How to get rid of bad habits. Stop drinking, smoking and other bad habits

Many people believe that bad habits are only alcohol, tobacco and drugs. However, in fact, in the concept bad habits includes much more points. For example:

Nail biting;

Licking fingers;

Do not wash your hands before eating or preparing food;

Play video games for a long time and often;

Walk in cold winters without a hat, etc.

All this is also considered bad habits, which should be gotten rid of as quickly as possible, otherwise they can ruin you. After all, harm is caused by microbes that are on our hands, radiation from a computer monitor, and cold wind, which can cause meningitis (for example).

So how can you get rid of all these unnecessary activities?! Let's find out!

10 methods to quickly break habits

First, let's define the word “quickly”; it is written here more for emphasis, which indicates that the methods described below are most effective in a relatively short time. However, speaking in general, it is impossible to quickly get rid of habits, unless there are emergency situations, which we will also talk about.

Instead of smoking, start gnawing on seeds. A strange method, however, quite effective. It's not so much about the seeds, but about the process itself, since you perform a lot of actions at once with your hands, lips, teeth, etc. The process is quite addictive, and therefore quite well interrupts the smoker’s withdrawal symptoms. It is advisable to buy sunflower seeds black and naturally in a shell.

Reduce your alcohol intake. If a person is addicted to alcohol, it is very difficult for him to quit. However, here you need to start by gradually reducing the number of times you use it. If you used to drink 4-5 times a week, then try now to reduce this frequency to 3, let it be every other day and once a week, 2 days off from alcohol. When you cope with this figure, try to reduce it by one more day, and so gradually wean yourself from such a bad habit.

Find yourself a new hobby. Sometimes bad habits appear from the lack of any hobby. So why don't you find a new hobby for yourself. Today there are quite a lot of communities for hobbies (knitting, diets, sports, cars, business, etc.). Why should you waste your time and health on nonsense if you can benefit not only yourself, but also those around you?

Ask your mentor to intervene. It is quite difficult to get out of the current situation on your own, so sometimes you need the help of a person you trust and listen to. This could be your father/mother, husband or wife. You need to ask them to keep an eye on you and not let you get back to your old ways. Yes, most likely, you will be angry with them, but this feeling will eventually be replaced by words of gratitude.

Find motivation to quit bad habits. Motivation is nothing more than a reason that encourages you to act and change something in your life. She is the one who can change even the most outdated rules and traditions. Think about why you can change and get rid of the bad past. Often, children, wives or husbands, as well as close people have the maximum motivation. If you are still quite a young man, then most likely your motivation will be a girl who will leave you unless you get rid of bad habits.

Find out the maximum consequences of your habit. As a rule, we rarely know all the consequences that certain habits can lead to. For example, smoking - yes, everyone understands that it can cause lung cancer. But what is this?! How does it go?! Few people guess. We strongly recommend that you learn about all the diseases that develop during your harmful activities, and then study the development of each disease. To, roughly speaking, feel all the pain that you will experience if you don’t stop. Scary pictures and text will make your brain work and think again about what you can end up with.

Calculate how long you have left to live! As if a continuation of the previous point: it is good to sober up the realization that you will soon die. After all, any disease has its time, after which a person dies, unless he is cured. You can even die from poisoning if you don’t get help in time. the help you need. Accordingly, estimate how long you have left to live if you get sick with one of the possible diseases. A week, a month, six months?! Aren't you ready to die for your bad habit?! Don't think!

Bet on a large sum money. Same good incentive for people who are in a not very good situation financial situation or quite gambling. Create a receipt, sign it, have it executed by a notary and give it to your relative or good friend. It should say that you undertake to give this person such and such an amount within such and such a period. And continue verbally - unless I quit smoking (for example).

Make a plan to rid yourself of bad habits. In this situation, you cannot rush and act rashly. Alcoholism, smoking and other bad habits are quite serious problems that require long and serious treatment, not so much physically as morally.

Find an alternative to your habit. Some habits have alternatives, for example, instead of tobacco, you can use electronic cigarettes, and instead of strong alcohol, beer or similar drinks. An alternative is another one of the first steps from which you should start fighting your bad habits.

We sincerely wish you to get rid of your negative habits as soon as possible and hope that our advice from the online magazine site will help you a lot! Also, if you have your own ways of dealing with unhealthy habits, please share them in the comments, because only through joint efforts can we overcome a problem on a universal scale!

Most of us have no idea to what extent our lives consist of so-called bad habits. We have programmed the wrong reactions into our subconscious and central nervous system. It causes us to feel and act the way we have conditioned ourselves to, no matter how false, distorted, or destructive our feelings and actions may be. Therefore, you need to go through a difficult period of retraining and reprogramming yourself. You cannot give up what you consider desirable for yourself.

"All! After this weekend I’ll go on a diet!”, “I promise – it was my last cigarette!”, “Today I’ll go and sign up for gym and I’ll go 3 times a week, for sure!”, “I’ll go to bed early tonight!” Probably, each of us made similar promises to ourselves. However, not everyone manages to get rid of their “favorite” habits. It is not true that habit is second nature. In fact, habit is first nature. By by and large, habit is ourselves. That is why victory over a bad habit is victory over yourself, and, as the ancient Greeks said, this is the greatest victory.

What is a bad habit? In psychology, this concept is given the following definition: a habit is a learned action that has become automated and carried out without much effort. Simply put, these are actions that we do without thinking.

It appears very simply. One day, a person does something. Initially, he has to consciously perform and control not only the action as a whole, but also the individual movements or operations through which he carries it out. However, repeating it several times, it becomes easier to do it, and later you completely stop noticing how, when you come home, you habitually put on slippers, kiss your wife, sit on the sofa, ...

As a result of repetition, a person acquires the ability to perform many actions without thinking about why he needs it and how best to do it. This is called automation. This is where the complexity of the habit mechanism lies. What makes a person do a habitual action lives not on the surface of his consciousness, but deep inside.

A habit is a subconscious program following which a person acts. Contrary to popular belief, this program is not at all an enemy of the individual, but on the contrary, it is an excellent assistant. It is a means of saving energy in our internal system.

By becoming automated, habitual actions or reactions cease to take up our time and energy to think about them, prepare for them, experience them, and perform them. They happen by themselves, leaving us with energy to solve more complex problems. However, there are habits that ruin our health, or push people away from us, put us in a hopeless situation and force us to repent of what we have done. I want to get rid of them, but it’s so difficult to do so! Very difficult. But it is possible.

Determine the cause. At its core, a habit is much more deep concept than an automated action. Habitual action– this is just the tip of a huge iceberg. This is the point to which a lot of reasons are reduced, living not only in the human consciousness, but also in the subconscious.

Therefore, in order to get rid of a habit, of course, a bad habit, we advise you to first identify the reason that precedes its appearance. Eradicating a habit in your behavior without eliminating its cause can lead to the birth of a new habit, even more serious, or to the appearance of neurosis based on the suppression of its root cause.

Features lead to the formation of a habit psychological state. For example, the bad habit of biting nails occurs due to stress. Often this becomes a sign that is looking for a way out, and the person tries to calm down by satisfying the sucking reflex. This also includes all other bad habits associated with the oral area of the face - overeating, smoking (the psychological, not the medical aspect of the problem), biting lips, pencils, etc. Insecurity in one's appearance can manifest itself in constant tugging at clothes or adjusting one's hair or makeup. General nervousness and uncertainty can manifest itself in fiddling with clothing or some other object in moments of particularly acute tension.

Let us repeat, in order to overcome a bad habit, it is imperative to understand its cause. And for this you need to watch yourself. If you start nervously fiddling with your earlobe every time your beloved mother-in-law gives “ useful tips“how to live better, then the source of your constant irritation, and, consequently, your bad habit, becomes clear. Or nail biting occurs because there are constant quarrels and conflicts at home. And you are fiddling with your clothes because since childhood you have been afraid to express your opinion. And you snap your fingers as soon as you find yourself in the boss’s office.

Often, excluding provoking situations, a person forgets about his bad habits. For example, on vacation, or changing jobs. In some cases, you should even seek help from a psychologist. It happens that even one visit is enough to figure out what your habit is signaling to you and cope with this problem.

However, there are bad habits based not only on deep psychological problems. The reasons can be quite banal, such as ignorance of the rules of good manners, which can result in the habit of slurping while eating, or picking your nose in public. A incorrect organization working and personal time, can lead to such clearly bad habits as going to bed long after midnight, waking up late, being late, not having breakfast, then skipping lunch, eating too much before bed, and so on.

When breaking a habit, self-analysis is very important, but all your activity cannot be limited to this. The attack on the habit must be carried out on several fronts at once. Therefore, further MirSovetov will give some tips related to eliminating various kinds of habits.

Find what you like about your bad habit. The mechanism of habit formation has important feature– a pleasant emotional background. An action that has become habitual becomes so only when it evokes pleasant sensations or emotions. For example, smoking gives us a lot of positive aspects: thanks to a cigarette, you can easily start communication or get distracted and refresh your thoughts during times of worry. These are important human needs that need to be satisfied. Now it becomes clear why all the terrible consequences, such as cancer, metabolic disorders, destruction circulatory system and so on, fade into the background.

Therefore, before you get rid of a bad habit, you need to understand how important it is for you personally. If you don’t care that your office neighbor is annoyed by the fact that you pick your ear with your little finger, then there is no point in torturing yourself and trying to wean yourself off. But when you really understand that the harm caused by any habit is much stronger than its positive aspects, then you have already prepared yourself to get rid of it.

Make a firm decision. The most important condition for getting rid of a bad habit is making a decision that should never be violated under any circumstances. This is an essential part of breaking a habit. This, as is commonly believed, is where the human will manifests itself. And if real reason does not force you to give up the habit

If you want to leave her, then several techniques can help you. Imagine what might happen if you break your promise to yourself. For example, the misfortune that will happen to your loved ones if you return to your bad habit. The scarier the more effective. Or bet with someone a very significant amount for you that you will never again eat Doshirak during your lunch break. Remember, there is no such thing as weak will. There is poor motivation.

Start a new habit. Now that you have definitely decided to get rid of a bad habit, you need to start taking specific actions. One of the most effective ways- this is to acquire a new habit to replace the old one. Moreover new habit should become a kind of substitute for the old one, that is, bring pleasure. If you decide to get up every morning at 8-00, then for this you need to develop the habit of going to bed no later than 23-00. To do this, you sit down to dinner at 19-00. The result is the following - you get more done during the day, get enough sleep, feel better, and, in addition, lose weight due to an early dinner. And frequent smoking breaks can be replaced, my healer advises, for example, with a cup of aromatic tea. Or the habit of chewing a pen can be replaced by the habit of drawing some pictures in the corner of a sheet of paper. The most important thing is to repeat these actions constantly so that the new algorithm turns into a new subconscious program.

Create conditions. You should not expose your will to overload in the first couple of steps. Therefore, try to avoid those situations that push you to take up the old again. For example, if you have a passion for late dinners, occupy your evening with something so interesting that you won’t even remember about the refrigerator at 10 p.m.

We also recommend including one more tactic here - staying away from people who suffer from bad habits that you want to get rid of. This is explained by the fact that imitation is characteristic of humans since childhood. Therefore, he involuntarily learns behavioral traits from those around him. It is extremely difficult to give up alcohol in fun company drinking friends.

If you suffer from such a habit as constant lateness, then perhaps it is a lack of self-organization. A schedule of your affairs will help you here, which clearly states not only the meeting time, but also the exit time.

This will help you feel freer and reduce the level of anxiety, which in turn will give you the opportunity to control yourself in relation to the habit. Remember that every detail is visible on stage. Therefore, you need to prepare as carefully as possible for speaking in front of any audience. You can use available tools as assistants. Your hands can be occupied with sheets of text, and your legs can be placed in such a position that it is inconvenient to constantly shake them.

At home, you can hang bright reminders in places related to your habits. For example, write on a chair: “Put your clothes in the closet,” or hang a picture of a person suffering from extreme obesity on the refrigerator. By and large, elements of self-control are always present when you are struggling with any of your bad habits.

Try self-hypnosis. One of the most unusual ways to cope with bad habits is the use of self-hypnosis. The self-hypnosis technique consists of the following components:

Motivation;
Relaxation;
Concentration;
Imagination;
Self-hypnosis.

Let's assume that you already have motivation - this is the reason why you decided to get rid of a bad habit. When starting self-hypnosis for this purpose, you begin with absolute relaxation. To achieve it, silence, a calm atmosphere, a comfortable posture and a refusal to think about pressing problems will help. In such a peaceful state, begin to comprehend your task, think about it carefully and from all sides.

The next step is to imagine your new self-pleasing image without the bad habit. For example, trying to get rid of the habit of nervously fiddling with something in your hands during important negotiations, you see yourself as a respectable and respected person who is in control of any situation. At this stage of self-hypnosis, you mentally pronounce a phrase that is designed to remove a bad habit from your subconscious. The phrase should be short and clear. For example, “I am free from fears and feel confident,” or “I will go on a diet and lose excess weight.” You must repeat it at least 10 times, and then gradually come out of the hypnotic state. You can slowly count from 1 to 10. Such exercises must be done constantly until you feel that your bad habit has left you forever. Remember that our behavior is entirely composed of various habits. The ability to manage them is the most important ability to manage oneself, and therefore one’s entire life.

It is common for all of us to have habits. But not all of them are positive. Some of these habits can even cause hostility from others. Agree, if a person is constantly late for work, bites his nails, does not brush his teeth in the morning, and has bad breath, then few people will like this. There are habits that are simply harmful to the body. When a person smokes, abuses alcohol, or overeats before bed, then, to put it mildly, he does not become healthier from this lifestyle.

Has a bad habit driven you into a corner and you can’t find the strength to get rid of it? Then try to imagine what its influence will mean in a few years if you remain under the yoke of a bad habit. “You are extremely overweight, hanging over you real threat cancer and cirrhosis of the liver, those around you don’t think anything of you, because your success in life turned out to be not far from zero...” The picture is terribly unpleasant and exaggerated, but quite common.

Ask yourself: “Is this what I want from my life?” If you realize that you definitely don’t want such a sad future, then it’s time to start acting. It will not be easy to achieve success in this field, but it is quite possible if you work hard on yourself. So, let's look at some tips that will help you.

1. Look for the reason.

Often a bad habit appears for a reason. Something in your life triggered it. A person starts drinking to escape from boring reality, forget about the sad past, and dull his feelings. And smoking helps some people gather their thoughts and organize emotional chaos. But it's not best ways help yourself.

Distract yourself not with bad habits, but with positive impressions. For example, instead of escaping the drab everyday life by sitting alone and getting drunk, you can try to join the noisy friendly company, have fun from the heart, make new acquaintances.

2. Motivate yourself.

Many will say that willpower is the fundamental engine in the fight against bad habits. Of course, being persistent is very important quality, but without motivation you are unlikely to succeed. If the aesthetic taste pleasure that you get from cakes, cupcakes, sweets and pastries is more important to you than looking beautiful and feeling good, then there will be no positive result. It’s clear that if you don’t have an incentive to give up bad habits now, then your chances of getting rid of them in the future will be slim.

You need to examine your bad habits and understand for yourself what will happen if you get rid of them, how much your life will change. Here's what can happen:

— health will be safe, the overall quality of life will improve;
— having gotten rid of harmful addiction, you will become a person who owns his desires;
- you will save your time and money, which you will be able to find much more useful application;
— your self-esteem will increase, others will begin to show you respect, etc.

Do you think this is enough to start fighting bad habits? If you are still not satisfied, then think a little longer. There are a lot of advantages.

3. Decide to take action.

You need to be determined to start the fight. You cannot show weakness here; be persistent in your decision. If you doubt that you can withstand your own conditions, bet with someone around you a large sum that you will keep your word. Think about what you will have to give up if you suddenly take the slippery slope again. By thickening your colors, you will cut off your path to retreat.

4. Avoid triggers.

Triggers are those circumstances that can provoke you to return to bad habits. It is important to identify them and avoid them in time. For example, if evening is approaching, and at this time you are used to eating a lot of delicious high-calorie food, then try to distract yourself with something interesting that will help you forget about food.

And yes, remember that triggers can also be people who have similar bad habits as you. It is better to limit communication with them. If your friends are used to passing the time by drinking alcohol, and it is extremely difficult for you to refuse them, then come up with rewards and punishments for yourself. For example, if you broke your word and drank with them, then tear it up banknote. And the higher the denomination of the bill, the more effective the reception will be.

5. Turn to control and self-control.

Close people can help you in the fight if you dedicate them to your intentions. They will help you notice even those bad habits that you are used to ignoring. Friends and family will promptly remind you of your decision.

You can also put up reminders at home that say, “With every cookie, I gain more and more.” excess weight!", "There's a lot of junk in the closet - you need to clean it out!", " Social media they're taking everything that's mine free time!».

6. Use self-hypnosis.

Self-hypnosis is quite possible. To begin with, you can simply visualize your image, which will have no bad habits. Agree, he looks quite attractive.

Suggestion phrases are effective. For example, “I won’t change my decision”, “I control myself”, “everything is going well for me”, etc. If you constantly repeat them, you can make these phrases part of your consciousness, and then an integral part of your behavior .

There is another effective technique. You can tell yourself every morning: “I won’t do this (smoking, drinking, overeating, swearing) just today. Today I’ll be patient, and tomorrow I’ll give myself freedom.” Indeed, it’s not difficult to limit yourself to just one day. But tomorrow repeat everything again and so on.

7. Be patient.

In the fight against unwanted habits, you can’t rush. It is important not to force things. It will not be possible to deal with all the troubles in one sitting. This habit took some time to cultivate, so breaking it will not be quick. Psychologists believe that the process of getting rid of it will take about a month.

By deciding to learn these tips, you have already taken the first step. But whether to continue the path is your choice. It's all up to you. But believe me: if you go further, you will definitely achieve your desired goal and get rid of your bad habits once and for all.

Greetings to all readers. This step will help you get rid of bad habits: smokers should quit smoking, and for those who drink, I will suggest, as an experiment, not to drink for 30 days. Why now, at this stage? Firstly, because in order to complete the next steps it would be better if you did not smoke or drink, since these steps will be associated with physical activity. Secondly, if you have completed all the previous steps, then you have gained some useful skills in order to get rid of bad habits with less resistance and with more desire. It should be easier now.

Don't be afraid, I'm not telling you to give up alcohol today or forever. In my case, giving up alcohol happened naturally. Over time, my desire to drink began to disappear, the need to relax and spend time in this way disappeared. I believe that getting rid of bad habits should happen, for the most part, naturally and be accompanied by a sincere inner interest in stopping self-bullying. Otherwise, you will return to these habits again and again.

But this does not mean that you should sit back and wait until you get tired of drinking or smoking. You will still have to significantly limit your alcohol consumption and work on yourself. This applies to alcohol, but while you complete this step, you will have to quit smoking immediately and for good. You should at least try, if you don't succeed, you just move on to the next step, and come back to this one later.

I will try to help you quit smoking to the best of my ability by supporting you day by day and helping you through nicotine withdrawal. Read this step, information will be given here for the first few days of quitting cigarettes. For those who want to quit drinking, I will simply publish here a list of tips that will help you cope with addiction and invite you to take part in an experiment: give up any alcohol for 30 days. I don't see the point in publishing step by step program to get rid of alcohol addiction, since everyone’s cases are different, while the experience of throwing cigarettes, in principle, may be similar for the majority.

Self-development and bad habits

Bad habits are not compatible with self-development. Firstly, because they destroy health, and balanced human development implies improvement of the body. Smoking and systematic drinking of alcohol do not go well with sports, which are necessary for every person.

Secondly, drinking alcohol and other drugs gradually destroys the brain. Healthy critical ability and sober assessment of yourself and others disappear (and this often happens unnoticed by you), which also unsatisfactorily meets the needs for personal development.

Thirdly, bad habits can contribute to the development of negative human qualities (many people know how the character of a strong person deteriorates drinking people). Smoking and alcohol provoke problems with nervous system. After all, bad habits are a destructive addiction or the risk of one. Lack of dependence is freedom and choice. Freedom, expressed in the ability to enjoy life without the need to cloud your brain and ruin your health.

Fourthly, the use of drugs and alcohol, including, destroys and undermines a certain fragile mental balance. This is already my observation. To clarify, let me small retreat. I have written more than once that meditation helped me get rid of addictions, depression, and character problems. — the basis of my self-development system. Perhaps there are other ways of self-development that do not involve practicing such a spiritual discipline as meditation. But I can't teach you what I don't know myself. I can be confident in my words only when I stand firmly on my own experience of positive metamorphoses. This experience includes meditation as an integral element.

The man who once advised me to meditate and, one might say, taught me this technique, himself, through his own example, created an incentive for my practice and dispelled my skepticism. The fact is that this man felt quite well (which could not be said about me at that time) and, for some time, stopped drinking alcohol altogether (which I also really wanted, but did not understand how to achieve). He said that he simply didn’t need it, that’s why he didn’t drink.

Then I, who am used to drinking every day, don’t understand how this might not be necessary?! It seemed to me that everyone needs alcohol, it’s just that some people don’t limit themselves, while others, at the cost of their spiritual comfort, do. I could understand if someone did not drink for ideological reasons, but because of this they suffered and “broke off”, while the rest did not miss the opportunity to enjoy the pleasant effect of alcohol. But it was completely incomprehensible to me how one could not drink alcohol and at the same time enjoy life, communication, relaxation...

But, after two years of meditation practice, I managed to comprehend this man’s mood. My need for alcohol and other sources of intoxication has disappeared. When I meet with old acquaintances on the occasion of, for example, someone’s birthday, they are very surprised that I stopped drinking. And they ask: “What are you doing if you don’t drink? How do you spend your free time? I don’t have any extraordinarily original hobbies and I spend my leisure time the same way as many others: riding a bike, watching movies, reading books, walking, spending time with friends, etc. But the point is not in the classes themselves, the point is what happens inside...

After I started meditating, a feeling of some kind of constant inner comfort began to appear in me. This is not a state of unbridled happiness, not a feeling of intoxicating euphoria, but simply some kind of quiet joy and comfort. Actually, people are looking for a sense of psychological comfort in alcohol and other drugs. But I already have this condition, I don’t need to go to the store to get it, why do I need alcohol? I can relax on my own, why should I ruin my health and cloud my mind? I feel comfortable while relaxing, in a cheerful company. In short, I almost always feel good, why should I drink or smoke?

With the help of meditation practice, I have found a certain balance that I really don’t want to upset. If I drink, even a little, the next day I feel some kind of loss of moral strength. If you drink constantly, you won’t notice it, but the less often you drink, the more noticeable this feeling will be. At these moments, it seems that the balance that is maintained by meditation and sobriety has been shaken. And I really don’t want to upset this balance. This is one of the reasons I don't drink.

You can read thousands of tips on how to quit drinking and smoking, but until you find a sense of inner comfort and balance, it will be difficult for you to do this. My way to achieve such states is meditation. You can come to them in some other way, or you can not reinvent the wheel and follow the path trodden by many generations. After all, meditation has helped many people get rid of addictions. If you have followed the previous steps, then you should already be meditating and it will be much easier for you to quit bad habits. If you haven't been practicing, now is the time to start.

Theory

In my articles, I wrote that in order to get rid of bad habits, it is necessary to eliminate psychological reasons why you smoke or drink. Addiction has two sides - physiological and psychological. You can get rid of physiological dependence by stopping using the substance to which you are accustomed. Over time, your body will rebuild its processes, and you will no longer have a “physical” craving for the drug.

If psychological dependence did not play a significant role, then people would easily quit drinking and smoking and would never return to these habits again. After all, enduring physical “withdrawal” is not so difficult, especially when guided by considerations of caring for your health. But there is something before which these considerations fade, these are the psychological reasons for drug use, something that forms mental dependence.

Many people drink and smoke not because their body is accustomed to the drug. They do this to relax, relieve tension, get rid of “social” inhibitions, drown out grief, gain pleasure and a state of psychological comfort, fill pauses in a conversation, engage their senses, forget themselves, pass the time, get rid of boredom, etc. etc. You see what a wide area of personal needs is affected by the process of drug use, including alcohol and cigarettes!

This is why many people see such joy in smoking and drinking, because it is very strongly connected with the personality, with its desires. If you simply stop satisfying these desires using familiar means, they will not go away and will appear again and again. This is the reason why people cannot quit smoking or drinking so easily. How will they relax? How to endure boredom? How to spend your time?

And, not finding a satisfactory answer to these questions, they again return to harmful “joys”. To get rid of psychological dependence, the personality needs to change. And this is not so simple, although it is certainly possible, and this is proven by my example, in particular. To get rid of any temptations that lead to addiction, you need to take a number of comprehensive measures, for example:

Find a sense of harmony, balance, comfort, joy. (Meditation, yoga, sports activities, working on your inner world, self-development, intellectual development)
Learn to relax. (Described in the previous step)
Tolerate loneliness and boredom. Learn to enjoy the absence of any activity.
. Develop self-discipline.
Expand the scope of your interests and hobbies.
Get rid of sensory hunger, an unhealthy need for constant receipt of information and irritation of the senses. (The following articles may be useful: , )

You will find some of the information in the linked articles; a lot more is said in the articles about how to quit drinking and smoking. I posted links to them above. It is necessary to understand that it is impossible to create a completely universal program, since each case of addiction is individual: someone drinks because they are constantly stressed, someone gets rid of boredom in this way, someone drowns out pain, for someone it’s all together... Everyone has different reasons for the emergence of bad habits, and therefore, everyone should pay attention to working with their own reasons and read the relevant materials on my website or in other sources.

It's clear that personality needs to change, but there's nothing stopping you from quitting some bad habits right now. And the positive personality changes that will occur subsequently will ensure that you do not return to these habits again. So there is no reason not to quit smoking or drinking right now! The following tips for every day will help smokers get rid of this habit that is poisonous to their health.

From tomorrow you will not smoke. This day should not stand out from other days in anything special, except that on this day you will quit smoking and never again. That is, you don’t need to wait for a special day: the first of January or the day following your birthday... Quit smoking right tomorrow, in the middle of the week. I did just that: on Tuesday evening I decided that, starting tomorrow, I would not smoke. On Wednesday I no longer smoked at work. Although, before that, on Monday and Tuesday, I, observing the usual rhythm of a smoker, was still talking in the smoking room with colleagues, puffing on a cigarette, and did not even think that this would soon have to end.

You need to quit smoking sharply and immediately. Other methods are not effective. No favors. Starting tomorrow, don’t smoke and that’s it. So in the evening you smoke your last cigarette and from that moment on you are no longer a smoker...

Day 2

It won't be easy. You will feel bad. How bad depends on your smoking history. We'll have to be patient. This must be remembered. Otherwise, underestimating the effects of withdrawal symptoms, you will immediately reach for a cigarette. It will be fine in the morning, but be strong during the day!

Remember, you are not “quitting smoking.” You have already quit smoking! You no longer smoke, even though you smoked your last cigarette yesterday. What happened yesterday was yesterday. Now you are a non-smoker, look at the smokers around you: you are no longer one of them - you do not smoke. Colleagues call “Are you going to smoke?” you answer: “no, I quit,” and not “I’m quitting” or, God forbid: “I’m trying to quit.”

The thought of an action that has already been completed, a completed decision, will help you be more firm in your intention not to return to a cigarette again. You no longer smoke and will not smoke. Otherwise, you are now very much drawn to a cigarette, it’s just side effect withdrawal. It will go away after some time. (I smoked for 6 years, it was hard for the first three days after I stopped, then the syndrome gradually “faded” over two weeks, then that was it. According to my recollections, quitting smoking was very easy, since it really “broke” me only a few days. But I haven’t smoked for two years. Quite a reasonable price for this.)

There is no need to identify yourself with withdrawal symptoms. Just because you are drawn to a cigarette does not mean that you want it, you need it, this is how addiction manifests itself at the physiological level. The body begins to experience something like hunger, which, unlike the usual need for food, can be tolerated. Endure as you endure any physical pain or discomfort that anyone can endure. These are not your desires, this is simply a reaction of the body, expressed in such discomfort.

There is no way for you to relieve this discomfort! No smoking allowed! This is prohibited. Smoking is taboo. Set a strict ban on this in your thoughts. No matter how bad you feel, be patient, it will end. Horror writer Stephen King has a story called "Quit Smoking Inc." It talked about an organization that helped heavy smokers quit smoking. The person who contacted them was under surveillance. If he smokes for the first time, his finger is cut off, if it happens again, his wife or child’s finger is cut off, then worse sanctions follow...

This policy left no room for temptation for the hero of this story to smoke. He simply couldn't do it. What are a few days of weaning worth compared to the prospect of living without a finger!
Tune in to the fact that you, like this character, cannot smoke! What are a few days of withdrawal worth compared to the prospect of ruined lungs, heart and blood vessels? It's even worse than a severed finger!

Stay strong until the next day. Instead of smoking, go for a walk outside or just stand on the balcony. Chew (regular) gum if it makes you feel better. Don't eat too much! There is no need to replace one habit with another, this is not effective at all! When I quit smoking, I didn't gain any weight because I knew about the risk and tried not to eat more than usual.

Day 3

We made it through the first day without cigarettes - consider half the job done. But this is not the time to relax. Today won't be any easier. Get ready. But you don't smoke anymore, and that's very good. In your free time at work or at home, read some article about the effects of nicotine on the brain. Why does addiction and withdrawal syndrome occur, how does this manifest itself at the level of brain mechanisms? It will be very informative and relevant for you. Read also about the dangers of smoking.

If some thoughts come into your head that boil down to smoking (“just one cigarette”), get rid of these thoughts, no matter how convincing they may seem! This is an insidious deception of addiction, which transmits false ideas through your brain. These thoughts may seem very tempting and even reasonable. But don't be deceived! Add all such thoughts to your personal “banlist”. They are easy to weed out from all other thoughts by simple principle: any thought about smoking is a deception!

Hold on!

Day 4

It should be a little easier now. If it’s not there, it will be in a few days. But enduring the “withdrawal” should no longer be so difficult. In the morning, take a deep breath and smell the new smells. After all, the sense of smell is greatly dulled by constant smoking. It should be easier to breathe.

Day 5

Release pent-up energy. Go for a short run or go to the pool. You are now a non-smoker and can afford activities such as running, since your lungs work better.

After a couple of months, if you do not ruin your health in any other way, you will feel an improvement in your overall health. No cigarettes general condition your body is much better: you get tired less, sleep better, your stamina increases, shortness of breath and bad breath disappear.

It is better not to drink alcohol, at least in the first week of quitting cigarettes, as it is easier to relapse with alcohol. But if you feel strong enough, you can at the same time start the next experiment and stop drinking for a month.

An experiment for those who want to quit drinking (also relevant for smokers)

Let's do an experiment. I suggest you give up alcohol for 30 days starting tomorrow. If this period seems long to you, it means that you are used to drinking often and, even more so, you need such an experiment.

If it is very easy for you to hold out for 30 days, we extend the period: 2, 3 months, etc.

To refuse at all means to refuse altogether. No exceptions: a friend’s birthday, a wedding, your birthday - it doesn’t matter, you don’t drink for 30 days. Just like with giving up cigarettes: we don’t wait for a special day or occasion, we start the experiment tomorrow.

In a month you will probably have time to visit different situations, in which you are used to drinking: holidays, evenings after hard working days. Only this time, you will have to do without alcohol. You will try to learn how to have a good time and relax without alcohol. This will be the goal of the experiment. Read the article on how to stop drinking forever, the link was given above.

It’s not enough to just stop drinking, you need to find a healthy alternative to what you’re used to getting from alcohol, otherwise this 30-day “fast” will not be very effective.

Learn to relax

If you need to relax, you can use the recommendations from the previous step and practice one of the relaxation techniques (and/or meditation) every evening. Try to find healthy ways to relax during this month: sports in the evenings, a swimming pool, walks fresh air, water procedures. If you are used to relaxing with the help of alcohol, then a connection between the state of relaxation, comfort and the intake of certain drugs is fixed in your brain at the neural level. chemical compounds. In this way, a habit is established on physiological processes.

You must break this connection. Get your brain to associate relaxation with the things I listed above. A 30-day fast will serve as a good opportunity to strengthen new connections.

Learn to have fun and have fun

If there is some kind of holiday during this “fast”, then that’s wonderful! A great reason to try having fun without alcohol. From my own observations, it is very difficult at first. Some time ago I couldn't imagine one. And the first time I promised myself not to drink at a friend’s birthday party, keeping such a promise was a huge pain in the ass. internal resistance. At first, I was even somehow confused, I didn’t know what to do without a bottle. Several hours at the party passed with terrible difficulty, it was boring and uninteresting. But then I began to entertain myself: I talked, listened to music, and came up with something. And, in the end, I had a wonderful time.

The problem with alcohol and other drugs is that they discourage activity and creativity. When a person drinks or uses something, he doesn’t need anything else, a kind of temporary self-sufficiency appears: he drank and sat there chattering his tongue - nothing else is interesting. Pay attention to drinking groups that bring their children to get-togethers. It could be some kind of kebabs. Children run around, play, invent something, while adults just sit in one place, pushing toast.

Of course, adults are not children; if they are deprived of a bottle, they are unlikely to play tag. But this example still at least somehow illustrates the difference in terms of pastime between non-drinkers and drinkers. Non-drinkers have to invent something to maintain the collective joy of the holiday, and the bottle destroys all ingenuity.

Therefore, at first, you will be bored just sitting on your ass and wagging your tongue at all sorts of events without a bottle. Therefore, entertain yourself, have fun, invent something, meet people, dance, find unexpected topics for conversation, show any activity. You will understand how much more diverse this pastime is than alcoholic gatherings. When you get bored, go home and fall asleep healthy sleep, gaining fresh impressions. And in the morning, wake up with a fresh head and full of energy, rejoicing at how good you feel. The fun didn't come at the cost of headaches.

Not every company has the opportunity to have a good time without alcohol, since many gather solely for the purpose of drinking: they crowd into a small kitchen like herring in a barrel, quickly grab a drink and sit, filling the pauses between sips with conversation. Naturally, if you don't drink, you may get bored in such company, and there is nothing unnatural about that. Just leave early or don't attend such events at all.

But if the interlocutors are interesting, it’s always interesting to just talk to them, no matter whether they drink or not. Situations are different, and a lot depends on the company itself, on who these people are, why these people have gathered, and not just on you.

From my own experience, I was convinced that you can easily have a frank heart-to-heart conversation without alcohol, that you can relax and have fun without being drunk. This comes with experience; for someone who hasn’t even tried, it will never work out, rest assured. If the holiday is organized well and it revolves not only around the bottle, then you can always find something to do. I noticed that there is a certain line, a line that needs to be crossed and endured.

At first it’s boring, but then the holiday atmosphere somehow captivates, liberates and has fun without any alcohol. This feeling consists of good music, smiles from friends, pleasant conversations and new experiences. This feeling is invigorating and intoxicating without any harm to health, without any unpleasant consequences. During a 30-day period without drinking, you must attend one holiday and try to enter this state, feel it! If you succeed, you've earned an A for your experiment!