VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 4 • APRIL 2012
A SLICE OF ORANGE Refreshing Your Health
QUIT SMOKING THE EASY WAY • If you are psychologically addicted • If you are physically addicted • How hypnotherapy helps
Quit smoking the easy way QUITTING SMOKING CAN BE TOUGH … BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT DO NOT SMOKE. HERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE QUITTING SMOKING EASIER. I smoked. As a doctor, this is one of the most ironic and regrettable things I’ve done. But three months ago, I smoked my last cigarette, and I am now a nonsmoker. And I did it without taking any nicotine replacement.
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I thought quitting smoking would be difficult, and it was—for three days. After that, it was easy. If you have ever tried to quit smoking, you know how difficult it is. So how did I do it? Here’s how:
A SLICE OF ORANGE
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VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 4 • APRIL 2012
he first thing you should find out is if your addiction to smoking is a real addiction or not: meaning if it is a physical addiction or just a psychological addiction. A physical addiction means that your body will display bothersome withdrawal symptoms if you quit smoking. Meanwhile, a psychological addiction will not show these symptoms—and
that you have just formed a mental habit. But quitting a psychological addiction will still cause much anxiety, which should not be taken lightly.
To know how intense your physical addiction to cigarettes is, answer the following questions: Score
1
2
3
4
How long after waking up do you smoke your first cigarette of the day?
>60 mins
<31-60 mins
6-30 mins
5 mins
Is it hard for you to not smoke in places where smoking is not allowed?
No
Yes
Which cigarette is the hardest for you to avoid?
Any cigarette throughout the day except the first one
The first one for the day
How many cigarettes do you smoke each day?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31+
When do you smoke more frequently?
During mornings
During the rest of the day
Do you smoke when you are sick?
No
Yes
If you score 1 to 5
you may feel anxious because your mind
1. Breathe deeply. Deep breathing causes
If you score low, it is likely that your smoking
tells you that you need to smoke.
deep relaxation of the mind and body.
As you drink deeply, visualize the clean
air you are inhaling permeating and
refreshing your body. I assure you that
the craving will disappear within
3 minutes.
habit is just psychological. This means that your brain has wired itself such that you automatically think that you should smoke
MANY PEOPLE THINK
under certain circumstances, such as after
THAT THEY HAVE TO USE
eating or during coffee breaks. But in reality, you and your body does not need the nicotine. This also means that your physical withdrawal symptoms will be mild, or even
WILL POWER TO FIGHT THE CRAVING.
2. Drink cold water. 3. Take a walk. 4. Do jumping jacks. 5. Inhale a relaxing scent, such as lavender
non-existent! Many people think that they have to use will
or lemon. Pepper scents also seem to
If you have a psychological addiction, you
power to fight the craving. But most people
work. Do not smell menthol scents; it will
can quit cold-turkey. This means quitting
do not have enough will power to fight such
only remind you of cigarettes.
smoking abruptly, because in reality, your
a strong habit. What I suggest instead is
6. Play with a koosh ball.
body will not crave the nicotine. However,
to address the anxiety you feel when you
7. Remind yourself that this is just a
because this is a psychological habit, your
stop smoking, by relaxing. Here are some
psychological addiction, and that your
mind will crave for it. If you do not smoke,
methods I find effective:
body does not really need the nicotine.
A SLICE OF ORANGE
VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 4 • APRIL 2012
Expect to get seven cravings in a day—
How hypnotherapy helps
address each craving, which should subside
One of the breakthroughs I had as I
within 3 minutes. Your first milestone is being
was trying to quit was when I found a
smoke-free for 72 hours. After 3 days, you
hypnotherapy app that I downloaded onto
will notice that the cravings will become less
my cell phone. Hypnotherapy is not the
frequent and powerful.
same as the hypnosis we see on TV where you zap out and do not remember what
If you score 6 and up
happens when you go under. A hypnotic
If you have a high score, you probably have
state is a state of deep mental relaxation that
a physical addiction. This means that you
relaxes the overly-critical part of your brain.
can expect the following symptoms for a few
This makes you more open to suggestion—
weeks if you quit smoking abruptly: craving
including the suggestion that you can
for tobacco, dizziness, sleeping problems,
stop smoking.
headaches, chest discomfort, constipation,
How did hypnotherapy help me?
1. I realized that I can actually quit. Many
3. I realized that I do not enjoy smoking—
To minimize cravings, quit smoking
smokers know in their mind that they can
the coughing, the dizziness, the retching,
gradually. This means counting the number
stop, but in their heart, they either do not
the smell.
irritability, fatigue, cough, lack of concentration, and frequent hunger.
they cannot be themselves without
smoking.
of cigarettes you smoke everyday, and then
want to stop, or think it is impossible
4. I discovered that smoking is just a way
smoking one less cigarette every one or
to do.
for me to feel better (from bad emotions or stress), and that I can do other things to make myself feel better instead of
two days. So if you smoke one pack a day,
2. I realized that I do not really need
you should be able to quit within 20 to
to smoke—that I have lived my life
before without smoking, and that I was
smoking.
fine. Apparently, I have forgotten who
One way to decrease the number of
I was before I was a smoker. It helped
I suggest that you try downloading one of
cigarettes you smoke every day is to try to
me visualize myself as a non-smoker.
these apps, and try them with an open mind.
replace one or more cigarette sessions with
Many smokers believe that smoking is
Hopefully, with this and the other tips I gave,
the relaxation techniques mentioned above.
part of their identity already, and that
you can soon call yourself a non-smoker.
40 days.
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Looking to enhance your corporate healthcare benefits? E-mail us at benefits@activelinkbenefits.com. The information in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a doctor for all matters relating to your health, particularly for symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. © 2012 ActiveLink
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A Slice of Orange
is a newsletter designed to help clarify basic health information and offer juicy tips on uplifting your health.
Editorial team Alvin Delfin Christine Llenes-Delfin Ivan Olegario, MD