Stoptober – Stop Smoking in October – Stoptober is an annual campaign starting on the 1st October each year and lasting for the whole month. It is run by Public Health England to encourage smokers to abstain from or quit smoking.
The benefits of quitting smoking for your mental health include:
- Decreased anxiety, stress and depression
- Increase in positive mood and quality of life
The benefits of quitting smoking for your physical health include:
- Improvement in senses of taste and smell
- Being able to breath more easily
- More energy
- Better circulation which makes exercise easier
If you decide to quit smoking it is an easy win for your mental and physical health the tangible improvements you will experience will happen nearly straight away. The NHS website has a useful graphic to describe the process.
Support to Quit
The NHS has a lot of useful resources and an app that you can download to support you in your journey to stop smoking.
Join the NHS Smokefree Facebook Page
You can also call the National Smokefree Helpline 03001231044 (England Only) Mon – Fri 9am -8pm / Sat & Sun 11am-4pm
Tips to Quit Smoking
The NHS website has a number of really useful tips for quitting smoking. You can see them here, NHS – Quitting Tips. Below are 3 more ideas you might want to consider.
- Cut down over time. – If quitting smoking all in one go is too much consider reduction. Portion out your cigarettes so that you have them over a longer period of time. If you smoke a packet a day make it last two days and then three days. Quitting will be less of a shock to the system.
- Don’t be discouraged by relapses – whenever we are trying to stop a habit lapses are inevitable. What is important is not letting these lapses spiral into a complete relapse. It is important to return to your habit of not smoking as quickly as possible.
- Have a plan for the money you save – we all know that cigarettes are expensive. Save the money you would have spent on cigarettes and have a plan for what you will spend it on, something that you will enjoy and remember.
If you feel that you would like to speak to someone about your smoking or anything else that is troubling you, you might find speaking to a therapist helpful. Paul offers Psychotherapy and counselling, EMDR and Clinical Supervision. If you are struggling with any issue and would like to make an appointment with Paul please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can. For more information about Paul please take a look at the About Paul Page, Frequently Asked Questions Page and The Counselling Services Page.
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