Smoking is not injurious to health

I started smoking at the age of Eighteen. I had seen my father smoke all his life. It made me curious. Smoking gave me a sense of false adulthood.

"Youth is wasted on the young" - George Bernard Shaw.

Before I could realize it, smoking became a tool to combat stress. Moreover, it did a bloody good job at it.

Smoking was a great networking tool as well. It helped me to initiate insightful conversations with clients, senior managers, and colleagues.

Worth mentioning - a smoke after a few drinks felt great. Something, I have been missing of late.

In short, I was a passionate smoker. If I had been paid to smoke, I could have been an instant millionaire.

Journey with Cigarettes

In this article, I will detail my journey with Cigarettes. I tried a lot of different strategies to quit smoking. Some days were good, others could have been better. There was frustration, anger, guilt, and embarrassment.

There was one major learning though.

The reasons behind smoking are far more dangerous that smoking itself. Eliminate the reasons, and the body will take care of the rest.

Its been four years, since I have touched a cigarette. This has been a great achievement. Yet, It's still a work in progress.

My love affair with Cigarettes has taught me a great deal about myself. The journey wasn't easy though.

I tried and failed at a lot of strategies to quit smoking. Some of them are listed below.

1. Smoke one cigarette a day

At age twenty-one and after three years of regular smoking, I was a certified addict, but I wanted to give up. The idea was to start slowly. From five cigarettes a day, I decided to bring it down to one.

This strategy was part of a new year's resolution. But, as with most New Year's resolutions, it lasted a week.

2. Self-help books and Motivational videos

Self-help books and motivational videos are great tools to build strong determination. I was expecting to use them to good effect on my addiction to Cigarettes. The problem was that the strategy had short term benefits.

It helped but not for long.

3. Buy a pack, throw the pack

This strategy was most effective but expensive. Every time, I wanted to smoke, I would buy a packet of cigarettes. I would smoke one and throw the remaining pack in the bin.

At times, I would end up buying five packs a day. Other days were better.

After trying this strategy for six months, there was no way I could have continued. Both I and my bank account were struggling.

4. Find a substitute

It was time to find out a substitute for Cigarettes. After experimenting with multiple food items, I found the perfect substitutes - Chocolates and Cashews. Every time, I felt an urge to smoke, I would have a bar of chocolate or some cashews.

At times, I would eat 300g of cashews in a day. The sugar intake increased as well. I started putting on weight. Now, I was addicted to cigarettes, cashews, and calories.

Light at the end of the tunnel

By the time I realized what cigarettes were doing to my health, I was in my mid-thirties.

After all the failed attempts, I was tired but there was hope. There was one last attempt left in me. This time, I wanted to come up with a new, effective, and long-term strategy.

It was time to focus on the reasons behind the urge to smoke.

I created two simple rules:

1. It's okay to smoke

The first rule was - "It's okay to smoke". I told myself that I am dealing with an addiction here. The problem is complex. There is no need to be guilty.

Guilt is the anesthesia that numbs personal growth.

I have always been a very active person. I love running and playing outdoor sports. I increased the intensity of my workouts to minimize the damage caused by smoking. I also worked on my diet and made it as healthy as possible.

2. Enjoy smoking

The second rule was to enjoy smoking. Really? How do you do that?

I started buying expensive and high-quality cigarette brands. Some of the best brands I tried were Dunhill, Vogue, and Parliament.

I bought some elegant cigarette cases and holders. At times, I would smoke a cigar or a pipe. The idea was to enjoy and not to use smoking as a stress buster.

Let's ask for help?

With these rules in place, there was no room for guilt or embarrassment. They brought clarity to my thought process.

Clarity is the pilot which flies the plane of motivation.

It was time to put this clarity to some good use.

After trying different strategies for fifteen years, It was time to take help from a professional. It was evident that "I was not good at managing my stress and anxiety levels".

It was pretty clear to me that the reasons behind the urge to smoke were related to my mental health.

Being an Indian male, my male ego was not allowing me to consult a mental health professional. After all, mental health is still a highly stigmatized aspect of Indian society.

The question I had to answer was - "What shall I choose? Cigarettes or Counselling"? I chose "counseling". A choice I am extremely proud of.

Counselling worked directly on the trigger points. I was given easy and practical strategies to manage these trigger points. Let's deep dive into some of these:

1. Work-Life Balance

Being single and workaholic was not doing me any favours. The life of an early migrant brings its own challenges. Although I was happy and content in my current job, it filled a major portion of my life. I would slog for twelve hrs a day. Weekends were generally spent learning new skills.

In my first few counselling sessions, I was advised to look for a new job. The idea was to focus on work-life balance. I was happy with my current job. The organization provided good learning opportunities. This made the decision a difficult one.

Fortunately, things changed. There were changes in higher management. Some of their viewpoints were not compatible with mine. I started looking outside and with some help from my network, I was able to find a new job.

Better work-life balance allowed me to focus on other areas of my life. For example - Blogging and public speaking. I joined Toastmasters. It's an excellent platform to practice public speaking. Toastmasters also helped me to deal with self-esteem and social anxiety issues.

Every time, I got an urge to smoke, I would question myself. I would observe my anxiety. Meditation helped me along this path. It made me mindful of these urges. Once a trigger point was identified and dealt with, I would celebrate my achievement with a smoke. As the days went by, there were positive results.

2. Financial Insecurity

Financial insecurity is a gift to the life of an early migrant.

I was well paid for my new job. It resolved a lot of my problems. Counseling and meditation made me realize that stressing about financial insecurity will not take me anywhere.

Counseling helped me to work on my relationship with money. I made peace with what I had. I made small changes in my spending patterns so as to increase monthly savings. I made small and achievable financial goals. Every time I achieved a goal, it was worth a celebration.

Conclusion

Counselling helped me in my personal life as well. My present counselor is more of a life coach. I highly recommend everyone to either have a life coach or a counselor in today's world. Fortunately, Medicare services in Australia allow affordable access to these services.

The Australian government spends a lot of money to take good care of the mental health of its residents.

The power of the word 'resilience' is underrated. It's a tool that helps in dealing with failures. This article is for me. It's a reminder that the battle is not over yet. I enjoy writing and I am happy that it's helping me to become a better individual.

Work on your mental health. Don't let your addiction determine your future. Smoking is a by-product of an unhealthy lifestyle and remember:

Smoking is not injurious to health, the reasons are.

Regards

Tarun