It is true that smokers cause greater harm to themselves and people around them than alcoholics. Moreover, smokers find it tougher to quit this dreaded habit because society is not as intolerant about smoking as they are about drinking. So, the social pressure to do something to kick the butt isn’t there. However, smokers know that they have a price to pay for their addiction and many of them actually feel that since they are doomed already, what is the point in quitting now? Your Ticket to Quit Smoking is now Cognitive Behavior Therapy .
In fact, research tells us that smokers find it more difficult to quit because they are fatalistic about the repercussions of smoking. So they don’t find any stimulant to make them take that plunge. This is where cognitive behavior therapy or CBT comes into the picture. The primary function of CBT is simple: enable the smoker to find a reason to quit. It helps dispel negative thoughts that cloud the mind when the time comes to exercise will power.
Cognitive behavior therapy can be conducted individually or in groups. Keeping the key idea in mind, some of the areas which CBT focuses on include the triggers which break down the will and resistance of the smokers. For most, it is the stress of everyday life, professional and personal. Smokers feel that if they give up smoking, how will they handle the stress that life brings daily? They are unable to realize that smoking doesn’t actually help combat stress. When given another choice to fight stress, like CBT, smokers get an incentive to give up the killer habit.
There’s another area where CBT scores well with smokers: the need to give confidence that they can quit smoking. After prolonged smoking, with several failed attempts to quit the habit, smokers are unable to find the necessary faith that they can achieve it. This is more effective in group therapy sessions where everyone looks at the other as inspiration. Each day passing is another day without smoking and it is a great way to see through the extreme struggles of the initial phase.
If you want to quit smoking and have failed repeatedly, speak to the best psychologists in Kolkata at Moner Alo about CBT.