Smoking

Smoking is more than a habit – it’s a physiological dependence on nicotine. It is not easy to quit because in addition to the emotional challenges of quitting, there are also physical withdrawal symptoms – especially if you quit cold-turkey. There’s a reason that most smokers attempt to stop about 30 times* before they are successful in quitting. This may seem like a discouraging number but if you’ve tried to stop and weren’t able to, then you are that much closer to succeeding. However, maybe it’s time to try a new method.

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Team Member Spotlight

Joy Robinson

Calgary, Online Counselling

Alcohol, Substance Use/Drugs, Food/Eating Issues, and Smoking

Reasons to Stop Smoking:

Your Health

You are, no doubt, aware of the many serious health risks that smokers face: lung disease, cancer, heart disease, and more. Stopping can reverse the effects of some of these serious risks and increase your physical health overall.

Other People's Health

We now know about the dangers of second-hand smoke. If you smoke around other people, including children, you are potentially putting them at similar risks that you take by smoking.

Finances

Smoking is an expensive habit! If you smoke, say, a pack a day – with a package of cigarettes costing about $16, that works out to costing over $5500 per year. That could buy a decent vacation for 2 to an all-inclusive resort at a warm climate, or even a down payment for a car. The point is, it’s a decent sum of money that could probably be better spent.

Looks

Smokers are said to visually age faster. Sucking on a cigarette can create fine lines around your mouth that make you look older faster. Cigarettes can also stain teeth and make your breath smell bad. Nicotine makes fingers that hold cigarettes yellow and stained. Smoke from cigarettes is, to many people, foul smelling and can permeate your hair, clothes, and possessions, lasting long after the cigarette’s been extinguished.

Convenience

Smoking is not a socially acceptable behaviour. Smokers now have to go outside – a specific distance from the door to light up. An inconvenience in the summer but downright miserable in frigid winter temperatures. Most people don’t allow smoking inside their homes and a lot of smokers don’t even smoke in their home. Selling used items like clothes, furniture, or even your vehicle can be harder to do if you’ve smoked in or around them because of the lingering odour.

When is it time to seek help?

If you’re reading this page, it’s likely that you already know all the reasons to quit smoking. You’ve probably tried before (perhaps many times) to stop but haven’t been able to. If you truly desire becoming a non-smoker and are willing to put the work into committing to the process, then you are ready to stop smoking.

Smoking Treatment Methods

There have been many advancements in helping people to quit smoking, such as nicotine replacements (gums, patches, etc.) and even medications that can help smokers. There are psychological therapies that can be used alone or alongside medical treatments. Your therapist will talk with you about the best treatment method for you, but some that have been shown to be effective include:

Behavioural therapy Behavioural therapy may be used to treat a wide range of problematic compulsive behaviours such as drug and/or alcohol use, food or eating issues, problematic gambling and gaming, pornography and sex related compulsions, relationship dependence, shopping compulsion and smoking. Behaviour Therapy includes the thinking processes, attitudes and values which typically impact an individual. Generally speaking, Behaviour Therapy tends to view human beings and behaviour with the assumption that humans are a product of their sociocultural conditioning and environment. In the context of addiction or a substance use disorder, behavioural therapy focuses on changing self-destructive or problematic behaviours through purposely and systematically applied concepts. Behavioural therapy also looks at your current problems and the factors influencing them. This therapeutic modality emphasizes noticeable and obvious behaviour changes more than your underlying unconscious processes.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) One of the most commonly used treatment methods for addiction and problematic compulsive behaviours is cognitive behavioural therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to treatment that focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviours and how they perceive themselves, others, and the world. CBT differs from other therapies because of its emphasis on the theory that how you perceive a problem or situation causes negative or dysfunctional emotions and/or behaviours. The goal of CBT in the context of a substance use disorder and/or problematic substance use issues is for the client to understand what drives their problematic behaviours and how these issues are related to other aspects of their lives. Once the client understands what thoughts and/or environmental factors lead to their problematic and/or compulsive behaviours, they are better equipped to succeed in the recovery process and prevent future relapse.
Solution focused therapy Solution focused therapists assist you in recognizing what is already working in your life and support you in creating preferred realities for your future through future-oriented conversations and exploring how things can be different. This model of therapy emphasizes the importance of exploring your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and creating realistic and achievable goals that will lead to lasting changes in your life.
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy may be used to treat smoking, problem gambling and certain food and eating issues. This therapeutic modality allows clients to travel deeper into the unconscious or subconscious to look at and work with issues and ideas perhaps inaccessible otherwise. It’s like guided daydreaming: a form of relaxed concentration. Insight's hypnotherapists in Edmonton are trained to induce a trance-like, altered state of consciousness in individuals by making suggestions and describing pleasant images on which to focus.

What will I get out of addictions treatment with Insight Psychological?

We understand that dealing with any kind of dependency is tough. We can support you through this. We can show you tools and exercises and help you to change your thinking in order to help you to become an ex-smoker! Our experienced therapists can provide in-person, online video counselling, or therapy by telephone. Call us to book an appointment.