By :
Jim Newell
You can succeed at quitting smoking by doing it yourself, however you will find it to be much easier if you are involved with a support group to talk you through the tough times, or just to hold you accountable to yourself and the group. You may experience times during the process of giving up smoking when you will get the urge to have a smoke or feel that the pain of giving up is too difficult and the support of others will help you to get through those times.
There are many quit smoking support groups or support centers available to you from simple groups of family members or friends to more formal groups who hold frequent group meetings, and almost anything in between. The support of your family and friends can be invaluable, this would be the first group you should want to set up, and may be the easiest. Tell each of these people that you have quit smoking and that you would appreciate their support if you are tempted to smoke again.
You do have to be on the lookout for the occasional family member or friend who wants to see you fail, these enablers are out there and are usually smokers who do not have the courage to quit, seeing someone fail at quitting reinforces their decision to smoke.
Check with your church, your local hospital, your doctor, they may have a support group available, or can put you in touch with one. In these groups you will be meeting with other people who are quitting smoking, or people who have quit and feel that they need continuing support. This will help with the understanding of the problems and challenges you will be faced with while trying to give up smoking.
Most of these support groups will offer structured programs that can be followed. Many of them will have a lot of printed support material. They will usually have specific starting times when each individual group will stop smoking together and work towards permanently quitting. If the meetings are not your style, there are a number of self help alternatives that may also help.
Tell your co-workers and supervisors that you have quit smoking. Check with the HR department, some companies have ongoing support groups, some even meet on premises. Some companies also offer rewards to employees who quit smoking.
Telephone support groups are maintained by some of the anti smoking mainstream health groups and associations. There are many activities you can engage in on-line that can work like a support group.
Search online for web based support groups, comment on articles on quit smoking blogs and websites, keep a daily blog diary of your quitting effort, comment in quit smoking forums, subscribe to online newsletters.
Those who work with a team or support group of others who face the same challenges have a much greater success rate, and a much lower percentage of them go back to smoking. Support groups are also ideal for people who don't have friends and family to offer them the support that is needed.
Author Resource:-
Jim Newell is the publisher of http://www.QuitSmokingNow101.com - Quitting smoking is hard to do... We Can Help!
A 2+ pack a day smoker, for more than twenty five years, Jim quit smoking for good in January 1986, http://www.QuitSmokingNow101.com is all about helping others quit.
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