Beating addictions/Stop Smoking Using Positive Psychology

Stop Smoking Using Positive Psychology

The field of positive psychology to stop smoking is all-encompassing and has branched out to include the cessation of smoking. Those who are critical of the usage of positive psychology to stop smoking are unaware of the psychological impact that nicotine has on the body and mind. Perhaps this is why millions of smokers relapse every year. It is estimated that more than 70% of smokers genuinely want to quit but find the process too difficult. Ahead of the array of nicotine patches and gum on the market, willpower is probably the most common method of quitting smoking. However, statistics show that those who manage to kick the habit through willpower alone are the most likely candidates to relapse.

Changing Your Outlook

So, what’s a smoker to do? This is where the process of positive psychology comes in. Smoking is an addiction which can only be completely beaten by changing your attitudes towards it. Far too many people have a mindset which includes quitting for the sake of it. They continue to miss the way smoking made them feel and even after several years of avoiding it, they eventually relapse because they never fully cut themselves off from the possibility of smoking again.

You should definitely research and absorb all the information you can find about the negative effects of smoking and the difficulties of quitting but real success comes through positive psychology. While regular psychology mainly deals with finding abnormalities and problems in human behavior, positive psychology is totally focused on improving people’s quality of life. The mind is a tool more powerful than you’ll ever know. You could do your research and find that more than 4 million people die every year from smoking related illnesses. You could investigate the effects of smoking on your lungs and arteries, see horrific pictures of those who are stricken with cancer and listen to the sad stories of those left behind.

However, these shock tactics rarely work. Why? Because smokers have a psychological connection to smoking that cannot be severed through external forces. The role of positive psychology when it comes to quitting smoking is of paramount importance. There is usually a psychological reason why people smoke in the first place. They may feel displaced, have a low opinion of themselves or are attempting to fill a void in their life. Smoking becomes more than a habit, it becomes a crutch, a way of life, even a friend in a person’s hour of need. How often do smokers reach for a cigarette when something is causing them stress? Almost all the time. Relapses are usually caused by times of stress and continue the vicious cycle of smoking and quitting.

The Effects Of Nicotine On The Brain

Why is smoking so powerfully addictive? Nicotine. This activates the pleasure centers in the brain with one cigarette offering an average of ten nicotine surges. Nicotine is both a stimulant and a sedative. When you smoke, you cause a burst of adrenaline to be released in the body. Dopamine is also released and this causes the brain to feel pleasure. The more you smoke, the more your body becomes used to nicotine. This means more is needed to have the same effect. When a smoker attempts to quit, they miss the reassurance that a cigarette gives them. Smoking gives pleasure and comfort to addicts which is why it is so hard for them to quit.

Turning A Negative Into A Positive
It is not uncommon for those who quit smoking to go through the classic five stages of mourning which are denial, bargaining, anger, depression, guilt and acceptance. Yet this acceptance is not permanent unless you learn to psychologically distance yourself from the act of smoking. With positive psychology, you learn how to train yourself to transform negative thoughts into positive ones the moment you experience them. Remember, we can convince ourselves to do just about anything, such is the power of the mind. Smokers usually experience thoughts such as ‘I miss smoking and how it made me feel’. Positive psychology will teach you to think ‘Smoking was a curse and I am a better person now it is gone. I felt nicotine was a cure for my stress when it was actually the reason for it.’

The main purpose of positive psychology is to focus on what makes your life worth living. For many smokers, cigarettes are one of these things but this is simply not true. Smokers are lying to themselves and are being tricked by the seductive nature of nicotine. The human race has a propensity to focus on the bad things in their life instead of the elements that make walking on this earth a joyful experience. When we focus on the negative aspects of our lives, we become stressed and angry with ourselves. We plunge into despair and for smokers, a cigarette is ready and waiting for them in these dark periods.

It is obvious that the best way to stop smoking is to remove these dark periods and this is what positive psychology does. There are a number of things we need to remember:

•  Good things in our life are more important than the bad
•  There is a marked difference between happiness and lack of depression
•  We are stronger and more resilient than we realize
•  A crisis is something that strengthens you rather than making you weaker
•  Happiness will always outweigh despair

The bottom line is:

We need to stop smoking using positive psychology  because it eliminates those negative thoughts and demons that make us reach for the easy solution, cigarettes. By using positive psychology, we believe that anything is possible and when there are no restrictions, happiness soon follows. Once you are on this path, you will finally realize that smoking was a hindrance to your wellbeing all along instead of the trusted friend you once thought it was.