You Are Craving A Cigarette Break, Not The Cigarette
Last time you lit up a cigarettes, what happened? You felt a little better, right? Well when you crave a cigarette, you probably think you are craving drug nicotine, which makes you feel better, but that might not be true. Every addiction has three parts: the trigger, the action, and the reward. What your body is craving is the reward. Understanding what the reward for you is, will help you quit smoking for good.
The reward is the pleasure we feel when the emotional part of our brain responds positively to something we have done. The pleasure response comes from the limbic system in our brain, which is a much older (in evolutionary terms) system in our brain and is therefore not part of our conscious thought. The Limbic system is often referred to as the emotional brain. When we are craving nicotine, and we light up a cigarette, it is the a response in the Limbic system that makes us feel good.
Here is the kicker though, and the reason that you many smokers could quit easily if they were more aware. For many people, the thing your Limbic system is rewarding you for when you smoke a cigarette may not actually be the nicotine! The cigarettes may have become part of the action that lead to the reward, but not actually the reward. I will give you three examples of what I mean.
Your first cigarette of the day. It may be with your morning cup of coffee. As humans, we crave routines. Routines keep us safe and relaxed. When you wake up in the morning your mind is foggy, you may be a little disoriented and tired, and your routine tells your brain that today will be fine like every other day. At some point in your life, a cigarette and coffee became the routine that reminds your brain that everything is normal, and so you keep doing it. The trigger is waking up and feeling foggy, the action is your cigarette and coffee, the reward is NOT nicotine, the reward is feeling like your day is going to be alright.
Stressed and tired at work. Many people smoke throughout the day at work, taking routine cigarette breaks when things get to be too much. Your trigger is when you have a pile of work, deadlines, and you are tired. Your action is to go outside, or stop what you are doing, and smoke a cigarette. Your reward is a break away from your work to have a few minutes of peace to yourself. Again, the reward, for many people, is not the nicotine.
While our socializing with friends. Humans are social animals, we crave human interaction, and smoking is a social activity. It is a time when people get together to engage and commiserate. It usually involved alcohol, which is usually involved in socializing. Your trigger is other people lighting up, you action is lighting up a cigarette yourself, and the reward is engaging in a social activity. Again, the reward is not the nicotine, it is the social involvement.
Now that you understand the psychological structure of addiction you can better understand your reward. Even for people that are highly addicted to nicotine, they are still psychologically addicted to the action of smoking, and that is the more difficult addiction to break.
To break your addiction you can give yourself a the reward without the action that involves a cigarette. This is where a product like Quit Tea helps to change the action while giving the same reward. First thing in the morning, if you get into the habit of making a cup of Quit Tea, then you will have the reward of routine and relaxation, knowing that the day will be alright. Then at work in the middle of the day when you need a break from the stress, go make a cup of Quit Tea and sip it away from work for a few minutes. You will get the break from your activities and time to yourself to decompress. Then to be social, you can get together with friends and have a cup of Quit Tea. People have been getting together for tea and socializing for hundreds of years.
The best part about Quit Tea is that you get the beneficial herbs and spices that help you quit smoking, while replacing the habit. The herbs will help you relax, improve your lung function, suppress your appetite, and feel healthier, all while giving you the same reward as smoking.
Last time you lit up a cigarettes, what happened? You felt a little better, right? Well when you crave a cigarette, you probably think you are craving drug nicotine, which makes you feel better, but that might not be true. Every addiction has three parts: the trigger, the action, and the reward. What your body is craving is the reward. Understanding what the reward for you is, will help you quit smoking for good.
The reward is the pleasure we feel when the emotional part of our brain responds positively to something we have done. The pleasure response comes from the limbic system in our brain, which is a much older (in evolutionary terms) system in our brain and is therefore not part of our conscious thought. The Limbic system is often referred to as the emotional brain. When we are craving nicotine, and we light up a cigarette, it is the a response in the Limbic system that makes us feel good.
Here is the kicker though, and the reason that you many smokers could quit easily if they were more aware. For many people, the thing your Limbic system is rewarding you for when you smoke a cigarette may not actually be the nicotine! The cigarettes may have become part of the action that lead to the reward, but not actually the reward. I will give you three examples of what I mean.
Your first cigarette of the day. It may be with your morning cup of coffee. As humans, we crave routines. Routines keep us safe and relaxed. When you wake up in the morning your mind is foggy, you may be a little disoriented and tired, and your routine tells your brain that today will be fine like every other day. At some point in your life, a cigarette and coffee became the routine that reminds your brain that everything is normal, and so you keep doing it. The trigger is waking up and feeling foggy, the action is your cigarette and coffee, the reward is NOT nicotine, the reward is feeling like your day is going to be alright.
Stressed and tired at work. Many people smoke throughout the day at work, taking routine cigarette breaks when things get to be too much. Your trigger is when you have a pile of work, deadlines, and you are tired. Your action is to go outside, or stop what you are doing, and smoke a cigarette. Your reward is a break away from your work to have a few minutes of peace to yourself. Again, the reward, for many people, is not the nicotine.
While our socializing with friends. Humans are social animals, we crave human interaction, and smoking is a social activity. It is a time when people get together to engage and commiserate. It usually involved alcohol, which is usually involved in socializing. Your trigger is other people lighting up, you action is lighting up a cigarette yourself, and the reward is engaging in a social activity. Again, the reward is not the nicotine, it is the social involvement.
Now that you understand the psychological structure of addiction you can better understand your reward. Even for people that are highly addicted to nicotine, they are still psychologically addicted to the action of smoking, and that is the more difficult addiction to break.
To break your addiction you can give yourself a the reward without the action that involves a cigarette. This is where a product like Quit Tea helps to change the action while giving the same reward. First thing in the morning, if you get into the habit of making a cup of Quit Tea, then you will have the reward of routine and relaxation, knowing that the day will be alright. Then at work in the middle of the day when you need a break from the stress, go make a cup of Quit Tea and sip it away from work for a few minutes. You will get the break from your activities and time to yourself to decompress. Then to be social, you can get together with friends and have a cup of Quit Tea. People have been getting together for tea and socializing for hundreds of years.
The best part about Quit Tea is that you get the beneficial herbs and spices that help you quit smoking, while replacing the habit. The herbs will help you relax, improve your lung function, suppress your appetite, and feel healthier, all while giving you the same reward as smoking.
SHARE
