Congratulations! Quitting smoking is a major achievement that you should be proud of! But giving up the tobacco habit is only the first step in the long smoking cessation healing process. Your body will now need to recover from the damages wrought on it by cigarettes. To help you along in the process, to keep you from going back on tobacco, here are 5 things you need to remember to do when you quit smoking:
- Hydration: As soon as you quit smoking you need to drink water. Lots and lots of water. Water helps detox the body by flushing out the toxins and chemicals that have been deposited into your system by cigarettes.
- Fruit: It is important to eat a variety of different fruits, especially if your body is used to taking in a lot of sugar. Fruits contain many of the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to replenish after smoking.
- Deep Breathing: This advice might seem a little strange at first, but it is vitally important to breathe deeply when you quit smoking. Deep breathing oxygenates and exercises the lungs, something that you need to do on a regular basis after having exposed the lungs to tobacco toxins.
- Check Your Bank Account: Smoking is not only a dangerous habit, it is an expensive habit. Smoking is a bank breaker for many people. Therefore, if you are struggling with motivation in the first few days after you quit smoking, make a plan to calculate how much money smoking cessation saves you—and maybe plan to use that money for something more healthy, fun or productive as well.
- Be Trigger Conscious: In the days after you give up the psychosocial smoking habit, you will need to be very conscious of what triggers you vis-à-vis smoking. What is it that makes your reach for a cigarette? Being aware of your triggers allows you to both avoid and defuse them so you can stay smoke free.
Quitting smoking is not a one day event, it is a lifelong process. This is why it is important to have a plan of action with regard to smoking cessation; having a plan will help you stay smoke free for the long haul. One plan that is worth investigating is quit smoking hypnosis. Quit smoking hypnosis helps you re-program your attitudes and beliefs towards cigarettes so that you are no longer dependent on them for stress relief or any other form of psychological soothing. As a smoking cessation method, quit smoking hypnosis will teach you to transfer your emotional responses onto healthy activities instead. Try it—you will find that it helps you stay off tobacco in order to live a healthier life.
Smoking is a psychosocial habit that can kill you, but it doesn’t have to; quitting smoking will allow you to heal your body. If you, or someone you know, are struggling with a smoking habit, please contact us. You can also check us out on Facebook and ask for advice or share your own tips on how to stay tobacco free.