Hi, I am a 27 years female. I work as an accountant in a private firm. From past few days I am having a problem of continuous smoking and drinking issue. I am trying hard to quit the same but I am not able to do the same. Kindly suggest me better remedy to quit both at the same time?

Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist47yrs exp

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You have to quit cold turkey because the body and mind will torture you endlessly while attempting a reduction in smoking. The tobacco tar in cigarette smoke lines your lung with huge patches that make that portion dysfunctional. Your oxygen carrying capacity is jeopardized, and breathing is impinged on. But don?t be discouraged because it is not too late even now to reverse all the ill-effects of smoking. I don?t know what other organs could be damaged but do go for a thorough medical check-up to assess the effects of your abuse. Regarding improving your lungs, do a lot of aerobic exercise breathing through your nostrils only. Then there are a lot of deep breathing exercises in Yoga which you can learn too. Deep breathing cleanses your system and lungs and restores it to good health. Deep breathing uses the 80% of the lungs which are not normally used in normal breathing and even when exerting yourself. The greatest effect is in the lungs because this substance is processed through the respiratory system directly through the lung surface. When quitting, you must take one day at a time; though you must give up all smoking at once, and promptly. If you look too far ahead you will get discouraged and will give up. If you sit and count the number of days you have given up, that will also focus too much on achievement. You must focus on the here and now, on that day to be precise. After all quitting is not that easy due to many factors. So even if you fail one day, you must try and try again. Very few people succeed in their first attempt. Your persistence will eventually pay off. The urge to discontinue is hampered by many factors but the worst of them is the conditioning. In fact, these conditions can exist all through the day, unlike other addictions. But your desire to want to stop is the most important factor. It is important to find out about the ill-effects of smoking to have a reason that alarms you about continuing the habit. The information is really scary but true and you must remind yourself about this every day. The nicotine in tobacco smoke stimulates the heartbeat to raise the blood pressure in no time at all. So you must avoid it like the plague: it is just very bad medicine for you. In fact, it is highly toxic too. You will need to stop smoking or consuming any tobacco related items with immediate effect. You should start vigorous exercises, gradually increasing it over a period of time. Do deep breathing exercises every time you feel like smoking (try Yoga), and replace the oral urge with some healthy food substitute to satiate the need. You may also take hard candy or chew gum. If the urge is too strong, then use nicotine gums and nicotine patches, for a little while until the smoking drive reduces, substantially. You may also join Smokers Anonymous in your city where the support is really extraordinary for like-minded people who are also in the same situation. Keep yourself occupied or engaged with interesting activities during the times when it is most tempting. Keep the company of non-smokers for some time i.e. At least for the first 21 days. Above all announce it to everyone that you have quit smoking. Here?s a piece of very good advice: even if you accidentally/willfully take a cigarette, it is not the end of the world ? you can start the cessation all over again. You must persevere with the best support until you defeat this addiction. Counseling is very useful in the initial stages and when temptations are at their highest. You could also join twitter2quit program and enjoy its success to give up smoking. There is only one reason that you are struggling to give them up, and that is, that you have not reached your ?Rock bottom? so that you will be stopped right in your tracks! Before that happens you must, on a war footing, exercise restraint and stop the use of all these substances. Since you have probably tried and found it extremely difficult I suggest you do one of the following: It sounds like you are in an advanced stage of alcoholism and tobacco use and need admission to a rehabilitation center to ideally help deal with this problem. There are no guarantees about stopping one?s addiction. But that does not mean we should not keep at it, over and over again until we succeed. Now it is difficult to give up all by yourself because you have become addicted to alcohol and tobacco and there is so much to do. Under such circumstances it is best that you admit yourself into a de-addiction center and stay there for at least 6 months and after that you can attend counseling with a professional. There are medicines that help with the drinking just to ease the initial craving and to act as an antabuse i.e. You will have a serious reaction, if you consume even a small quantity of alcohol or alcohol based substances. It has to be carefully monitored to see that you do not only consume the medication but you are also avoiding alcohol. Ultimately, it is your will power and the support that you receive from the medical fraternity and your close and dear ones. You must also learn to substitute and deal with the oral need, a rigid value system, the script issue, and of course take a look at all the genetic factors to plan a strategy not to get into what is called ?cross addictions? i.e. Another form of addiction that may appear alright but is in fact as bad as the primary addiction. The center or hospital and the counselor will advise and guide you on several measures and precautions you will need to take to stay with your resolve. Even after the rehabilitation you must attend AA meetings and continue this support for a long time. The family will also need to attend some sessions and go for Al-anon meetings for their co-dependency issues. You cannot be treated in isolation because the family has gotten used to your drinking in particular and have made some unhealthy adaptations to somehow cope. Make a serious plan with whoever else?s support you can get and act on it fast. If you are not cooperative, there are some centers that will come and pick you up, after you are completely drunk, and admit you by force. This will however, require the family?s consent. Do not delay for any reason and stop fooling around with half decisions. This must be your last and final attempt and make it a successful one.  

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