Quit Smoking for Good
If you’re a smoker, you’ve probably thought about trying to quit smoking for good. There is also a chance that you have scoffed at the idea, without even trying. You might think that you’ve already damaged your health or you might fear failure. If you’re thinking these things, that is all the more reason to stop smoking now. At least try it, so you can prove to yourself and others. If you quit smoking, the health benefits will greatly outweigh any reason for not quitting now.
Make no mistake: you will have to be strong to quit smoking. Stopping a habit is difficult, and one that comes with cravings is even harder to kick. But if so many people have stopped smoking for good, there really isn’t any reason to think you can’t stop smoking too. In fact, here is plenty of support, help for ways to quit smoking, as well as quit smoking aids available to make quitting easier than ever.
Before you decide to quit, sit down and write a list of all the reasons to stop smoking now. Think of everything you can: your health, financial aspects, odor and smells, house damage, risks for your children or friends. No reason is too small. Now, write down all the reasons you should continue to smoke. The lists probably don’t even come close to evening out, do they?
The list of reasons to quit smoking should be something you carry everywhere for a while. The point is to remind yourself why you should quit smoking and have that list on hand to read each time you smoke. You’re eventually going to turn your internal dialogue messages into ones that discourage you from continuing to smoke, which is great.
Pick a quit date. Make sure it’s a date well in the future and one that isn’t going to have other stressors going on at that time. Your quit date will be the day you quit smoking for good. Plan for it, prepare yourself for it and tell everyone about it. Quitting smoking starts a long, long time before you actually have your last cigarette.
Cravings are one of the obstacles to overcome when you quit smoking. You can find ways to quit smoking that will help you deal with those cravings. A glass of water can often relieve the desire for a cigarette. Taking up a healthy hobby to get your mind off cigarettes is another way to quit smoking sooner. The main thing is to trick your mind into thinking about something else, rather than focusing on the relief that a cigarette can bring.
Research tips on how to quit smoking and advice for overcoming cravings before you stop smoking. For instance, drinking a glass of water when you feel like smoking is one good tip. Another tip is to stop whatever you’re doing and immediately do something else when you feel a craving coming on. Trick your brain out of thinking about smoking and change activities.
Your doctor can give you some medical advice on ways to quit smoking, too. You can choose one or more aids because it’s proven that quitting cold turkey doesn’t have successful results. Many people use patches, hypnotism, laser treatment, and other ways to quit smoking. There really is no reason to be a martyr and put yourself through the hardest times possible. Accept help from your doctor, listen to advice about coping with cravings and make the process easier.
A Woman Manifest Signs of Alcohol Addiction and Depression and Makes an Appointment to See Her Physician About Her Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking
Teresa was a forty-five-year-old insurance agent who realized that she had some problems with her drinking. For example, within the past two months she has felt the need to have quite a few drinks before going to work, two weeks ago she failed a random hair alcohol test at her place of employment, three weeks ago she got arrested by the police for a DWI, and last but not least, for about three months she has begun to fail to remember what she does and says when she drinks with her buddies.
Similar to huge numbers of other people, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol started out slowly and continued at this pace for quite some time because once in a “blue moon” she engaged in occasional social drinking. In point of fact, for about ten months, every time she went out to drink, she made sure to drink responsibly. Something about her drinking circumstances, however, seemed to radically change when she divorced her husband.
In Order To Get Beyond the Breakup of Her Husband In a More Pain Free Manner, Teresa Made Up Her Mind To Start Going Out More Regularly With Some of Her Pals Who Love to Drink
Teresa got especially despondent about the loss of her husband, and as a way to abstain from fixating on her disheartening emotions she decided to start hanging around more frequently with some of her friends who love to whoop it up and drink.
Quite candidly, Teresa believed that having fun almost every day by getting a “buzz” by drinking with her pals would help her get over the breakup of her husband more painlessly.
Teresa’s Drinking Increases Significantly the More Routinely She Goes to Dinner Dates, Family Get-Togethers, Sporting Events, Happy Hours, and Private Parties With Her Buddies
It didn’t take too long, nevertheless, before her drinking increased considerably the more routinely she went to and drank at dinner dates, family get-togethers, private parties, happy hours, and sporting events with her friends. Not only this, but the fact that her drinking friends were all quite a bit younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party more frequently and harder was one of the reasons that she didn’t center more of her attention on her increased drinking. In a word, she was drinking and having lots of fun just like everyone else in her group of pals without much reflection about the effects of her abusive and irresponsible drinking.
Yet somewhere in the recesses of her mind she knew that she most likely required alcohol rehab but sidestepped the thought as much as she could.
Teresa Gets a Physical, ”Comes Clean” About Her Abusive Drinking to Her Physician, and Owns Up to the Truth About Her Dejection
One day during her yearly physical, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to lie to her healthcare professional, Teresa ”came clean” and stated that she commonly drinks more than she should. If truth be told, she said that she commonly drinks in an excessive and hazardous manner. Then Teresa told her healthcare professional about her constant negativity. More specifically, she stated that ruined relationships commonly generated a depressing progression of events characterized by increased drinking which further resulted in more discouraging feelings that, in turn, resulted in even more drinking. And this is precisely what took place when she and her husband got divorced eleven months ago.
When her healthcare practitioner heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various facts and statistics on alcoholism he has been examining, alcoholism and depression commonly take place in the same person. He then informed her that some of the alcohol statistics, research investigations, and facts he has been studying also underscore the fact that individuals who drink in an excessive and abusive manner and who also experience depression need to receive treatment for both medical situations.
Teresa’s Doctor Makes an Appointment for a Psychological Appraisal and For an Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Assessment
Teresa’s physician then said the following: “I am not trying to make an impulsive judgment, but with your medical condition we may be confronting two separate problems. As a consequence, I think we probably should schedule an appointment for you to get an alcoholism and alcohol abuse evaluation from my partner, Dr. Jackson, who is an alcohol dependency specialist. Whether your drinking situation is more linked to alcohol abuse or alcoholism is unclear at this time, but I feel that further evaluation is required. Then I feel we should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological examination from another one of my partners, Dr. Harwood, who is a psychologist. I want to get some additional information about your pessimism and see how much your drinking and depression are interlinked.” Teresa expressed her agreement with her healthcare professional’s treatment approach and thanked him for his time and assistance. Now all she had to do was to try to decrease her drinking and wait for her appointments.
July 1, 2009
Why Mayfield’s Suspension May Be A Good Thing
As you may be aware, NASCAR’s Jeremy Mayfield has been put on indefinite suspension after he failed two drug tests. The suspension was made known at the Darlington Raceway last Saturday and hogged NASCAR news for some time. Mayfield was suspended along with two other members of other teams. After the announcement, many wanted to know what drug Mayfield is said to be using.
Not long before the Darlington announcement, Mayfield had also tested positive for drug use. Despite these results, Mayfield was still allowed to practice and qualify for the Darlington race. Those in the know say officials allowed it while waiting for the results of Mayfield’s “B” drug test. Aside from being suspended from NASCAR driving, Mayfield also lost ownership of Mayfield Motorsports.
Mayfield is vehement in his claim the only thing he took were prescription medication and over-the-counter medicines for allergies. At present, Mayfield’s case is awaiting further ruling from NASCAR officials. J.J Yeley will act as interim driver while Mayfield is unable to race. At the same time, Mayfield’s wife will officially be considered team owner.
Today, a number of NASCAR drivers, fans, and the media, want to know which substances are banned. They also want to know which drugs led to Mayfield’s suspension. “The first thing is, there should not be a mystery out. This should be public knowledge,” says 2002 NASCAR rookie Ryan Newman.
Newman kept mum about what he thought of Mayfield’s suspension. “I don’t know the whole story for what’s happened. Knowing what the penalty is, knowing what caused the situation is extremely important,†he points out“I don’t know the whole story for what’s happened. Knowing what the penalty is, knowing what caused the situation is extremely important,†he adds.
2004 champion Kurt Busch voiced the same concerns as Newman’s. “When I go into a drug testing scenario, we don’t know what the outcome can be because we don’t know what they’re testing for. It’s very open-ended…I like it (the drug testing policy), and I don’t like it at the same time,†Busch says.
Other drivers, like Brian Vickers, feel that the lack of information creates undue constraints. In particular, “I am afraid to take my multi-vitamin…Because you call them (NASCAR) and ask them ‘is this multi-vitamin ok?’ And their response is ‘well, I think it is, but if it tests positive, there’s nothing we can do about it’,†he shares.
Every NASCAR driver is a certified pro at racing and driving. Making them question as simple a thing as vitamin intake is ridiculous. NASCAR should reveal the specifics relating to the case, such as the drugs Mayfield was suspended for and the drugs that NASCAR considers illegal. Then, and only then, will all the doubts, speculations, and controversies caused by this NASCAR news be put to an end.
June 30, 2009
The Best Way To Quit Smoking
What’s the best way to quit smoking?
One word answer: fear.
It may sound quite loco, and it may even sound ridiculous, but former smokers are in unison in saying that the best technique to quit smoking is a good old fashioned scare tactic. Sadly, such scare tactic may actually be actual, and its dangers may be closer than what we’d initially perceive.
A smoker can try many technique to quitsmoking. He may try the mental approach of classical, or even operant, conditioning by rewarding himself after every success or depriving or hurting himself after every failure. Unfortunately, the downfall of this method is that the prize master, or the punishment master as the case may be, is also the subject and the prizes or punishments will never be objectively implemented.
A smoker can consider revolutionary methods like laser therapy where high density light of different frequencies are applied to these acupuncture holes to develop endorphins. Endorphins limit the craving for a stick, eradicating the subject’s desire to light up a stick. But, no matter how innovative this method may seem, it has yet to pass generally acknowledged medical standards. Its effects are purely mythical, at best, minus this verification from the medical community.
A smoker can also try conventional support like nicotine patches, which are said to regulate the system’s yearning for nicotine as well. Sadly, even years after their introduction to the market, nicotine patches have yet to attain verification from medical professionals.
How about hypnosis, you might ask? Hypnosis is known as a method to aid the patient quit smoking by forcing his subconscious to forget about the body’s perceived need for such. However, a number of people think of this as just as “sci fi”-ish as the movie Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.
In the end, the most effective method to make a smoker stop smoking is through fear.
It may be a realized fear, say, when the smoker suffers a heart attack or a stroke or is discovered that he has the beginnings of lung cancer. Statistics show that almost 7 out of every 10 smokers who experience their first major brush with a fatal ailment caused by their hazardous habit actually quit smoking. Eighty-two percent of them quit for life.
It may also be an a feelings-based type of fear, like the perceived horror of leaving behind one’s family, or the inability to witness one’s children develop into magnificent adults. This is a classic case of loveconquering all - smoking included.
Seriously, no matter how long you think about this, it is the best way to quit smoking. Good luck!
