Why is the relapse rate up to 97% in quit smoking?

The vast majority of people who quit smoking by willpower have a sharp decline in their happiness index after quitting. They tremble with fear and fear all the time. Sometimes they dream of smoking when they dream, and when they wake up, they will be scared to death, some sweating, some even with tears in his face …

To them, quitting smoking is really too hard!

1. The relapse rate after quitting smoking by willpower is as high as 97%, second only to heroin

Some research data show that the success rate of quitting smoking with willpower and staying longer than one year is only 3%, which means that up to 97% of people who quit smoking have relapsed within one year after quitting!

Maybe many people have no concept of 97%, then I give a set of comparative data:

According to the statistics of the detoxification center, the relapse rate of heroin users is 99%, and the relapse rate of ice poison users is 90%.

In other words, the relapse rate after quitting by willpower is second only to heroin, the king of drugs, and higher than any other drug!

Many ex-smokers naively think that smoking is just a physical addiction …

But have you ever wondered why many people who have quit smoking for 5 or 10 years still have relapse?

After so many years, the residual nicotine in their bodies has been metabolized and the physiological dependence has long ceased to exist, but why is relapse?

This makes absolutely no sense!

In fact, this is because smoking is not only physically addictive, but also something more important: heart/ mind addiction.

2. Heart addiction is the biggest source of pain for smokers

The so-called heart addiction is all the misconceptions about smoking in the mind after long-term heavy smoking, that is, the so-called smoking benefits.

The vast majority of smokers mistakenly believe that smoking can bring many “benefits” to themselves, such as relieving stress, helping to relax, concentrate, eliminate boredom, eliminate fatigue, bring enjoyment and help socialize.

Once they quit smoking, it means that they will lose their “right” to smoking and have to give up these “benefits” …

Wish for it and never get it.

This sense of psychological lack can cause huge psychological pain.

For example, if you have a 5-year-old child, when you suddenly do not let your child play toys, or suddenly do not let your child play mobile games, or suddenly do not let your child watch TV cartoons, he first will refuse to obey you and ask to continue playing. If you insist on not letting him play, he will be angry, start crying, and even become hysterical …

You didn’t hit him or scold him, but he showed real great pain.

This pain also comes from the psychological lack of feeling: want to play but can’t play, just ask for it.

3. The first reason for relapse: sacrifice and deprivation

People who quit smoking by willpower do not explore the nature of smoking and still believe that smoking has many benefits. They believe that they have made terrible sacrifice and have been deprived of certain rights. They worry that they will no longer be able to enjoy life and can no longer cope with stress.

I want to smoke but I can’t! !! Why on earth should you quit smoking? !! Do you want to quit smoking? !!

It is this sense of sacrifice and deprivation that brings inner conflict, self-doubt and tangled conflicts, causing great psychological pain!

This kind of psychological pain is real. If it is not relieved, it will also cause physical illness.

He extinguished the cigarette in his hand, but never extinguished the cigarette in his heart, so it was easy to resurrect!

Whenever the company colleagues meet and sees others smoking …

Whenever you see someone smoking after a big meal …

Whenever you meet up with good friends and see others smoking …

When these things happen, he always tries to convince himself: “I can’t smoke because I have stopped smoking!”

“I can’t smoke”, these five words are extremely sad, because quitters feel their lives are no longer complete.

This will cause them great psychological pressure, and this pressure will continue to accumulate.

Until one day, he was tempted to “smoke only a cigarette” or collapse completely under great pressure and give up.

4. The second biggest reason for relapse: encountering a major setback or a trough in life.

People who quit smoking by willpower often find it easy to choose to relapse when they encounter major setbacks or low life.

That’s because they haven’t removed the addiction and still believe that smoking has many benefits. In the subconscious mind, smoking can relieve pain.

Whenever I quarrel with my lover or even get divorced …

Whenever work is unsatisfactory and aggrieved …

Whenever the child fights with someone outside …

When these conditions occur, his first reaction is often smoking, because he believes that smoking can relieve depression or relieve pain.

If there were cigarettes around him, he would almost certainly ignite it subconsciously.

5. The third major reason for relapse: the familiar smoking scene triggers conditioned reflex

In addition to physical addiction and heart addiction, another factor can lead to relapse: conditioned reflexes.

For a smoker who has been smoking for many years, less may have smoked tens of thousands of cigarettes, and more may have smoked hundreds of thousands of cigarettes.

Repeated stimulation of long-term heavy smoking has led him to unconsciously link various scenes and emotions in work and life with smoking one by one, forming a conditioned reflex!

If you ask a smoker: Under what circumstances do you need to smoke?

You might say, under great pressure to smoke, relax and enjoy a cigarette, concentrate on something to smoke a cigarette, feel bored and smoke, get up and smoke, smoke after meal, smoke after drinking, smoke in the toilet , A cigarette before bedtime, N cigarettes at a meeting, N packets of cigarettes to play cards …

If you ask him again, in what mood do you need to smoke?

You might say that a person smokes a cigarette at a happy event, burns a cigarette in anger, hangs up a cigarette when being stressed out, and smokes a cigarette in all thoughts …

So, under what circumstances do you not need to smoke?

I am afraid there is only one answer: smokers do not need to smoke only when they are asleep!

Even if the smoker quits for some time, when he enters these scenes or emotions, he still feels that he wants to smoke.

In fact, he doesn’t really want to smoke, this is just a conditioned reflex, which we can call a “pseudo-smoking addiction.”

Especially when he plays cards or drinks with old smokers, he is most likely to be triggered by conditioned reflexes.

At this time, he is likely to subconsciously take out a cigarette or take over a cigarette, even without realizing it.

6. How can we completely prevent relapse?

① The way to prevent relapse: completely remove the heart addiction!

There must be some reason behind every cigarette smoked by every smoker, except for those smoked during conditioned reflex.

Different smokers have different reasons for smoking, some may have 100 reasons, and some may have 50 reasons.

By learning the ultimate method of quitting smoking, you can gradually remove the heart addiction by removing the every reason, and destroy each one of the benefits of smoking one by one . As long as the nature of smoking is explored, you can reverse all the misconceptions about smoking in your mind and realize that the reasons that prompted you to smoke are all illusions!

You will realize from the bottom of your heart that in fact you don’t need to smoke at all, and no one can force you to smoke!

Once you lose any reason to smoke, naturally you don’t want to smoke again!

② Prevent relapse: increase the difficulty of relapse!

What is the success of quitting smoking? That is never to smoke again.

Therefore, what we have to do is to reduce the difficulty of quitting, that is, to increase the difficulty of relapse, which means that we must create all hardware and software conditions to make relapse difficult!

How can I make sure I never smoke again after quitting? Here are some specific suggestions I gave:

l Throw away all cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays to remove the smell of smoke from the environment;

l Get into the habit of exercising everyday and drink plenty of water to accelerate the discharge of nicotine;

l Do not use any substitutes, including but not limited to sunflower seeds, chewing gum, etc .;

l Within three weeks after quitting smoking, strive to avoid dripping alcohol and not playing cards;

l Stay away from old smokers, avoid them pulling you into the water, and you can smoke less second-hand smoke.

7. What if I relapse?

Please remember a word: relapse, it’s not the end of the world!

I certainly don’t want you to relapse, as do yourself, but maybe you will make mistakes without following my advice.

When you have a relapse, remember a few basic facts, and follow these steps strictly to remedy:

① You have quit smoking for a while, and your physical and mental conditions have become better after you stop smoking, so you have seen the various benefits that quitting bring to you, proving that your decision to quit is correct.

② The nicotine remaining in your body is almost metabolized. Although you have added a small amount of nicotine to your body after relapse, your current condition is still a hundred times better than when you smoked.

③ Please treat this relapse as a setback instead of a complete failure. Do not break the jar because you have not broken the jar.

④ Deep introspection, sum up lessons, and find out the real reason for your relapse, and then fill this psychological loophole, keeping in mind.

⑤ What has happened cannot be changed, but so far, continue to quit smoking, put down your burden and look forward, you will finally be free!

Any smoker can learn to quit smoking for free by reading my article on smoking cessation. And if you want to find a good smoking alternative that’s more healthy than cigarettes, please choose a vape for yourself. E-cigarettes are cheaper and healthier than cigarettes. And it’s effective quitting smoking.

The author and friends around him most have smoked for more than 2 decades. After they vape on e-cigarettes (like SNOWPLUS, MOTI), NOBODY has smoked again.