If you have the right kind of support for anything, it’s easy to motivate yourself to do your best. For many smokers looking to quit, a supportive environment makes it much easier to kick the habit and the immense challenges of nicotine withdrawal and cravings.
What does a supportive environment look like? It starts at home with family members who want to create a smokefree environment to help you. Even those who smoke in your family will stop doing it in front of you – they might even feel inspired to quit because of you.
Friends who support someone quitting smoking ensure a motivated smoker does not buy or hold tobacco for them, and they would never make fun of someone trying to better themselves. They are also willing to try new activities to avoid any social or environmental triggers that cause quitters to smoke.
Lastly, quit smoking support groups have always helped those looking to quit. Their empathy and understanding for first-time quitters are invaluable to those who quit smoking successfully.
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But, will a supportive environment be enough to help in your first time quitting smoking? In today’s article, we’ll take a look at how supportive environments make it easy to stop smoking.
Reduces the Risk of Relapse
You’ve heard of smokers relapsing during their first few attempts at quitting. Relapse usually happens because of familiar cues in their local environment. Think of it this way – if you’re exposed to people who always smoke while you’re quitting, there’s no one you can talk to for help.
If your family and friends are there to help you during your peak withdrawals and cravings, you have a better chance of stopping smoking. When the urge is too strong to contain, your support group can listen and support you in the best way possible.
It has been proven that a supportive environment greatly helps change a smoker’s behaviour and improves their smoking cessation efforts.
Improves Focus and Productivity
Many successful ex-smokers most likely attribute their success to staying busy. By working on something, no matter how good you are at it, you forget about your cravings and withdrawals.
Do you remember a time when you wanted to learn about gardening, painting, or something similar? You bought tools, set up a room, or even built a shed to start on your new hobby.
An environment designed to quit smoking is the same. It helps replace an unhealthy activity with one that lets you focus and stay busy.
Strong evidence shows that changing your behaviour and activities makes it easy to quit cigarette smoking. So, stay busy and enjoy learning something new.
Gives You a Place Where You Belong
Creating a supportive environment gives you a place where you can share the challenges and victories with people who will listen, understand, and never sway you from your decision to quit smoking.
Motivated smokers who feel good and encouraged about quitting have the best success rate of finally kicking the habit.
We mentioned that a supportive smoking cessation environment begins at home. Family members and friends who support your decision make you feel loved and have a sense of belonging.
With a support group, you have a community that understands your difficulties. They can listen and understand you well because they’re also going through what you’re currently feeling, making you feel that someone cares.
When you have a place where you belong, you have all the help you need to go through anything on your quit journey.
Encourages Meditation and Rest
To someone on a quit journey, new activities change your habits. New activities can transform your space at home, give you an environment that encourages meditation and rest, and make it easy to forget about smoking.
You’d probably be tired but fulfilled after a weekend of hiking. You will also want to try new things with what you’ve learned in a hobby class. Once you sit down and think about your fruitful weekend, you will feel happy accomplishing something new and exciting.
Having peace of mind and reduced anxiety also makes way for restful sleep. With nicotine out of your system by changing your activities, you can sleep better and wake up much more refreshed than the day before.
Summary
A supportive environment that helps smokers quit makes managing withdrawals and cravings easier. Motivated smokers will have a place they belong with people who encourage their decision and help in many ways.
A quit smoking support community can empathise and genuinely listen to them, inspiring those on their quit journey to keep fighting against their urges and eventually stop smoking.
You found this article because you wanted to know what a supportive environment looks like. If you haven’t found the right support for your plans to quit smoking, we know a way to help out.
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.