When processing these feelings and working to resolve them, it’s important to consider the reasons why you might be feeling this way. It then becomes easier to put your thoughts into perspective, so you can begin to find ways to cope with, and perhaps lessen these feelings.
For example: You may feel like you are losing your only coping mechanism and the thought of not having that gives you anxiety. So, making steps toward looking for tools that you could utilize, instead of reaching for tobacco when things get stressful, would be helpful.
Ruminating over the good times you had when you were using tobacco can make the process of quitting a more difficult experience in terms of how you will feel when you reflect on this loss. When this happens, try countering these thoughts with what initially led you to embark on this journey to becoming tobacco-free. Maintaining perspective allows us to acknowledge feelings for what they are; but then continue to move past them without feeling “stuck” with those feelings.
What are some things you can do to let go and move on?
- Avoid rumination and continue to remind yourself about your motivation and reasons for quitting.
- Write a heartfelt letter about why you are choosing to quit tobacco.
- Develop new relationships, or deepen existing ones, with people in your life (i.e., co-workers, family, friends) to replace the old relationship you had with tobacco.
- Implement new skills such as deep breathing and relaxation techniques to cope with stress.
- Journal or maintain a diary to chronicle your thoughts and feelings as you begin your journey to be tobacco-free.
Have you felt that quitting tobacco involved a grieving process for you? And if so, what was most helpful for you to get through it?
