Anxiety when quitting smoking: how to overcome it in 6 steps

Leaving an addiction behind is always a challenge, since it forces us to introduce changes both in our management of attention and impulses, as well as in our habits. In the case of tobacco, one of the most popular addictive substances, this is complicated not only by the biological part of the dependence, but also also because of the contextual: we have become accustomed to having a cigarette in hand, and a society surrounds us that constantly reminds people smoke.

In this article We will see several tips on how to overcome anxiety when quitting smoking, and how we can adapt to the new, healthier lifestyle. Of course, in any case, it should be clear that nothing will free us from having to invest time and effort in it.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"

How to manage anxiety when quitting smoking

Here are some tips to help you keep anxiety at bay when you're trying to quit. But you should know that if you do not do your part to put these initiatives into practice, the simple fact that you are here will not help you. So everything must start from a commitment to do everything possible to keep your physical and mental health in the best possible state.

1. Learn to view discomfort as part of a challenge

There are people who, to the problem of experiencing anxiety to quit smoking, add the problem of getting into a pessimistic mentality.

For example, it is what happens in someone who sees something totally imposed from outside in that suffering, and who therefore he believes that nothing can be done to limit its effects, that it may always be there. Or in those who see in anxiety the first signs of an inevitable relapse, which is practically written in their destiny.

But there is another, much more constructive way of looking at this: discomfort is a constituent part of a challenge that we are going to beat addiction. It's what makes it challenging in the first place. Y it is also the indicator of our progress: As we move forward, we will see in the decrease of that anxiety the consequence of a job well done. Leaving the monkey behind is a very real possibility.

• You may be interested: "The two faces of tobacco dependence (chemical and psychological)"

2. Sports practice

Sport is an excellent way of helping our attention focus to “disengage” from certain obsessions and their physiological impact on us: anxiety.

By engaging in an absorbing and complex task, but subject to a set of stable norms, our attention becomes focused on the immediate objectives of what happens here and now in the context of the objectives of the game in question. Things that belong to another area lose importance in a matter of minutes, they go into the background.

Of course, we should not start practicing sports every time we notice that the anxiety to quit smoking is at hand. the doors of our consciousness, about to put our well-being in check again, since this would be exhausting. But it is good to opt for this from time to time, to get used to not thinking about tobacco for most of the day.

3. Avoid reminders of the tobacco world

Much of the challenge of fighting anxiety to quit smoking has to do with how we expose ourselves to "danger zones" where everything reminds us of the action of smoking.

Opt for the smartest strategy it is part of what we must do to ensure our health. Thus, whenever possible, we should avoid reminder stimuli associated with smoking. Stop going to places characterized by a high concentration of smokers, change of scene, etc.

4. Walk through nature

Regular exposure to clean air is a way to erase tobacco from your mind. First of all, in that context it is very easy to relax, and second, the experience of breathing well helps us to miss smoking less.

5. Practice relaxation techniques

It is a very good idea to learn relaxation techniques and apply them in moments when we feel anxious. For it, we must try to have localized areas where it is feasible to withdraw for a moment and carry them out for a few minutes.

6. Lead a healthier life overall

If you embark on a more comprehensive lifestyle change by quitting tobacco, it will be easier to let go of the anxiety about quitting. Why? Because your self esteem will improve, and in your way of generating selfconcept (the idea you have of yourself) will consist of a turning point in which you "change your life."

In this way, when you feel more capable of breaking with the old vices of the past, the feeling of building something new with your identity, and that illusion and sense of self-efficacy will rise above the anxiety (which will not disappear in the early stages anyway). altogether).