|
STRESS
MANAGEMENT
Edited by: Maggie
Doeve
Over years of
smoking, your body has been trained into feeling that
smoking is relaxing, because without nicotine you begin to
feel nervous and anxious. This learning process becomes so
ingrained into your body and mind that it takes time to learn
how to cope with stress without smoking a cigarette.
Truth of the
matter however is this: A smoker's brain does no longer
produce the so called feel good chemicals naturally and here's
why; It's called the forced chemical overproduction of the
"dens" factor (dopamine, endorphins, norepinephrine and
serotonin), which creates a chemical imbalance that the
brain must attempt to regulate, which it does by "stopping"
the automatic time release of these chemicals in an attempt to
control the overproduction. The body now relies
purely on the trigger substance Nicotine to manipulate the
brain to release these feel good chemicals. It is a
vicious cycle in such that a smoker is in this endless loop of
behavior/addiction and addiction/behavior, with unfortunately
the physical dependence being the lesser of the two
evils.
After Laser
Solutions laser therapy,
this negative trigger manipulation will be reversed.
The brain will attempt to restore to an earlier time
so to speak, to a restoration point prior to the smoking
habit and begin producing the "dens factor" naturally
and restoring it to the "send factor", without that
nicotine trigger. It is why stress levels tend to be
highest during the first two weeks after quitting,
but then taper off.
To deal with stress best is,
during the first few weeks as a non-smoker, plan for the
following typically stressful situations such
as:
* A bad day at work
* A problem
with your kids
* An argument with your spouse or
partner
* A traffic ticket
* A minor fender
bender
Or for the following even more stressful events
such as:
* The death of a loved one
*
The loss of a job (self or a loved one)
* A serious
illness or injury (self or a loved one)
* A major
family crisis
Behavioral coping skills are things that
you do and involve you taking some form of action, of which
some examples are:
* Leave the
situation
* Call a friend or family member
*
Take deep breaths
* Go for a walk
*
Exercise
* Chew gum, or take a mint, or gnaw on a
carrot
Mental coping skills are things that you
"tell yourself" to keep yourself from smoking,
like:
* Tell your brain to stop thinking
of cigarettes,
because
"you" are not giving
in. Just say NO!
* Remind yourself that smoking will
not solve the problem
* Tell your brain that
you are "mind over matter" and you
will
not anymore permit "matter taking over your mind"
*
Remind yourself of the reasons you quit smoking
* Say
"I can deal with this without smoking. No matter
what
happens today, smoking is not an
option for me."
* Remind yourself that smoking will
not solve the problem
Take a one-minute mini
vacation. The one-minute vacation is something you can do
almost anywhere, any time by following these simple steps;
Close your eyes and take a deep, slow breath through your
nose. As you inhale, picture yourself at your favorite spot.
Then exhale slowly through your mouth, holding that scene in
your mind. Enjoy the pleasure of that scene and then open your
eyes and feel refreshed.
What can you do to
manage stress?
* Get plenty of
sleep
* Do something you enjoy every day
*
Set realistic goals
* Don't put things off
*
Ask for help when you need it
* Don't take on more
responsibilities than you can handle
* Enjoy the
small pleasures in life, like a nice sunset or
sunrise
* Avoid long lines, heavy traffic and other
stressful situations.
* Maintain a positive attitude
or cultivate one
* Choose to be around people who are
supportive of you
* Take time to laugh
*
Eat well and drink lots of water
* Talk with others
about your problems - don't keep your
feelings
bottled up
* Close
your eyes and do some deep breathing
* Keep a
journal
* Get some physical activity every
day
* Take long baths or showers
What
can you do if you find yourself in a highly emotional
situation?
* Allow yourself to feel
whatever emotions come up
* Talk with someone you
trust about how you feel
* Write in your
journal
* Focus on what you need to do to work
through the situation
* If
you're tempted to smoke, ask yourself, "what do I
expect
to gain from a cigarette?"
Whatever the need is, find some
other
way to satisfy it. A cigarette will not make a
problem
go away. It can make it
worse though; you'd have to get back
on
track with quitting, on top of dealing with the problem
itself
and the added disappointment in
oneself. It may feel awkward
not to
smoke at a time like this, but with time it will become
more
natural.
Home
to : Stop smoking tips &
tools
or next page
|
|
From: Drunky
To: Laser
Solutions
10/09/2008
I quit smoking 4 weeks ago
thanks to Laser Solutions. I have tried before without laser
treatment and this was the easiest way for by far to quit.
read more....
|
|
