, sincere admiration for the willpower shown, a gift. Also, another stage overcome on the way to eliminating the bad habit can be celebrated by spending free time together entirely according to the wishes of the quit. Only positive emotions, expressions of love from the closest people will give the cigarette addict the necessary mental strength for change.
Does the diary help?
As practice shows, the diary proves to be a very effective tool for many in the fight against nicotine addiction. Here you can throw away all your negative emotions and celebrate success at every stage of the throw. Studying other people's public diaries and the positive experience of giving up is as inspiring as anything else.