Denial is the unconscious altering of the way the conscious thinking process perceives certain things so as to protect itself from intolerable and unpleasant reality. People who smoke cigarettes are in denial about the health impact of their smoking. Almost all can reel off the warnings on the cigarette pack, but they're in denial about applying these warning to themselves.
A classic self-delusion that we hear often is “We all have to die of something”. When we hear this our response is, “Well, what if you could be 100 percent sure that your next cigarette would cause the first lung cell to turn to cancer right now. Would you light it up”? We always get a “No” response. Basically people who enjoy smoking believe that they will somehow be a lottery winner and not get sick and commonly believe that they will somehow stop in the nick of time thusly maximizing the pleasure and avoiding all the pain. Fellow hunters -- that dog don’t hunt!
IF (note capitals) you have a desire to quit smoking how do you best accomplish this goal? There's an old joke that goes as follows: “How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has got to want to change”. The key to quitting is really all about understanding how people change ingrained behaviors. Human behavioral change breaks it into five stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
We will spare the dissertation in psychology, but briefly in the pre-contemplative stage you are not really engaged in any behavior or thought about altering your behavior in a meaningful way. Applying this to smoking, your denial is maxed and you strongly self identify as a smoker. The movement to a contemplative stage with cigarette smokers usually requires some sort of misfortune. Typical are personal illnesses from smoking or severe consequences in a friend or family member. As a result the smoker is now “contemplating” whether they should stop.
Preparation as it applies to cigarette smoking is what most advertisements for stop-smoking items key in on. Patches, gums, inhalers or pills are touted as the answer. The reality is that (to quote John Lennon) “... The movement you need is on your shoulders”. Discuss what you need to do to quit with family members, your doctor, and friends, and intensely with yourself. Set a date and make it absolutely as public as you can. Elicit as much support as you can. Plan to remove ashtrays, lighters and other paraphernalia.
A word here about the “addictive” nature of cigarette smoking is in order. Nicotine is touted as a very addicting stimulant. Honestly, we’re not sure it's the nicotine that's the problem. How come abuse of nicotine patches is virtually unheard of? If nicotine is so powerful, then how come teenagers aren’t showing up with 5 or 10 patches on instead of risking serious school problems by smoking part of a cigarette in the bathroom? Nicotine as the only bad guy allows for FDA regulation, taxation and may not really be the number one problem as far as addiction to cigarette smoking goes. What's so addicting about smoking is more complex than a nicotine delivery system. Is cigarette smoking addicting….absolutely. Can it be overcome…millions have and thousands do each and every day!
So whether you choose nicotine gum or Juicy Fruit, have a plan. Prepare for the life change. Do it. Put your multifaceted preparation into action. It's stop day and you have no cigarettes. None of your friends will give you one. You are not holding a lighter and have no ashtrays around. Work breaks are spent indoors and away from smoking areas. Sit in non-smoking parts of restaurants even if your smoking buddies want to do otherwise. You are a non-smoker now so live the role.
Maintenance involves continuing self-identification as a non-smoker. There's no need for rabid anti-smoking behavior...you just don’t smoke. You now see smoking as something un-natural, unhealthy and disgusting like say joining PETA. Do not fool yourself into just smoking after meals or special occasions. Take advice from 12 step programs…One is too many and a thousand isn’t enough.
We hope the information we have provided here helps you make decisions about your health care. As always, stay healthy and enjoy the outdoors.
