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How to help a friend quit smoking?

The title(above) is not a question that i'm asking the readers to help me with, but I had a friend who was into big time smoking, but never had the courage or intention to let the habit find its doomsday.
So I did some research and I have jotted down the most effective ones that would help people quit smoking eventually.
If you are looking ways to make your friend or beloved quit this deadly habit EVENTUALLY, you are in the correct place. Why do I keep re-iterating on the word "EVENTUALLY" - is because no habit in the world is easy to quit. If somebody asks me to stop taking coffee or tea, I would literally die or I would be in a mire of depression- so is smoking, hence let us keep a reasonable turn-around time.

1)Will Power: Make sure the smoker friend you are trying to help is willing to(try to) quit the habit. If there is no 'will' then there is no 'way' you can help him/her out.

2)Monitor the count: See, how many cigarettes a day he/she takes. See, if that is a constant number. If it varies, then figure out the reason for the consumption of more cigarette on particular day, find the pattern.
If it is a work related stress that makes him/her take more, then the ideal way to fix this is asking the friend to take a break & also take up meditation for 5 to 10 minutes when the craving comes(If he/she thinks meditation is crap), then ask the person to listen to melodious(or not so heavy) music whenever the craving pops up for 5 to 10 minutes.

3)Do not force: If the allotted cigarette count for a day is 4 and your friend went overboard with 1 or 2 extra, do not confront or fret it - just give him/her a break, you know everybody has off days.

4)Appreciate them: You have to be kinder, appreciate them for not having taken an extra cigarette for a week - have a drink, celebrate in a coffee shop, gift him/her a mini teddy bear every time you reach a goal. Small things like this can give enormous motivation and strength to the brain. Basically, you are just letting them know that you are with him/her in this process and that you care.

5)Take fluid: Yes, you heard it right. Ask him/her to take a lot of water, slim milk, coffee/tea, fresh juice or packed juice, which would make their stomach full, which in turn helps them not to crave for a smoke.

6)Reasonable target: Tell them the duration that he/she can take to quit this habit. It could be 6 months , an year or more depending on the type of smoker & how frequent he/she smokes. Never go overboard and say "You have to quit in a month" - on the one hand it is illogical & on the other it doesn't help.

7)Try to outsmart: When you know that your friend is going for a smoke in a particular time everyday, try to evade that without his/her knowledge by taking them out for a walk ,grocery shopping ,watch a "youtube" video or comedy, make a lovely dessert or bake a cake and make them concentrate on other things rather than smoking. Although you cannot do this everyday, you can very well do it once a week or so.
See, "Facebook was not built in a day", every single step counts to achieve the bigger goal. So take it up.

8)Exercise: Working out in gym, going for a jog, or just walking around your apartment complex, actually helps. When you exercise you lose a lot of energy, once you are done with your workout routine, what you crave is food and not a smoke, so this works.

9)Post It: Yes, stick a post-it note wherever you can in the house, bathroom, garage or in the office cubicle with the following wording "I have quit smoking forever.(Period)"

10)Head Massage: Now, this is fun. Give them a relaxing massage for 10 minutes, preferably a head massage - this helps in calming the nerves which in turn helps in relaxing the craving and the smoker friend will probably fall asleep ;-), see target achieved on a lighter note.

Well, last but not the least, let the smoker friend know that you care.

Image courtesy: Internet

Comments

  1. JulieFebruary 20, 2013 at 2:23 PM

    lovely post,Pavithra..:)
    Thanx for dropping by my space n joining too,happy to join your space too!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PavithraFebruary 20, 2013 at 8:23 PM

      Thanks a bunch, Julie.
      And Thank you for visiting my blog & for adding me as a GFC. Very encouraging!! :-)

      Delete
  2. Nilu AMay 29, 2013 at 11:22 PM

    Great post Pavithra.. Very informative dear :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. watson smithMay 15, 2014 at 12:44 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. dylan jazzMay 27, 2014 at 4:24 AM

    helpful information has been given in this article you can visit Online Counselling for more update.

    ReplyDelete

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