For those who smoke, smoking gives pleasure, comfort, enjoyment. A morning cup of coffee with a cigarette, jokes and laughter in the smoking room with colleagues, the opportunity to discuss something spicy, an evening ritual before bed - smoking. A cigarette is your best friend: it supports you in times of stress and helps you share your triumph. “We need to smoke this thing,” as they say. With it you can think about the meaning of life and simply sort out the events of the day. Is it easy to quit smoking when you are emotionally attached to a cigarette? In this article we will look at the reasons why people start smoking, the reasons why smoking is enjoyable, the very nature of nicotine addiction and ways to quit smoking. We will also touch on what exactly should not be done by those who want to help a loved one quit smoking. The most famous story of nicotine addiction is adolescence. A certain image of adulthood - smoking, alcohol, plus the need for self-affirmation in companies, the desire for freedom - is when everything is possible. Someone perceives this as self-indulgence: “Yes, I’m doing that, not seriously, just for fun.” It seems to them that addiction is not for them, especially since they most often hide smoking from their parents and may not smoke most of the day. This is a whole story: to smoke so that the parents don’t burn it down is a kind of secret, an intrigue, they feel like spies who manage to go unnoticed. There are teenagers who show rebellion in this way: “You are not my command now.” This can be especially pronounced in children whose parents put pressure on them, kept them under strict restrictions, without explaining the reasons. The vile taste does not stop a teenager, because even from the first cigarette they can get a “high” - when the head turns, everything becomes so special. Well, it’s important to be accepted into the company, or maybe a new team. And so they continue to smoke from their youth, because addiction crept up unnoticed, creating powerful rituals. A person cannot imagine himself without a cigarette at night: how will he fall asleep? Or how he will sort his thoughts into pieces without his faithful companion. And you try, but it doesn’t work, your thoughts jump like hares. But if you smoke, everything is fine. For a less sociable person, this is an easier way to join a new work team. You stand among your colleagues during a break, remain silent and look like a fool. But if you smoke, you look confident. This makes it easier to take a closer look at others and there is time to come up with a topic for conversation. Another powerful story behind addiction is stress. By this time, you most likely had a one-time smoking experience when one of your friends said: “Try it!” It didn't flood. The trick is that the first cigarette is not tasty to anyone. However, nicotine quickly causes physical dependence because it has a long half-life. And the brain remembers that there is an external stimulant that gives a feeling of calm and a good life. I didn’t like the cigarette, but the nick remained. And then stress happens, and you reach for a cigarette. There are a number of common triggers that make your hands reach for a cigarette: after a meal, after sex, with a morning cup of coffee, before bed, under stress and strong emotions (joy, anger, sadness), when you are bored, when you are waiting, when you are tired. Social smoking triggers: smoking parents, smoking friends, team. For example, I just smoked, well, maybe one more for company with a colleague. Or I met a friend on the street, I need to stop smoking. Close people, free from addiction, not understanding its nature, try to influence the smoker through a story about the dangers to health, slipping the necessary literature, setting restrictions, ultimatums, etc. But unsuccessfully. Even the threatening destruction of relationships will not stop. Most often, the smoker will simply try to do it secretly. This is more common for women. They start smoking at work or at home while the husband is at work with all kinds of subsequent ventilation and the use of “stinkers,” that is, odor absorbers. Men usually say directly thatthey are not going to quit. Either you love him or you don’t – it’s voluntary. Most smokers are well aware of the dangers of nicotine addiction. They are not allowed to forget about this by scary pictures on cigarette packs, TV shows and video material on free platforms, books and advertising on the topic “how to quit smoking.” But all the harmful effects of smoking will come later, someday, maybe, maybe not. Some people don’t smoke, don’t drink, and are constantly sick. So this is not taken as an indicator. And there are secondary benefits: communication, rituals, a feeling of calm and pleasure. There are also disadvantages, of course: your hands smell, your breath smells, and now you have to look for places to smoke. Some even choose to forego holidays in distant countries because they cannot withstand long flights. When you imagine that it’s a 9-hour flight, it becomes so bad. Yes, there are all sorts of lozenges, chewing gum, and plasters, but all this saves little. But quitting smoking doesn’t work for everyone. Why? Tobacco addiction is largely psychological in nature. You may not even experience physical withdrawal as such. Some people can easily go without smoking for hours or days if they know that cigarettes are readily available. But if they have just ended and there is no opportunity to smoke right away, then the level of anxiety and irritation goes through the roof. Once you find a “stash”, it lets you go. Fighting addiction by demonstrating your “willpower” is useless. Addiction is stronger than a person. Like a fly caught in a web, when it starts to fight in it, it becomes even more entangled. Addiction always gives the feeling that a person needs: strength, confidence, courage, calm. Therefore, she is like your best friend, accompanying you in all events. These are the hooks that addiction hooks us on. In fact, nicotine is not a friend, it is a liar. It deceives the body and mind, it makes you stupefied. When you inhale nicotine, the brain releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, the feel-good hormone. A person smokes to feel good. But the effect wears off when the cigarette ends and a new one is needed. And then more and more, because tolerance develops. Since smoking accompanies all emotions and creates rituals, giving it up is unthinkable for some people. In this regard, relationships with nicotine can be called toxic. Therefore, it is important to change your attitude towards smoking. Feel its real taste, realize the state of brain and consciousness fogging. Once, one person turned to me with an interesting request: to understand why he smokes. I asked if he wanted to quit. He replied: “No, I want to know why I’m doing this.” This was his first step towards freeing himself from addiction. This is important because in fact, it is not you who control yourself, but your addiction. Let me explain with an example. Imagine: your spouse wakes you up in the middle of the night so that you run to her (him) for a chocolate bar, a tangerine, or something else. How will you react? Most likely, you will be stunned and politely explain how you feel about such requests during sleep. What if your addiction hits you in the middle of the night with the slogan “I want to smoke,” but there are no cigarettes at home and you have to go to the store? Soooo, run or toss and turn the rest of the night without sleep in an attempt to fight the cravings. To get out of the influence of addiction, you need to find something that replaces it. Then efforts will be needed, but not so significant. Any addiction covers some internal need. A person lacks something in himself. He needs some feeling. For example, a sense of belonging to a team. But what about it? – all the most interesting things happen in the smoking room, including informal communication. Smoking also gives a feeling of belonging to a beautiful life, if the addiction is “designed” beautifully: a pipe, a cigarette holder and other belongings. At the level of the head, we explain to ourselves that smoking helps to cope with stress. But this is a superficial level. Everyone has stress, but not everyone smokes. That is, stress alone is not enough. One must also experience a lack of confidence and emotional stability. A +79689377788