We have been conditioned our entire lives to use cigarettes to cope with stress…..it’s a knee-jerk reaction. What the addicted part of your brain WON’T tell you is how much cigarettes contribute to your stress. You’re likely reading this because you are a smoker, and you don’t like that you smoke. When we deliberately choose to do something that we know we shouldn’t, stress builds inside us on the subconscious level. Also, cigarettes have become very expensive. Spending money on something so harmful contributes to the stress of smoking. Additionally, many smokers are “closet” smokers in one or more aspects i.e. with employers or co-workers, with a mate/spouse, with children, health insurers. The struggle and inconvenience of hiding smoking paired with the fear and consequences of getting caught only compound the stress that this habit causes. The image associated with being a smoker has become increasingly negative. Even if you don’t think you care about this image consider how you felt the last time someone told you, “you know those will kill you,” or when someone hollered at you from a warm car while you were outside alone on 20 below day trying to choke down a smoke-it may have been shame, resentment, or downright anger……either way…..more stress. Let us also not forget to mention the amount of stress that smoking causes to the body physically. We know that smoking contributes to a variety of health conditions; high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes-to name only a few. If you suffer from one or more of these conditions and choose to continue to smoke…yet more stress that you may not even be aware of.
It’s natural for individuals who make the commitment to quit smoking to be concerned about stressful situations, and consequently, failure-nobody wants to fail. Stressful situations make an individual vulnerable to relapse because the addicted brain knows how to take advantage of a vulnerable situation. A successful smoking cessation program should equip you with the knowledge and tools to combat those vulnerabilities, and the program at Alpha Life Style Center does just that. But I would also like to assure you that by quitting smoking you are actually eliminating a great deal of stress in your life that you are not even aware of. The power of addiction blocks your ability to see this clearly. You simply need to trust the process, trust us to support you, and trust yourself! As hours, days, and weeks of being smoke-free pass, the fog will lift and you will recognize the relief that occurs by quitting. Quitting smoking is an extremely empowering and liberating experience; ask any former smoker. And it’s that empowerment that can help you better cope with and/or manage other sources of stress in your life. Final thought: If you are a smoker who has attempted and/or succeeded with quitting smoking in the past, think back to the disappointment that an unsuccessful attempt or that the relapse caused. Many former smokers will agree that the event/stress that caused the relapse pales in comparison to the stress caused by the relapse.
