The #1 Reason why so many people have trouble quitting…

OUR MIND PLAYS TRICKS ON US!

Many people start smoking because it makes them feel easy-going, confident, part of the crowd, and even happy. And, years later, even though we’re coughing, spitting up phlegm and hating the habit, our mind/brain hangs on to these positive associations and would keeping us smoking forever and ever even though we know it’s killing us.

Many of us also get tricked into believing that smoking makes us feel more relaxed.

How does all this happen?

This association with stress reduction is understandable, since "When a person smokes, a dose of nicotine reaches the brain within about ten seconds. At first, nicotine improves mood and concentration, decreases anger and stress, relaxes muscles and reduces appetite" (Mental Health Foundation).

However, "Research into smoking and stress has shown that instead of helping people to relax, smoking actually increases anxiety and tension. Nicotine creates an immediate sense of relaxation so people smoke in the belief that it reduces stress and anxiety. This feeling of relaxation is temporary and soon gives way to withdrawal symptoms and increased cravings" (MHF).

The fact is that the act of smoking regularly creates a cycle--we're constantly going through withdrawal, feeling stress because of the withdrawal, and then smoking to relieve the "stress" of withdrawal.

So, although smoking reduces nicotine withdrawal symptoms, which are similar to the symptoms of anxiety, smoking does not reduce anxiety or deal with the underlying causes (MHF).

Another problem is that most of us begin our stop-smoking adventure by deciding, often on the spur of the moment, to quit TODAY!

We’ve had enough of the costs, the smell, the coughs, the phlegm, and we wake up and say:

“That’s it, I’M DONE!”

What we forge is that we have a very complicated relationship with smoking both mentally and physically, and although we may have the best of intentions and a will of steel in most other areas, there’s a lot more going on than we think.

And, because we’ve taken a do or die approach, that first attempt often fails.

Unfortunately, that initial failure can set us up for future ones.

Eventually, we begin to believe there’s no way we can possibly ever quit.

We think there’s something wrong with us.

That it’s our fate to smoke forever.