This 5 step system I use to face cravings and the addiction works really well ...
Confronting Your Addiction (Five Steps)
#1 - I Am Having A Desire To Smoke Right Now:
Every time you have a desire to smoke, face it. The desire is going to come over you whether you like it or not. It's normal. That's what makes you a smoker. But you don't have to be afraid of the desire. It's not bigger than you. It can't hurt you. You don't have to get rid of it, hide from it, or pretend it isn't there. Let it run its course.
It will fade away. You may worry that you'll never feel normal again. However, YOU CAN BE CERTAIN THAT AS LONG AS YOU DON'T GIVE IN TO THE ADDICTION, YOUR DESIRE TO SMOKE WILL INEVITABLY DIMINISH, becoming less frequent and less intense until most of the time you feel like a non-smoker. And although you want a cigarette,remember what you don't want. You don't want to get sick from smoking or to have to go on smoking for the rest of your life.
I Can Smoke. I Am Not Deprived: Nobody's taking your cigarettes away from you. You [chose] smoking, and even if you do stop, you can go back to smoking any time you choose. What you can't be, however, is a happy comfortable smoker.
#2 - One Puff And I'll Go Back To Smoking 30 To 40 Cigarettes A Day, Every Day:
Don't trick yourself into believing you can have just one puff when the going gets difficult. Using your drug to get through withdrawal from your drug doesn't make sense. One puff will always call for another puff,and sooner or later you'll be back to smoking them all.
#3 - Right Now I Have A Choice To Make For Myself:
Either give in to this temporary discomfort and go back to the CONSTANT MISERY OF SMOKING, or accept this TEMPORARY discomfort and walk through it for these benefits ...
#4 - NOW ... list YOUR OWN five benefits here.
For Example: better breathing, no more chest pains,healthier heart, peace of mind more self-respect.
Name the five most important benefits for YOU, beginning with your top priority. One way to make sure these are your reasons for stopping is to ask yourself whether you're willingly accepting the discomfort of going through withdrawal.
#5 - YOU ONLY HAVE THE ABOVE TWO OPTIONS ... so now make your choice ...
At this moment I CHOOSE TO WILLINGLY ACCEPT THIS TEMPORARY DISCOMFORT because I want ________(fill in this blank with your reasons to quit)________!!
Always end your thinking process by naming at least three major benefits. When you have a craving to smoke, don't let it make a fool of you. Use these FIVE STEPS, along with your list of benefits, every time the desire to smoke comes up.
Recognize what's happening: you're having a desire to smoke. And you can smoke; you're not deprived. Then, remind yourself that one puff will take you straight back to the slavery of smoking.
Finally, make your choice. Don't whine and complain because you can't have it your way - smoking without consequences. You have to pay a price; you can't have cigarettes and your health, too. Remember that you are choosing between TEMPORARY DISCOMFORT and ONGOING MISERY.
You can succumb to your desire and give in to your addiction for relief from temporary stress ORyou can resist the urge for the sake of long-term happiness and health.
By using these steps to face your addiction, you will train your mind to respond to the desire to smoke in a new you. Instead of automatically giving in to your desires, like a robot, you will confront the desire and make a choice.
Good luck all ....
