Quit Smoking Relapse Prevention

Behavior Modification, A New Way to Quit Smoking?

Behavior Change: Smoking

Even as a child, I always known smoking was bad for your health. My father smoked when I was very young, but quit because of health hazards that imposes on his family and himself. He quit cold turkey, which means immediately and only by himself. He said it was hard, but it has on it. Since then, he told me never to smoke. Now I can not tell you exactly how I picked up smoking, but it really started after my 18th birthday when I was legally able to purchase cigarettes. I bought my first pack just because I could, and I have smoked regularly in school, especially when others did, especially if females were attractive. It made me think I was cool enough to join with them. Over the months I started having more and more stressed at school and work, I slowly grew dependent on cigarettes. At the time I was 19, I need to smoke whenever I studied, worked or socialized with my friends, because most of my friends were also smokers. I stopped many times and succeeded in the objectives I set myself because I want to set goals such as not smoking during two weeks, but I have never set a permanent objective due to fear of losing my crutch. For example, I would not smoke for two weeks, which allowed me to refrain is thinking that I can have a cigarette after two weeks.

Tracy Orleans, et al. (1991) conducted a research study on abandonment smoking interventions. The study consisted of four groups (a) the support group, who received a standard backup left guide for quitting smoking without other support, (b) support the social group, who received the same leaving me to guide along a support guide for family and friends, (c) Group Telephone, which had even me to leave the area, but with four phone calls to a counselor, and (d) control, which provided tips for quitting and referral to local cessation programs smoking. The results of the study were not significant, the dropout rate control and experimental groups were essentially the same, the only difference is how the two groups to quit. The experimental groups tended to stop using punishment behavioral strategies (eg, set a quit date, switch brands, etc.) while the control group tend to use external interventions (such as group therapy, nicotine gum / Patches, etc.). An interesting finding in this paper is that heavier smokers have long been less likely to quit using interventions self-help alone, than were lighter, less addicted smokers (Orleans et al., 1991). This May seem like common sense, with In hindsight, because much longer, heavier smokers are more dependent, so its harder for them to stop smoking, a similar reasoning could be added to the reverse; lighter smokers are less likely to leave because they think that threats to health are negligible because there not of immediate interest, while the long smokers are more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic disease because of their habit, forcing them to stop because of their health. Although the first conclusion is a result of the study, it was found specific in my statement and my brief encounter with smokers in the past.

My specific strategy to monitor my smoking for five days and then implement my plan was to smoke a cigarette less a day. Now I only smoke about 4-5 cigarettes a day if my plan was start with five, then hit zero. Of course, as I said before I knew it would be easy because my goal for the future was smoking. I started my change in behavior of smoking the first five days, only three the next day, but then the third day, I was angry the thought that nicotine control me, then use self-control, I smoke cigarettes in three days. Fourth day I was smoking two, but just smoked a night that cigarette one evening he felt better than any cigarette I had smoked in the past weeks. I wanted that feeling again, I knew it was a lack of nicotine. The next three days, I exited the runway of my original plan and smoked a cigarette one night. I used a form of operant conditioning, where "the person performs a behavior and the behavior is followed by positive reinforcement" (Taylor et al., 2006). In this case, feeling very euphoric rush of nicotine is the reward due to a lack of nicotine does not smoke all day (which is the behavior). May you know this is not the ideal goal of operant conditioning, but did not reduce significantly the number of cigarettes I smoke in a day.

This behavioral change was only temporary in my mind, as past attempts. I chose to control my habits of smoking because it's probably my most compromising health behaviors (except for my motorcycle but I do not think this is health " problem, more a way of life "issue). According to the text, "smoking is the leading cause of preventable death ... In the United States, it represents at least 430,700 deaths each year "(Taylor et al., 2006) Even without the book, and without the media saying the harmful effects of smoking, I knew it could not be good for me. When I go to sleep just after smoking, I noticed that my heart rate is very high, any time, I did strenuous activity, I still panted after the air, although I do notice that I can hold my breath more than many of my non-smoking peers. I smoke mostly because the immediate gains outweigh the immediate consequences, and because I am human, shows the evolutionary psychology that my immediate future is more important than anything for many years (Ornstein, 1991). Sure I may have cancer lung or heart disease 20-30 years, but this is less important in my mind, besides I am, like many others fall into the theory false consensus effect, I believe that the very health of compromising behavior that kills hundreds of thousands per year, will probably not be on me.

After twelve days, I continued with the cigarette one night, after a few days ago, I went to one every other night. When As I write this article I am down to two a week. My goal is to reduce to zero, but as I implied, the idea being able to smoke in the future is the only thing that allows me to go without a cigarette during a period of time. What worked well in My response was that I did not give the effect of violation of abstinence is "a feeling of loss of control that results when a person has violated the rules it has imposed (Taylor et al., 2006). A few days I gave in and smoked more then I had to do, mainly because I was with my friends smoking, a main effect of violation of abstinence relapse, but I made sure I did not saying that it was something once and I will continue with my original plan, which certainly helped me to say "screw" and continue to my old ways from four to five cigarettes

This intervention has taught me many things about my specific benchmarks for smokers and I realized that for the most part, this is not a serious addiction for me, but it is just something to do between classes, breaks lunch or socializing with friends. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to do so, as I would probably never controlled my smoking otherwise. Because of this project, I cut my cigarettes to only six per cent of what I used to smoke, no sign of relapse, or cravings during the day. Perhaps in the future, I will only smoke when girls blow me, what is not.

References

1) Orleans CT, Schoenbach VJ, Wagner EH, et al. (1991). Self-help quit smoking interventions: effects of self-help materials and instructions for social support and telephone advice. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 59 (3) 439-448.

2) Ornstein, R (1991). Evolution of Consciousness: The Origins of the Way We Think. New York: Touchstone

3) Taylor, SE (2006). Health Psychology: Sixth Edition, Health-Compromising Behaviors (pp. 133-148), Health Behaviors (pp. 54-78). New York: McGraw Hill

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Tagged as: alcohol, break, cessation, cessation programs, cold turkey, health hazards, relapse, smoking