Stages of Quitting Smoking
If you smoke, you may go through five stages to quit smoking. It’s important to determine which stage you’re in, as each stage has different strategies that work best for you. Five stages of quit smoking are:
Consider
Prepare
Action
Maintenance and Recurrence
Consider
If you haven’t even considered quitting smoking and feel the benefits of smoking outweigh the costs, you are in preview. However, if you remain open to information or experience the effects of nicotine addiction, at some point your interest in quitting may increase and move into the contemplation phase.
Contemplation
You are in the contemplation stage when you are considering quitting smoking but are not yet ready to quit. Part of you wants to quit smoking, but part of you is not ready to give up the pleasures and comforts of smoking. You can take the necessary steps to quit smoking and make a firm decision to continue smoking.
For more convincing, read Health Effects of Smoking. When deciding, try creating two lists side by side. Make a list of the benefits or good things you get from smoking. On the other list, write down the costs and downsides of smoking.
Preparation
At this stage, you have decided to quit and are preparing to do so. This is the most important phase. The more time you spend preparing to quit smoking, the more likely you are to successfully quit.
Create a list of times and circumstances to smoke
List the times when you would most like to smoke. Outlining cues and triggers such as morning coffee, phone calls, right after a good meal, or drinks to help you decide on alternative coping strategies. Is there anything I should change about my environment or behavior when I quit smoking? Eliminate ashtrays, cut back on coffee in the morning, cut back on alcohol for a while, have lunch somewhere else, change the way you commute, and clean your car.
Also as part of your preparation, you’ll want to talk to your doctor about your options, including medications. Communicate your intentions to others and make a list of people you can support to help you in the first few weeks of quitting smoking. It’s a thing. Invest enough time and effort to increase your chances of success. Then choose an end date!
Action
This phase attempts to quit smoking. Inhale, exhale, and don’t take a single puff. Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Remember, by the end of the first 24 hours, your heart health is already improving. Of course, we all know that quitting smoking can have undesirable effects.
Maintenance and Relapse
You are currently an ex-smoker, but you cannot become a cause smoker or a social smoker. The brain changes associated with addiction were partly reversible and partly permanent.Over time, cravings subside and obsessions subside. Fortunately, by this point, you’ve developed some effective coping strategies that will help you feel more confident when faced with the temptation to smoke.
When you smoke, it’s important to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones that further turn into valuable lessons. Reflect on the situation or feeling that caused the mistake.
