Friends can take virtually anything to the next level of enjoyment. Imagine if you quit smoking with a friend, rather than going it alone.
It probably won’t be as fun or entertaining as going to the movies or having a laugh over coffee, but you’ll have someone who will empathise and encourage you to keep on going.
A quit mate is an ideal partner for anyone going on their quit journey. You can always go solo, but having a friend makes it easy to keep you at ease during social gatherings. People who want to quit smoking won’t feel like they have to be by themselves because a friend is there to listen to and understand their difficulties and successes.
In today’s article, let’s take a look at how quitting with a friend is one of the best ways to progress through your smoking cessation programme easier.
Chat to an Aussie GP today
Bulk-billed phone consultations
TGA-authorised Aussie doctors
Nicotine vaping scripts available
A Mutual Support System
Life is easier if you can believe in yourself and you have a supportive group who believes in you. In smoking cessation, quitters greatly benefit from a close friend that encourages and motivates them to push forward.
Having a friend quitting alongside you gives you an anchor leading straight back to your goals. You can talk to them when the nicotine cravings get too strong and the withdrawal symptoms become too much to bear.
If you have a friend cheering you on and being your confidant and counsel, you have the best chance of kicking the habit.
Helping Someone Also Helps You
Did you know that a friend quitting alongside you helps yourself as much as you’re helping them?
You and your friend are each other’s helpline to get through the quit process. When it’s your turn to listen and talk your friend out of their plans to smoke again, you can repeat to them the motivations, goals, and reasons you both had for quitting, to keep them calm and collected.
When you repeat these to help someone else, you’re also internalising the reasons and lessons you’ve learned in your own quit journey so far, giving you the strength and grit to keep on quitting.
Double the Joy in Victories
Imagine – you’re one year free from smoking after following your prepared timeline along with your friend and you decide to meet each other to celebrate.
If you’ve gone through the stop smoking process solo, you can still toast happily to your success. Still, you can imagine the overflowing joy and feeling of accomplishment if you and a friend made it through one year.
It’s safe to say that sharing that joy with someone is a feeling unlike any other.
Quitting successfully with someone for a year or more makes the quit process at this point much easier to manage. It’s worth mentioning that many successful people quitting smoking may relapse at any time, but they have better self-control and will reflect on a recent slip-up.
With a friend, you have someone who urges you to forget about the guilt you feel after slipping up and get back on the right path. You have a listener who doesn’t judge your reasons for smoking a cigarette and will tell you that tomorrow is another day to recover.
What’s important is that you’re still motivated to stop smoking for good.
May Encourage More Friends to Join
During the timeline before and after you quit smoking, smoking friends who care about you and your friend may even feel motivated to join your journey. As you may have guessed, having more people in a quit group makes it easier to quit. Stop smoking communities work because of this idea.
On the other hand, consider staying away from friends who still smoke in front of you, even after learning you’re trying to quit. Passive smoking is a huge trigger for any person trying to quit, so keep yourself and friends trying to quit away from these people.
Additional Quitting Support
It’s always great to have a friend who can listen to you, but the right kind of help makes your journey much easier.
Medical Professionals
GPs are professionals who have helped people wanting to quit smoking succeed by giving them the best path to success. They can create a tailor-made quit journey and give you the right tools to help you on your path to wellness.
You can also talk to GPs using bulk-billed telehealth consultations. These are convenient if you have no time to visit a GP in person. These GPs can provide guidance and prescriptions to help you deal with withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Products
During the first few weeks of your quit journey, you might feel irritable and have strong urges to buy a cigarette. NRT products contain a small amount of nicotine to help you manage these strong withdrawal symptoms and cravings. NRT products come in the form of lozenges, gums, inhalers, and more.
Nicotine Vaping Products (NVPs)
In case NRTs don’t keep your cravings and withdrawals at bay, NVPs are a second means to keep you off the cigarettes. NVPs sold in pharmacies are manufactured to the strictest medical standards, are locally insured, and are tested for inhalation safety.
The latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people quit smoking.
Summary
Indeed, a good friend is always a key to a good life and someone who will help carve a path towards wellness. It might be hard to find a quit mate, but true friends are each other’s cheerleaders on the challenging but rewarding path of stopping smoking.
You’re reading this post because you want to know how a quit mate system works, and how you can find a friend to quit with you. You’re in the right place.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to bulk-billing Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good, including using responsible vaping products where appropriate.
Click here to book your bulk-billed telehealth consultation with an Australian healthcare professional and quit smoking today.