How to Support a Friend or Family Member Who’s Trying to Quit Smoking?
Smoking is one of those habits that claim the lives of millions every year. If you have someone in your family struggling with the habit, supporting them as they embark on their quitting journey is vital. The process isn’t easy, and having a support system always comes in handy.
Battling with addiction often makes people feel hollow and empty, making them feel like there’s no one in their corner. Beyond the emotional implications, nicotine addiction also takes a toll on one’s physical health. So, if your friend or family member is struggling, supporting them is paramount.
This comprehensive guide will provide a few different tips on how you can follow through to support someone who’s trying to quit smoking.
1. Understand Addiction and the Quitting Process
Given how subjective the experience with addiction is, it is pretty challenging to decipher how one must be feeling if you don’t put yourself in their shoes. From researching about How to Quit Smoking Cigarettes to supporting the person in their quitting process, there’s a lot that you have to understand first. Smoking takes a toll on the physical and psychological health of a person, so when they are trying to quit, the withdrawal symptoms like irritability, anxiety, and cravings are debilitating. To effectively support your friend or family member, take the time to understand these factors. You can research about the nicotine addiction, withdrawal symptoms, and the quitting process to keep yourself informed.
2. Encourage Open Communication
The quitting journey is a complex process. Instead, it goes through highs and lows. Let them talk about their challenges openly better to support your friend or family member through this journey. Even if you can’t offer substantial resolutions to their lows or discomfort, you can also lend an ear and listen to them without judgment. As a friend or family, you need to provide the person with a safe, non-judgmental space where they can share their feelings, struggles, and triumphs. Empathy is crucial in this communication.
3. Avoid Pressuring Them
Quitting nicotine addiction is a highly personal journey which doesn’t come with a roadmap or standard blueprint. Everyone’s experience with it will be different. So, if you read somewhere else that another person quit within a week, the last thing you want is to pressure your friend to follow suit. You also can’t scold them for setbacks because that leads to feelings of guilt and resentment. Instead, encourage without being overbearing. Be patient, and let them progress at their own pace. If they slip up while quitting, reassure them it was just a blip in the road.
4. Help Them Set Realistic Goals
Often, people who are trying to quit their nicotine addiction tend to have very high and unrealistic expectations. “Oh! I will easily quit the habit within two days without any symptoms,” this might be nice to hear, but these are unrealistic expectations that often lead to setbacks. If you support your family member or friend through their quitting journey, you must show them the mirror and make them reflect on it realistically. Sometimes, people who overestimate try to set high bars by going cold turkey and giving in to temptations a day or two later. Instead of this happening, try to support the person and create a realistic quitting plan that is easy to stick to.
5. Learn About and Help Manage Triggers
For a person who has been addicted to nicotine for years and is now trying to quit, they have established several triggers. It could be stress, social situations, anxiety, etc. Either way, as their support system, your job is to learn about their triggers and help them manage those proactively. You can sit down with the person trying to quit the addiction and discuss healthier alternatives to smoking when any trigger hits. For example, if it's stress, try meditation. If it's social situations, avoid going to parties and such where smoking would be involved. If these are routine-based triggers, encourage them to build new habits.
6. Encourage Healthy Substitutes
While managing triggers, learning about healthier substitutes is another effective way to navigate the quitting journey successfully. Quitting smoking often leaves a void that many people feel the need to fill. Encouraging healthy substitutes can help them cope with cravings. Choices like sugar-free gums or Nicotine Gum are a great way to curb the nicotine cravings and keep them distracted. You can also suggest exercises or indulging in some kind of hobby that they enjoy doing. Finding enjoyable and healthier alternatives can alleviate the urge to smoke and help them stick to their quitting plan.
7. Be Prepared for Withdrawal Symptoms
One of the most challenging experiences supporting someone through their nicotine-quitting journey is experiencing withdrawal symptoms. They are painful, uncomfortable and challenging to get through. A body that has become nicotine-dependent due to years of smoking will find it hard to abstain from the presence of the chemical when the quitting journey starts. Experiencing withdrawal symptoms like irritability, mood swings, anxiety, headaches, and intense cravings is pretty standard. While it might be difficult to witness someone you care about experience such aggravating symptoms, that’s where you step in and support them to work through these challenges.
8. Celebrate Milestones Together
Recognising achievements, no matter how small, can be a great motivator. You can celebrate smaller wins, like when your friend is one-week smoke-free or one-month smoke-free. This allows them to reflect on how far they have come in the journey and keeps them motivated to advance. You could give them a small gift, write them a note of encouragement, or plan a fun activity together as a reward.
Final Words
Supporting a friend or family member who’s trying to quit smoking requires patience, empathy, and understanding. Your support might not seem like much to you, but even the slightest effort you put into your friend or family member might mean everything to them. So, going out of your way to be someone they can count on, especially during such testing times, showcases that you care about them and their well-being.