Smoking and Heart Disease: 8 Smart Ways to Quit Smoking

Did you know that there is an association between smoking and heart disease? Yes, there is! Many studies have shown how smoking and heart disease are related—smoking a cigarette or a cigar increases your heart disease risk.

So, what can you do to stop smoking, if you are addicted to the habit and you want to quit so that you will not develop heart disease? What are some of the strategies you can use to beat the habit?

Below, I outline a few things you can do to break free from this habit.

1.    Do Soul Searching

Sit down one day with a pen and journal and write down ways in which the habit is affecting your life. For example, if your doctor has told you of any health problems you are developing as a result of this habit, write it down. Additionally, write down the ways it is adversely affecting your finances, your schooling or work, your relationship with your partner or spouse and so on.

Then, reflect on how different and pleasant your life will be if you quit smoking. You may do this by writing down 50 ways your life is likely to become better when you choose to stop the habit, pondering over what you have written, and imagining a life without smoking.

This exercise will increase your desire to make a change to your life, as well as give you extra motivation to decide to quit the habit.

2.    Set A Date On Which You Will Start The “Quit Smoking Project”

Choose a date within the next two weeks which will mark the beginning of your journey to freedom so that you can prepare yourself psychologically and emotionally—you can start thinking about the way the adjustment will affect your feelings in the early stages, how you will handle the unpleasant feelings you will experience, the sacrifices you will have to make and so on.

Furthermore, inform people you trust about this decision and ask them to watch your back and support you. It will help you to feel accountable to someone, which will help you to feel that you are not going on this journey alone.

Additionally, record the words “On this day…(write down the date on which you choose to start to stop smoking) I will start the journey” or “I can do this” on your smartphone as a reminder, and listen to it two times in the morning, afternoon, and evening prior to the date on which you will start this project, and also all throughout the process of rehabilitation to boost your self-confidence and your determination to stop the habit, and to help you to remain focused on your goal of quitting.

   

3.    Adopt New Ways To Manage Unpleasant Feelings

If you smoke as a way to deal with stress, or as a way to handle emotional problems such as anxiety, loneliness, depression, disappointments, suffering, and pain, resolve to adopt healthier ways of dealing with heartache and unpleasant feelings.

You may consider watching an encouraging movie, listening to soothing gospel music, cooking, or spending time with friends—talking to them about your heartaches and basking in their emotional support—instead of going for a stick of cigarette.

4.    Learn To Manage The Cravings

Have a plan to deal with cravings so that you will be prepared to face them without giving in, and that will increase the likelihood that you will be able to resist the cravings successfully when they come.

What are some ways you can handle your cravings effectively?

• Remind yourself that the cravings will last for only a short while and that you can wait it out. Say something such as, “No matter how strong the cravings will be, it will not go on forever. So, I will resist it with all my might because the cravings will leave if I don’t give in and smoke,” to yourself often. Saying such words to yourself will help you to boost your determination to quit smoking, which will increase the chances that you will desist from giving in to the cravings.
• Remind yourself of the harmful effects of smoking, the harm it is doing to your health and how much it has cost you financially, and the benefits you will get if you quit smoking, and that will motivate you to resist the temptation to give in.
• Do something that will ensure that your hands are busy all the time, such as manipulating a rubric, playing with a tennis ball, juggling marbles, drawing, writing down 50 benefits of quitting smoking, or typing on your computer. By doing these things, you will satisfy the need for tactile stimulation and that will make it easier to avoid going for a cigarette or cigar stick.
• Always make sure that you carry around things that you can put into your mouth whenever the cravings attack you. For example, carry peppermints on you wherever you go. Additionally, carry chewing gum, watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, Tigernuts, peanuts, or almond nuts.
• If you desire to light something, light a candle, burn papers, or burn the rubbish in the house.
• Find something interesting to do.

5.    Find Support

Tell a friend or family member who has also had the addiction before and who has quit it successfully to give you moral and emotional support.

Maintain constant contact with this person and inform him or her about your struggles, the challenges you face, and the progress you make every day.

Because this person has been through what you are going through, he or she will is likely to empathize and give you firm and unflinching support which will inspire you to remain committed to the goal of quitting, and which will make it easier for you to make progress.

Furthermore, associating with someone like that will remind you that others have also experienced this addiction and overcome it successfully and so you can also overcome it, which will provide an incentive to fight on when you feel like giving up.

6.    Exercise Regularly

Exercising will release chemicals into your body which will help you to feel good so that you will not desire to smoke in order to release stress and tension.

Additionally, you will find it easier to control yourself when you exercise often. So, take a brisk walk for 30 minutes every morning, sprint over a distance of 200 meters every day, jump a rope for 30 minutes every day, jog for 5 miles during weekends, run over a distance of 10 miles every weekend, or do 50 push-ups every day.

7.    Get Enough Sleep

Failure to get enough sleep can make it harder for you to control yourself—it will weaken your willpower, which can increase the likelihood that you will give in to the impulse to smoke when you crave a cigarette or a cigar.

On the other hand, when you get enough sleep, your capacity to exert control over yourself will be boosted and that will make it easier for you to resist the urge to go back to the habit.

 

8.    Pray

“With God all things are possible,” the Bible says in Matthew 19 v 26. God has got the track record of helping people to overcome bad habits and He can help you to quit smoking, if you believe in Him and ask Him to deliver you through prayer.

So, every day, make a supplication such as this one to the Great Deliverer, “Almighty God, Great Deliverer, heavenly Father, I thank You for your mercies and grace which have sustained me for all these years. LORD, You tell us that our bodies are a temple for Your Holy Spirit and that we should not defile Your temple or else You will destroy us. LORD, I have defiled Your temple with smoke for all these years, and I have discovered that there is a connection between smoking and heart disease. Father, I do not want to get heart disease as a result of this habit. Also, I want to honor You with my body from now onwards. Please help me to beat this habit. Strong Deliverer, please give me the grace to resist the temptation to smoke. Please have mercy on me and give me strength so that I will not backslide when I am able to control myself. Amen.” God, through His Holy Spirit, will touch your spirit, which will make it easier for you to control the desire to smoke.

Conclusion   

You can quit smoking and, as a result, reduce your risk of getting heart disease by learning how to deal with unpleasant feelings in more healthy ways, by dealing with your cravings with seriousness, seeking the help and support of someone who has defeated this habit, exercising every day, making sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep every day, and also by asking for Divine support from the God who is able to solve impossible problems.

You Might Also Like To Read:

Exercise And Your Heart

Stress And Your Heart  

Men And Heart Disease