Preparing your Quitting Kit

By:
Debora Orrick

It's time to start preparing to quit by creating your "Quitting Kit." Think of your Quitting Kit as your first aid kit for quitting smoking. It is going to contain food for thought, things to occupy your hands, and things to sustain your motivation. I recommend using a box, a drawer, or a chest as your Quitting Kit, in which you can collect some of the books, toys, and other items that will help you become a successful ex-smoker. Keep a journal or notebook for lists, phone numbers, and ideas to help you quit.

Before you start gathering the things for your Quitting Kit, take the time to make three lists. First, list all the reasons why you smoke. Common reasons for smoking are for managing stress, managing boredom, managing difficult feelings, rewarding yourself after a period of work, enhancing enjoyment of an activity, or socializing with friends. Second, list the times and/or places of your most favorite cigarettes. Common favorite cigarettes include your first cigarette in the morning, a cigarette with a cup of coffee, or a cigarette after a meal. Third, list potential problem times, places, or situations that you are likely to experience cravings to smoke. Common problem areas can be your car, smoking breaks at work with co-workers, at home with a smoking spouse, or when you are alone. As you compile your Quitting Kit, you will need to find one to three strategies for each of the reasons you smoke, to replace your favorite cigarettes, and to combat potential cravings.

What you put into your Quitting Kit is up to you. Selecting the items is your personal choice. The key to an effective Quitting Kit is variety. Try to identify and combine a variety of things that will help you to cope with smoking cravings and move you towards greater health and well being. Think holistically, try to find items and activities for physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social needs.

Now the fun begins! The key to a successful Quitting Kit is to include "The Pleasure Principle," so that you are including new sources of enjoyment or meaning in your life to replace your cigarette smoking. When your cigarette substitutes are enjoyable or meaningful, you are likely to use them more often. Find the fun so that you will not feel "deprived" of cigarettes. Instead, you will have begun an exciting new chapter in your life, free from your slavery to cigarettes and full of people, places, activities, and things that enrich and enhance your life!

Things that successful ex-smokers have included in their Quitting Kits are:

• A Method to Help you Withdraw off Nicotine: If you smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, you are probably addicted to nicotine. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms commonly cause cravings to smoke and are a leading cause of relapses back to smoking. Do not underestimate their strength! You need to plan ahead, and identify how you will withdraw from nicotine and cope with cravings related to nicotine withdrawal. There are a variety of methods, such as gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke each day; switching to cigarette brands with less nicotine content; using a nicotine replacement therapy such as the gum, patches, inhaler, or nasal spray; using the antidepressant, Zyban™; or quitting cold turkey.

• A Personal Journal: Writing in a journal is a healthy substitute for smoking, and a very effective self-help tool. Current research is revealing that it is not only good for your mind and soul, but good for your physical health as well. In your first month of quitting, you can use writing to gain insight into your cravings and the hidden feelings and needs that trigger them. In my personal experience, keeping a journal has been an invaluable tool for understand and solving problems, setting and accomplishing goals, and expressing my creativity and spirituality.

• Effective Stress Management Skills: You are going to have stress, and stressful times often trigger cravings to smoke. You will need a variety of stress management tools to cope with a variety of stressful situations. I personally found deep breathing very useful because I could use it no matter what situation I was in. I also took a yoga class that taught me a lot about where I hold tension in my body, and effective exercises to release that tension.

• Toys to Play With: Quitting smokers can use toys to bring more fun into your life, relieve boredom, and occupy your hands. When my mother wanted to quit smoking, I bought her an electronic, hand-held Solitaire game. She loved it! She could put it in her purse and take it anywhere. She was still using it nine years after she quit. Go to a toy store or hobby center and look for things that appeal to your sense of fun, humor, and play. Successful ex-smokers have used clay or silly putty, balls, crossword or jigsaw puzzles, back scratchers or massagers, teddy bears, prayer beads, or musical instruments.

• Supportive People and Organizations: Make a list of the family members, friends, and professionals who will give you positive support for your quitting efforts. Social support is especially helpful for women when they quit. There are also helpful community organizations, such as the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, or Nicotine Anonymous groups. Your doctor or psychotherapist can be another source of encouragement for you. Of course, Internet web sites like the the iVillageHealth's smoking cessation message boards and chats are providing wonderful sources of support for quitters!

• Effective Weight Management Tools: Nicotine is an effective weight management tool, and weight gain is a common concern when people quit smoking. Older women are especially susceptible to weight gain when they quit. There are several controllable factors that you can use to manage your weight when you reduce or quit your tobacco use. The two most important factors are the level and types of your food intake and the level of your activity. Effective weight management is a matter of finding the right approach to match your body's metabolism and your personal preferences.

• Enjoyable Forms of Exercise: Exercise will give you the greatest chances of successfully quitting. An active lifestyle can reduce stress and elevate your mood. It can help you sleep better, and have more energy. Movement also awakens and activates many of our mental abilities. I recommend finding a variety of enjoyable activities for exercise, such as Frisbee Golf; walking and talking with your family, friends, or pet dog; swimming; yoga; window shopping at an indoor mall when the weather is bad; or joining a community intramural baseball or basketball team. The keys to getting regular exercise are variety and enjoyment.

• Sources of Inspiration and Motivation: Books, pictures, collages, music, quotations, and rituals can inspire you to quit and help you maintain your motivation to quit over time.

Successful ex-smokers say that they gradually stopped looking outside themselves for help, and began looking inside themselves for the strength and determination to change their smoking habit. Your Quitting Kit is your best defense against cravings and relapse. By preparing in advance and using a variety of strategies, you will greatly improve your chances of success. Your Quitting Kit will reflect your strengths, or resiliency, and it holds the key to staying motivated. Don't forget to reward yourself for your efforts! Each day, week, month, and year without cigarettes is worthy of celebration!