Paradoxically, the news of the government's plans for grisly anti-smoking ads made me crave a cigarette. I quit smoking many years ago and rarely have a craving anymore, but seeing these ads brought it all back. It also reminded me of the unpleasantness of quitting, including the obsessive thoughts. My quitting strategy was to keep my mind and body busy all the time, in order to keep my thoughts of cigarettes at bay. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. I relapsed a few times before I finally quit for good.
There were quitters' support groups available at the time, but the idea didn't make sense to me. Why would I want to sit around with other dreary addicts and talk incessantly about the very thing I was trying to banish from my mind? Wouldn't that just undermine my willpower and leave me more miserable?
Well, no, as it turns out. New science now suggests that the worst thing smokers can do is try not to think about cigarettes. Banishing cigarettes and matches and ashtrays from your neurons may lead temporarily to less smoking, but the banished thoughts quickly rebound -- nudging smokers to light up even more than they do usually.
The research is from the University of London. Psychological scientist James Erskine and his colleagues knew from previous experiments that people find it nearly impossible to suppress any thoughts for very long. This is the famous "don't think about white bears" research, which showed that even random thoughts take on power once we decide we want them gone. But Erskine and colleagues wanted to take this a step further -- to see if banishing thoughts actually shapes our actions as well as our thinking.
Here's the study. The scientists recruited a large group of regular smokers, both men and women in their 20s and 30s. None of the smokers was trying to quit at the time, and indeed had no intention to quit; but the researchers did ask them how many times they had tried to quit in the past. They also measured their general tendency to suppress thoughts, which varies from individual to individual.
The participants were then given diaries and told to record how many cigarettes they smoked every day for three weeks. They also made notations about their stress levels every day during the three weeks. Finally, they were instructed -- this is important -- not to alter their normal smoking patterns in any way.
After doing this for a week, some of the participants were given this additional instruction: "Try not to think about smoking. If you do happen to have thoughts about smoking this week, try to suppress them." Others were told nothing, while still others were told basically the opposite -- to actively try to think about cigarettes as often as possible. They all did this for a week, and then spent the third and final week again simply recording their smoking and stress.
The results were intriguing. As described a while back in the journal Psychological Science, those who tried to banish thoughts of cigarettes smoked significantly less than the others during the time they were actually suppressing their thoughts, but their puffing rebounded with a fury the following week: they smoked much more than the controls and -- the most interesting finding -- more than those who were indulging in thoughts of smoking. What's more, the suppressors experienced much more stress during the time they were trying to control their thoughts -- but this stress vanished in the final week as their smoking spiked.
Remember that these smokers were explicitly instructed not to change their normal smoking patterns. Yet the suppressors smoked less when they were actively controlling their thoughts. This suggests that, in the short term, suppression may really work. But that's not necessarily a good thing for this reason: smokers may perceive the strategy as beneficial, when in fact they are unwittingly triggering a relapse in the not-so-distant future.
Remember also that these participants were not even trying to quit. But when the scientists looked more closely at those who had tried to quit in the past, they tended to be those who habitually suppress unpleasant thoughts. This makes sense. The paradoxical rebound effect is no doubt even stronger in those who really, really want the craving to stop.
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I loved smoking and smoked up to three packs a day.
I used to wake up to smoke and I looked so deliriously happy when I smoked I am sure others smoked just because I made it look so darn fun. When I had a son who as a baby had RSV I was told I should not hold him re the smoke on my body and clothes. So I got prescription for an anti anxiety medicine from my doctor (it might of been Xanax) who's recommendation was that I stay busy (which did not make sense to me as real smokers play tennis and smoke)- I got the patch - and then I went to the place where I least smoked -I went to bed with a stack of movies for a few days and resurfaced days later to live my life apprehensively without my best friend, right arm and biggest addiction the cigarette, Terrified I would not know how to drive the car, talk on the phone, or answer the door bell somehow I did almost 16 years ago this coming February.
Bill Couzens, Founder Less Cancer
www.StopSmokingStayQuit.blogspot.com
Author of "Crush Your Butts" and "Tips to Win at Quitting Smoking"
I was working on a big project and smoked 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day for about two weeks. By the project's end I was thoroughly disgusted. I was done with smoking and stopped cold turkey.
An interesting thing began to happen. I was able to isolate and observe my body's craving for nicotine. I could actually "hear" a click deep within my brain and the craving would explode. If I waited awhile it would subside. After observing the "click-and-crave" process, it dawned on me: If my brain was clicking on the craving for nicotine, certainly I could "click" it off. I visualized a switch deep in my brain and went to work clicking it off whenever my craving clicked it on. It became an interesting experiment. Over about nine months period my craving diminished, the clicking ceased and then stopped completely. I have never had a cigarette since nor the desire for one.
I came across an article on a Boston University study about nicotine addiction. The area of the brain identified as highly affected by nicotine was exactly where I "heard" the click. Unfortunately, I lost track of the article but I hope my story helps. I applaud all who are working hard to give up cigarettes. It is well the effort. Your life is worth the effort.
Cigarette butts have all kinds of environmentally dangerous chemicals in them that harm wildlife and contribute to pollution. Not to mention the unsightly mess of butts and ashtrays. My children and grandchildren don't have to be exposed to smoke when they're with me. I don't have to stay at a motel instead of at one of my family members when I go home to visit just so I can smoke. My car doesn't have ashes all over the place. I don't have to worry about having a lighter and a backup lighter and 1 or 2 pks to carry all the time. I don't burn things...no holes in clothes, car, people, myself. There are just so many things that you can notice that will surprise you if you quit. I know this has been long and I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read and reflect on my story. My goal is to get the message out there that it's way better to be a non-smoker and that there are so many reasons to quit besides the obvious health benefits. Good luck to all of you---I am rooting for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I started smoking and it was hard work. It took me about six months to be able to "inhale" the smoke. It was true about the smoke not bothering me when I finally figured out how to do it right. I smoked for about 6 years and then i got married. My husband told me I had to quit smoking because he would not have a wife who smoked. (Even though he smoked 2 pk/day...I was young, naive, in love, and easily influenced by him.) I "sneak smoked" about a pack every 2 days for a few months and every time I heard a vehicle drive by, I would hurry to put out my cig and cover up all the signs of it so he wouldn't catch me. Eventually I just quit because it was too much of a hassle, I had weaned myself down drastically, and I was pregnant. I didn't smoke for 12 years until the day I left that expletive $%%$^! That was December 13, 1990. if you're still with me, chapter 3 is next :)
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