Stress and Smoking

Almost always if you ask someone who has been smoking for a long time if they can point a finger at some of the reasons they light up a smoke they will tell you that stress is one the biggest factors involved.

In fact in these moments a smoker is 10 times more likely to shove a cigarette into their mouths in an attempt to help calm down.

 

Children and Stress

During the growth and development of a child he or she almost certainly experiences moments of stress, and in these moments more times then not the parent is there to provide comfort.

Comparing the stress that children experience and the stress that an adult experiences may be somewhat foolish, however the same physical and mental responses occur.

The only difference is that a child may become stressed because he or she wants a feed, they cry because they are hungry and they learn that mum or dad will come running and provide soothing comfort and a feed.  When an adult experiences the same emotions their minds also reaches for a way to find comfort.

 

Give the Child a Smoke

We would all jump up and down if when a child was stressed or anxious we handed them a smoke. 

But our bodies deal with stress in the same manner, we all have inbuilt mechanisms to help deal with stress, except that for smokers their mind learns to substitute he inbuilt mechanisms with cigarettes, as in most cases its quicker and easier.

 

 

Links between Stress and Smoking?

For a smoker the problem starts from the very first time they have that very first cigarette.  Of course in the beginning its not such a big deal and the mind has no yet connected all the dots.

When a smoker first starts to smoke they may only have one or two smokes every now and then, but as time goes on the activity of smoking increases due to the effects of the drugs found in cigarettes and the emotional connections in our subconscious minds.

As time goes by the more often we smoke when we are under stress the more we reinforce the links in our minds with the act of smoking.  Our minds tend to look for the most direct path to find release from stress, so having put 2 and 2 together it is not hard to recognize the relaxation we feel when we have cigarette has a soothing effect on stress..  Even though this may be short lived the bond between stress and smoking is already present.

This is also why many smokers find it so hard to quit as in the moment they are under stress, such as when they need a smoke as they are trying to quit, their mind actually instructs them to go light up another cigarette as this is the program that is running in the subconscious mind, the program that helps to release stress is the one that suggests we light up a cigarette

 

EFT can release the emotional links in our subconscious mind, thus helping to release the bonds we have with stress and cigarettes.

 

 

 

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