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To say goodbye to a cigarette, our journalist got acquainted with the anti-smoking wellness program, learned the advice of experts … and drew a line under the long-term experience of a smoker.
I never believed that one fine morning you can wake up and forget about it forever. After all, behind every smoker there is an experience of a very personal relationship with a cigarette. At first, they are full of novelty, romance and illusion: we frankly like to smoke. Then comes the moment when inconveniences appear: the sense of smell drops, the skin fades, we begin to get annoyed by bronchitis, the smell that soaked clothes, the ubiquitous “non-smoking zones” and the price of cigarettes. And although the thought “how to quit somehow” appears, but by inertia we continue. “The decisive moment comes when the weariness of the habit already outweighs the pleasure, which is almost gone,” explains Dr. Vicente Mera, specialist in anti-tobacco and anti-aging medicine at SHA Wellness Clinic. – Only now the smoker will be ready to get rid of addiction. Months or decades may pass before this “insight”, but the stages of the path are always like this.
Define barriers
The first thing to do in order to prepare for a decisive step is to calmly and honestly analyze your relationship with a cigarette, remember why we started smoking in the first place. “Tobacco creates an illusory sense of the fullness of existence,” says Dr. Mera. “For a moment, it seems that we have everything we need, the effect a smoker is looking for in every cigarette.” Going from feeling empty to actively wanting to fill it, finding other, healthy sources of pleasure that will help restore inner balance – this is the work that the future non-smoker must do. Putting out a cigarette is not enough – you still need to see what is hidden (and what we are hiding from) behind the smoke screen.
Everyone has their own story, but some fears are common to all. First of all, it is the fear of getting fat. Cigarettes reduce the feeling of hunger and give some energy consumption, and therefore, if you refuse them, an increase of several kilograms occurs (on average, from three to five). “But these are just statistics that can be corrected by reviewing your diet and attitude to physical activity,” the doctor recalls.
It also worries us that we are going to give up a habit that has become part of ourselves, our way of life. “Some literally do not know what to do with their body, they feel defenseless: a cigarette, like a screen, fences off from others. Therefore, you have to change your gestures: a new object (for example, a bottle with a special aromatherapy composition) can give you confidence. It is also important to get used to a new way – deeper and freer – to breathe.
Behind tobacco smoke, there may also be a fear of emptiness or boredom – a companion of a depressive state. Therefore, it is necessary to think about what will help enrich your life, saturate it with colors: discover new areas of interest, expand communication … The goal is to present each day as consisting of actions that make sense for us.
Learn more
The SHA Wellness Clinic is located near the Spanish city of Alicante and offers many effective wellness programs that allow you to take care of health, beauty and peace of mind: ars-vitae.ru/collection/spain/alicante or shawellnessclinic.com
Read more:
- smoke. World history of smoking
Train in advance
It’s nice to dream: but I’ll take it and leave it! But still, the doctor believes, show humility and modesty, assessing your own willpower: “Try preliminary strategies – for example, lighting the first cigarette an hour later than usual; extinguish it in half; do not always smoke when leaving the subway … There are many opportunities to test your motivation. Regularly entering the role of a person who does not need to smoke, in the end you will become one. And at the same time, be sure to note the moments when the cigarette seems unpleasant to you.
Cutting down on tobacco use in the weeks or months leading up to the big day is especially helpful for heavy smokers. “But it only makes sense to use this method if you really intend to quit smoking forever,” the doctor emphasizes. “For those who are heavily addicted to nicotine and therefore feel fearful, I recommend having a nicotine patch with you and even starting to apply it in advance in order to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes.”
“Forever” – only this word will confirm that our decision has fully matured and the preparation was successful, Dr. Mera is convinced. Here lies for him the main difference between those who really quit smoking and those who, in fact, stopped smoking only for a while: “Such a person stops smoking at the cost of a continuous battle with himself, remains under the psychological pressure of his habit and constantly risks “breaking loose”. “. And the one who has given enough time to ensure that his motivation has matured will not start smoking again: he has finally figured out his attitude to tobacco and his own health.
Find information and help
Forewarned means forearmed: it is better to know in advance what sensations the body can experience, weaning from nicotine and being cleansed of chemical debris that has been in it for many years along with smoke. Fatigue, coughing, irritability, indigestion or sleep problems – such a list can be long, and therefore it is important to foresee all the ways in which you can help yourself at this time.
The optimal solution is to spend a week (this is the minimum period, as experts explained to me) in a modern comprehensive center: the SHA Wellness Clinic anti-smoking program begins with a detailed medical examination, includes an electrocardiogram and blood tests, acupuncture, relaxation and yoga sessions, consultations with a psychologist, nutritionist , dermatologist and phytotherapist. Every morning I had an hour’s walk along the seashore or along the mountain road leading through the pines to the lighthouse; every day – delicious dishes of a menu specially thought out for me and culinary master classes on a healthy nutrition system, massages and saunas, pools and jacuzzis, and also meditative hours on a sun-drenched terrace, which can be spent in peace and reflection, admiring the sky and incredible the colors of the landscape, breathing deeply and, perhaps for the first time, feeling what it means to truly be alone with yourself …
“Health is not everything, but without health everything makes no sense,” I have been repeating this phrase to myself for a month now, which I took home from the clinic. As well as the main word “forever”, which my doctor did not get tired of repeating.
Food for the soul
“Let your food be medicine,” Hippocrates called on his patients and students two and a half millennia ago. He was the first to use the concept of “macrobiotic”: the root macro comes from the Greek “long”, “long”, and bios means “life”. “The principle itself concerns not only food, but also our philosophy of life, attitude towards ourselves and the world as a whole,” says nutritionist Patricia Restrepo, specialist at SHA Wellness Clinic. “In recent years, it has served as a catalyst for the emergence of many modern trends in the field of healthy eating and lifestyle.” What does a healthy menu look like? “Best of all, it should consist of organic and naturally processed products: approximately 50% whole grains (cereals and products from them); 35% vegetables, herbs and fruits; 15% protein in the form of legumes, as well as fish. And most importantly, it is important for us to take care to “feed” our soul with something every day: to experience joy and share it with others, to try to be as happy as possible for us. Only in this way can one live a long life in harmony with one’s own nature.