No Smoking Day Here’s How to Prevent Slips or Relapses

The first step to quitting smoking is knowing the difference between a slip or a relapse. A slip occurs when a smoker or ex-smoker who is trying to quit has one or two cigarettes, but when you go back to your regular smoking habits before quitting then you go through a relapse. It is not easy to quit smoking. The temptation to keep going can be very difficult to get over.

It is important to know that smoking a cigarette after you’ve quit does not necessarily hamper the process you have made towards quitting, knowing the difference between a slip and a total relapse is important. Slip is the difference between entirely quitting successfully or returning to smoking full-time.

Preventing a Relapse

A smoking slip can be different for different people. Generally, a slip is any amount of cigarette you have for the first time after quitting, be it one cigarette or two. A slip should not act as a sign of discouragement. Here are some tips to follow to refresh your goal of quitting or getting back on track-

Remember the risks

Smoking a cigarette means that nicotine is in your body, once again. Nicotine addiction can be powerful enough to trigger you to start again. It is easier for those people to fall back into the trap, who treat a puff as something associated with pleasure, not linking the same puff to life-threatening conditions or major cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, or diabetes. Smoking can also induce mental problems like depression or anxiety.

Keeping such points in your mind can also help make up your mind.

Constantly remember why you quit in the first place
Think of your personal goals and the reasons behind quitting. Keeping that in the back of your head will help you stay strong. Ask yourself questions and make sure that those reasons standstill, the health risks, or the embarrassment of smoking or not being able to quit don’t go away. Don’t lose sight of the important goal here.

Learn from your mistakes

Learning from your previous mistakes helps you become stronger and gives you a chance to make a mistake twice. There are going to be triggers that may be challenging. Some of them are-

Stress

Lack of pleasure

Peer pressure or living in a smoking environment

Once you know your triggers, make sure not to fall prey to them and have better control of your emotions.

Footnote-

This process needs a lot of compassion for yourself. Learning to reward yourself and learning new coping mechanisms are part of the process. Give it time and trust yourself.