Temporarily avoid those situations where you are
inclined to smoke heavily.
Search for another break --A cigarette is frequently
used as a break --a reward after an extended period of work or concentration or
as a way to relieve boredom. Get up and walk around; take a drink of water;
practice relaxing; exercise.
Tell all your friends you are going to kick the habit.
This kind of public commitment will help bolster your determination at crucial
moments.
This is what helped me. I avoid making mental promises to myself to have the
next cigarette at a particular time. Instead I left the decision open-- for a
new decision whether or not to smoke. For example: if I were to say to myself,
"I won't have a cigarette now, I'll have it when I reach the school
lot," invariably I had the cigarette as soon as I reached the lot. On the
other hand, if I had to say to myself, "I won't have a cigarette while I'm
walking to school,"--postponing what I would do when I reached the office
until I arrived--I found it easier to control the urge to take the next smoke.
Using this approach I was often able to stall off that next cigarette for
considerable periods of time.
Thought Stopping: Whenever the urge comes, absolutely refuse to think about
it. Think about something else immediately.
Another ex-smoker found that just the opposite approach worked for her. She
said, face the problem:
"With the first feeling of desire I would own up. I would go out and
meet the enemy on purpose and build my armor rather than try to forget it."
At some point you've got to make a "clean break"--you have to make
a decision to stop. Set a date and stick to it!
Keep postponing the first cigarette of the day for a longer and longer time.