CBQ Method

Quitting Smoking Naturally

Nasia Davos

Why You Don’t Need Willpower to Quit Smoking

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Can you really quit smoking without willpower?

Every time I tell our members or seminar attendees “you don’t need any willpower to quit smoking and the CBQ method requires no willpower”, you’re asking me “How is it possible?” “How can I ever stop smoking without willpower?”

If you think it’s impossible to quit without willpower, then read on.

Because the truth is that you don’t need and, in fact, you shouldn’t use willpower if you want to find quitting easy.

What Is Willpower

Willpower is two things.

1) Willpower is a State of Resistance

Willpower by definition is…

Willpower is the control exerted to do something or resist an impulse

Quitting smoking with willpower means that there is the urge to smoke and you go against this urge, you go against the desire to smoke.

Quitting smoking with willpower DOES NOT mean being decisive, strong, determined, and making decisions like throwing your pack of cigarettes away. This decision-making process is an essential part of any change and it doesn’t mean you’re quitting smoking with willpower.

The problem with quitting with willpower is that you’re going against your desire. You think of smoking as something that’s going to benefit you somehow but you don’t allow yourself to have it.

And of course, this takes a lot of effort, it creates tension, it’s hard, and it makes you feel deprived. So you end up smoking more.

stressed woman after quitting smoking

For example, if you experience a lot of stress and at that moment you try to resist a cigarette with willpower… what’s going to happen?

Well, it’s going to be very hard, you’re going to feel more stress and want to smoke even more. And even if you successfully resist the cigarette at that moment… you may end up smoking two or three consecutive cigarettes later because you felt deprived before. This is the hard way to go about your quit!

And I want you to know that even if you had superhuman amounts of willpower from birth or even if you practiced increasing your willpower you would still feel deprived because willpower by definition means going against your desire, and that’s hard.

2) Willpower Is Limited

Willpower is not a manifestation or a sign of your inner strength.

We tend to think that if someone is a strong person that means that they have more willpower but that’s not always the case, that’s not what willpower is.

Willpower is like a muscle that gets tired during the day. The more you use it the weaker it becomes.

For example, if you have a chocolate cake in front of you and you see it in the morning when you’re rested it’s going to be easy to say “no”.

But is it going to be as easy after a hard day at work when you’re tired and hungry? Of course not.

And it’s not because you changed as a person; you didn’t grow weaker as the day went by. You just got tired, your circumstances changed and your willpower got fatigued.

And it’s the same thing with resisting cigarettes. You can’t always go against your desire with willpower because willpower is not dependable; it’s limited.

Willpower doesn’t work because willpower doesn’t last.

Everyone can resist a few cigarettes with willpower but for how long?

At some point you’re going to find yourself in a stressful situation and, you know, when we feel stressed our willpower gets depleted. And when your willpower gets depleted you’re going to fall back to old patterns and risk relapsing.

Also, willpower doesn’t work because you cannot use something you have a limited supply of like your willpower to resist something you have an unlimited supply of like your emotions and your impulses and your urges. It’s hard, it’s not a fair fight.

And that’s why willpower can only cause temporary change. I’m going to tell you how to create lasting change in a bit.

When You Need Willpower

Willpower is not all bad it’s actually amazing and helps us do the right thing.

When it comes to making a change willpower can help you start something it can help you take the very first step. In our case, it can help you start researching, watching a video, or start a program. However, willpower is harmful when you use it as the means to achieve a goal exactly because it’s a state of resistance and it’s limited.

For example, if you are on a diet it may need some willpower to throw all the junk food from the house or to go on the scale and see where you’re starting from. But you shouldn’t use willpower to stay on a diet because you will feel deprived and crave all the things you’re not supposed to be eating.

If you want to go to the gym you may need willpower to get up from the couch or get dressed but you shouldn’t use willpower to stay and workout because you won’t perform well, you’re going to waste your time and have a bad experience.

When it comes to quitting smoking, you may need willpower to start researching, watch a video or make small decisions but you shouldn’t use your willpower to resist cigarettes forever in the hope that the desire for smoking will magically disappear by itself. Because if you do, you’re going to feel deprived and end up smoking more.

So do you see now why you can’t go through life always resisting cigarettes with willpower?

This is not a way to live, you’re not going to be happy.

So what are you supposed to do?

How to Quit Smoking Without Willpower

Like we said a few moments ago, willpower means going against your desire and impulse to smoke and that’s the hard way.

But what if you change the impulse, what if you remove the desire to begin with?

Then quitting becomes easy!

What you need to quit smoking is mindpower, which is greater than willpower.

You can learn what’s the difference between willpower and mindpower in this video:

Learning how to use your mindpower will also help you overcome the mental addiction to smoking. The mental addiction is the desire or need for cigarettes. It’s how smoking makes you feel and how much you believe you need it.

At the moment, you believe that smoking offers you something. Maybe you believe that it helps you cope with stress and boredom, socialize, concentrate, take a break or control your weight. And even though smoking offers you nothing at all… as long as you believe it does, you will desire it.

And the thing is that willpower does not remove the benefits you think you get from smoking and it doesn’t magically remove your desire to smoke. Because it’s hard to control our desires with willpower, our emotions don’t work that way.

And that’s why the solution is to change the emotions and stop desiring cigarettes. And you do that when you realize that smoking offers you nothing.

Think about it. Do you need any willpower to resist eating rat poison or ammonia or acetone?

Of course not! Because it’s disgusting and harmful.

Well, tobacco has inside arsenic that’s used in rat poison and ammonia and acetone and 4,000 chemicals, and the only reason why you want it is because you believe it offers you something. That’s the mental addiction in action.

My point is when you see smoking for what it really is you don’t desire it anymore and when there is no desire there is no need for willpower and quitting becomes easy.

How do you remove the desire for smoking?

When I was trying to quit smoking I struggled a lot with this and that’s why I started developing the CBQ method, and the 4 stages of the CBQ method help you remove this desire.

Learn exactly how the CBQ method removes the desire for cigarettes and why the CBQ method requires no willpower.

Is It Hard to Overcome the Desire for Cigarettes?

It’s easy to overcome this desire because it’s not a real desire.

It all started because nicotine hijacked your brain and made it believe that you need it to survive just like you need food and air and water.

When you’re hungry your brain is going to insist that you eat. The brain will communicate to you via your thoughts and tell you that you’re hungry. And it will insist because it needs you to survive.

In the same way, the brain insists for you to smoke because it thinks that you need nicotine to survive. So if you feel compelled to smoke even though you know better it’s not because you really enjoy smoking or because you’re self-destructive. It’s because your brain has outdated information. And when you use your willpower to resist a cigarette it’s like telling your mind that indeed “I want that I need that but I can’t have it” so your brain goes bananas.

But when you treat these craving thoughts as a memory, as an addiction, as a thought …they go.

How to Rewire Your Brain

When you put yourself in situations where you used to smoke and you don’t… and you are relaxed in these situations… you’re actually allowing your brain to get new information. This rewires your brain.

Because you show yourself that nothing happened because you didn’t smoke. You show your brain that you don’t need nicotine to survive so your brain adjusts and the craving thoughts eventually disappear.

How to Quit Smoking Permanently

So the solution is to remove the desire, the impulse, and change how you see smoking and your associations with it – that’s how you create lasting change.

Let’s think about the examples we talked about before.

When you go on a diet you may need willpower to start… but to create lasting change you must associate eating healthy and looking after your body with happiness, health, and joy. You must create those associations and when you do that, bad foods start becoming undesirable.

If you want to go to the gym and work out you may need willpower to start…but to create lasting change, to create a habit, you need to associate working out with health, happiness, confidence, and feeling good. With time, you won’t even need willpower to start because you’re going to be chasing this good feeling.

And of course to stop smoking you may need willpower to get started, educate yourself, research, or watch some videos… but to create lasting change and quit permanently you need to associate being smoke-free with feeling confident, healthy, wealthy, accomplished, and free.

Because if you desire the result, you won’t need any willpower to get motivated. And when you get some distance from your smoking habit you’ll be able to see that it did nothing for you. It was an abusive relationship based on lies and fear and you’re glad you’re out.

Conclusion

Willpower is a state of resistance and it’s limited. It’s good for starting things but bad for creating lasting change because you feel deprived, it makes the process difficult, and you may end up relapsing.

Willpower means going against the desire to smoke and this is hard. But when you overcome the desire to smoke, quitting becomes easy. And when there is no desire there is also no need for willpower.

To remove the desire for smoking you must change how you see smoking and quitting and that’s how you create lasting change and quit permanently.

So I hope this helped you rethink the role of willpower in your quit and that it gave you a new perspective.

If you want to overcome the mental addiction and change how you see smoking make sure you get the foundational video of the CBQ Method.

The CBQ Method is a 4-stage method that’s specifically designed to help you overcome the mental addiction, change how you think about smoking and break the habit. The mental addiction is the biggest part of the smoking addiction so overcoming it makes quitting easy.

Click here to get the Foundational Video if the CBQ Method

And if you want help and support, you can join our CBQ method Facebook support group. We have thousands of amazing members who are on the same journey as you. And we post tips every day to help you quit smoking and remain smoke-free.

Join the support group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cbqmethod/

Why Nicotine Withdrawal Is Good for You

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Every smoker is afraid of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms, but do you have to really worry?

The truth is, being terrified of the withdrawal prevents you from quitting. And when you experience the withdrawal and you see it as a bad thing this can make you relapse.

But when you understand why the withdrawal is good for you, you can go through it easily.

What is nicotine withdrawal?

Nicotine withdrawal happens when nicotine and toxins leave your body. Withdrawal starts around 30 to 45 minutes after you smoke a cigarette so when you’re a smoker you have withdrawal all day long.

But when you stop smoking, when you stop supplying your body with nicotine you have more intense withdrawal that eventually ends.

Some examples of nicotine withdrawal symptoms are:

  • Cough
  • Brain fog
  • Agitation
  • Smoking dreams
  • Tingling in your hands and feet
  • Physical and mental cravings

Of course, you’re not going to experience everything. You can learn more about the nicotine withdrawal symptoms and how to face them here.

6 Reasons to Embrace the Nicotine Withdrawal

1. Withdrawal is Detox

When you have the flu you have symptoms – like fever, you feel shaky or you feel tired, right? You have those symptoms because your body is trying to fight off the toxins and the infection.

The same thing with the nicotine withdrawal; you have symptoms because your body is fighting off the drug and the toxins. Withdrawal is detox.

2. It is Temporary

It’s not gonna last forever! The nicotine withdrawal will end as long as you stay nicotine free.

The withdrawal symptoms that you may experience can last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

But if you’re using nicotine substitutes or vape this is going to prolong and extend the nicotine withdrawal because you keep supplying your body with nicotine.

You don’t need to use those products. The withdrawal is not any worse than a common cold!

3. Nicotine Withdrawal Is Not Harmful. It’s Helpful

The withdrawal is not harmful to your health, it’s actually helpful!

For example, if you experience cough and chest pain this may seem bad but what really happens is that the muscles in your chest contract so they can expel all the mucus that has been accumulating in your lungs all those years. So it looks bad but it’s a good thing.

Or if you experience tingling in your hands and your feet this happens because oxygen is finally flowing properly to these areas of your body.

When you have physical cravings, it’s because you have less and less nicotine in your body.

Or if you’re feeling down or anxious after quitting smoking, it’s because your brain starts regulating dopamine – the feel good chemical in your brain – naturally so that you can feel good without needing nicotine… and your emotions will not be controlled by nicotine anymore.

Because quitting smoking, and this has been proven by research, decreases depression and anxiety even if you have chronic depression and anxiety. And it increases happiness. But for you to get those benefits, you need to go through this adjustment period that we call withdrawal.

4. Nicotine Withdrawal Is Easy to Overcome if You Change Your Mindset

In 1971, during the Vietnam War 20% of the US soldiers were addicted to heroin. And because the government was worried, they created the Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention to track those soldiers and help them.

Here’s where it gets interesting! After leaving the war only 5% of the soldiers that were addicted to heroin relapsed within a year and 12% relapsed within three years.

90% of heroin addicts quit basically overnight – no withdrawals, no pains, nothing. And the researchers concluded that this happened because they changed their environment.

They went from war to home so their triggers were gone, the reasons for using were gone, and they changed how they saw their addiction.

And that’s what I want you to take from this. You need to change your context your frame of mind and your routine. Because quitting smoking is a mind game it is as big of a deal and as difficult as you make it to be. It’s all about context.

And if they can overcome heroin withdrawal you can definitely overcome nicotine withdrawal.

5) Nicotine Withdrawal Is a Sign of Health & Healing

The nicotine withdrawal is a sign of health, healing, and progress. It is a sign that your body adjusts back to normal health and a sign that you’re doing things right.

If you don’t experience any withdrawal symptoms then how do you know you’re overcoming the addiction?

Withdrawal is a sign your body is changing, it is a feedback loop, a conversation between you and your body. It’s your body telling you “Hey you did the best you could you quit smoking be patient with me I’m changing just stay away from nicotine and smoking.”

6) Nicotine Withdrawal Serves as A Reminder of Your Effort

The withdrawal is a reminder of your effort and a reminder of how many changes your body had to go through trying to heal. And if nothing else, this can make it harder for you to go back.

It’s like touching a hot stove. It’s gonna hurt a little bit but next time you’re around a hot stove you’re gonna remember your past experience and hopefully step back.

Same here, if you remember all the changes you had to make this is going to stop you from picking up a cigarette after you quit.

Now I’m not telling you you have to suffer but just remember how it felt like to be addicted.

Take Aways

You should embrace the nicotine withdrawal because:

  • It’s detox and not worse than a common cold. It’s your mental state that makes all the difference.
  • The withdrawal is temporary.
  • It’s not harmful to your health it’s helpful.
  • And it’s easy to overcome it if you change your frame of mind. If you see it as a trauma it’s gonna be painful but if you’re a happy about quitting you’re gonna see it as freedom signs. And I invite you to change its name call it “freedom signs” because the words we use change our experience. So if the name “nicotine withdrawal” has a negative connotation for you or if it makes you feel bad just change how you call it. You can call it freedom signs or something else that makes you feel empowered.
  • Nicotine withdrawal is a sign of health, healing, and progress and a reminder that you don’t want to go back to smoking.

If you want to overcome the mental addiction and change how you see smoking, you can start by getting the foundational video and PDF starter guide of the CBQ Method.

The CBQ method is a 4-stage method that helps you overcome the mental addiction, change how you think about smoking, and break the habit.

Click here to get the Foundational Video if the CBQ Method

And if you want help and support, you can join our CBQ method Facebook support group. We have thousands of amazing members who are on the same journey as you, and we post tips every day to help you quit smoking and remain smoke-free.

Join the support community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cbqmethod/

What’s the Quitter’s or Smoker’s Flu & Why You Have it After Quitting Smoking

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The other day I was in our quit smoking Facebook group and some asked: Why am I experiencing flu-like symptoms after quitting smoking? Is it common to get sick after quitting smoking?

This is for you if you’re experiencing flu-like symptoms after quitting smoking or if you’ve heard about those flu-like symptoms also called as smoker’s flu and you’re worried quitting smoking can make you sick.

So why do you experience flu-like symptoms also called the smoker’s flu or the quitter’s flu or quit smoking flu? It has many names but it’s the same thing. So what is the smoker’s flu?

So, first of all, you need to know that this is not a disease, it’s not an infection, it’s not contagious and it’s not bad for you.

The smoker’s flu is simply a term used to describe the withdrawal.

The nicotine withdrawal or else, smoker’s flu is the process your body goes through when detoxing and healing after you stop smoking.

Because withdrawal happens when nicotine and toxins leave your body. And here’s the thing, withdrawal starts just 45 minutes after smoking a cigarette. So when you’re a smoker you always have withdrawal, day in and day out.

But when you quit smoking and when you stop using nicotine the withdrawal becomes intense and it eventually ends. This process is essential for your body to heal and detox.

So flu-like symptoms means withdrawal which means detox.

Smoker’s Flu Symptoms

Some examples of the withdrawal symptoms or smokers flu symptoms are:

  • cough
  • brain fog
  • agitation
  • tingling in your hands and feet
  • physical and mental cravings
  • anxiety
  • dizziness
  • chest tightness
  • insomnia
  • headaches
  • constipation and so on.

Now, of course, you’re not going to experience everything! And it doesn’t have to be painful. Actually how you experience the withdrawal depends on your overall health, your mindset, and your nutrition. To learn more about the withdrawal symptoms and how long they last, check the withdrawal timeline.

Why Does Nicotine Withdrawal Feel Like a Flu?

When you’re sick, with anything, you experience some symptoms, right? You may have headaches or you may feel shaky and tired.

All those symptoms happen because your body is trying to heal and fight the virus and the toxins.

So basically having symptoms means there’s a healing and adjusting process that’s taking place. And after quitting smoking your body goes through changes, so you will experience some symptoms. This means you’re doing things right, it’s a good thing!

And even going through a simple detox or changing your diet a bit will have some effect on your body and that’s good.

And I know many smokers are terrified of the withdrawal (I used to think the same) or you may think it’s a painful process but it doesn’t have to be. In this video, I explain why withdrawal is good for you and 6 ways you can embrace it.

Withdrawal is not harmful; it’s helpful. 

For example…

During the withdrawal you may experience cough or chest pain or chest tightness and you may think that something bad is happening to you. But in reality, you’re having these symptoms because your lungs are expelling toxins and mucus that has been accumulating in your lungs all those years. So it looks bad but it’s actually a good thing happening for you.

You may experience tingling in your hands and your feet and you may think this is bad but this happens because there’s actually more oxygen flowing in these areas.

Or you may have sore gums, but this happens because there is more blood flow in your mouth which can eventually save your teeth.

Physical cravings may feel like a bad thing but having physical cravings means you have less nicotine in your body and you’re closer to freedom.

Or you may experience low mood or mood changes and feel this is bad but this happens because your brain starts regulating dopamine naturally so that your emotions will not be controlled by nicotine anymore, so you can actually feel rewarded without nicotine.

And in the long run, quitting smoking decreases anxiety and depression and it increases happiness but only if you go through this adjustment period.

How long does the smokers flu last?

All those symptoms you’re going to experience are temporary and they’re going to go away as long as you stay nicotine-free. They can last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, it depends. It depends on your overall health your mindset and your nutrition.

And of course, if you’re using nicotine substitutes, you’re going to be prolonging this process. But you don’t have to use those things because the nicotine withdrawal or the smoker’s flu is not any worse than a common cold.

Can You Get Sick from Nicotine Withdrawal?

If you’re worried quitting will make you sick, don’t. It’s detox and it must be done. Nobody ever got harmed, nobody died from quitting smoking. On the contrary, you know that smoking increases your risk of many diseases like cancer but also respiratory infections like influenza and coronavirus.

And stopping smoking decreases your risk of getting ill even while going through the withdrawal, even while detoxing.

How Can I Tell if I’m really Sick or if I Have the Smoker’s Flu?

Especially now with the coronavirus, you want to be able to tell if you’re really sick or if you have the smoker’s flue.

So if you experience your symptoms soon after quitting like a couple of weeks then it’s probably the withdrawal or quitter’s flu.

But if you have fever then this may not be from the withdrawal, so talk to your doctor.

So the smoker’s flu, it’s just detox. It’s not a sickness, it’s nothing to worry about and it’s a good thing that happens to you so you can become the healthiest and happiest version of yourself.

If you are trying to quit smoking or you have already quit and feel deprived or unhappy without cigarettes, this means you’re still mentally dependent on smoking.

Feeling you need, desire, or enjoy smoking is one of the biggest barriers to becoming a happy nonsmoker, so that’s what the CBQ Method helps you tackle – even if you have already quit.

The CBQ Method has reached and helped millions of smokers from all over the world. It’s the same method I talk about in my TED talk, and it helps you overcome the mental addiction and find quitting easy because you take control of your mind.

If you want to learn how the CBQ Method can help you quit smoking easily, you can start by getting the foundational video and PDF starter guide of the CBQ Method.

The foundational video will give you an overview of your quit smoking journey from start to finish and the guide will help you map out your quit, take notes, and remember important tips.

Get the Foundational video of the CBQ Method

The 4 Types of Hunger During Nicotine Withdrawal

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Do you know the 4 different hungers every smoker experiences during withdrawal?

Knowing these 4 hungers can help you go through the withdrawal easily

(But if you don’t know them, you may find the withdrawal to be overwhelming and out of your control)

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

This video is for you if you:

  • Feel something is missing when you quit or have an empty feeling in your stomach
  • Eat more during withdrawal
  • Feel you have cravings all the time
  • And if you feel hungrier after quitting smoking

I’m very excited to share this video with you because it’s something nobody else teaches about quitting smoking. So I hope you like it too.

Get the Foundational Video of the CBQ Method & Join our Newsletter here:
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Subscribe to our Youtube channel to get more videos like this to help you quit smoking:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRPLgL5_AAHwtnP9Qwu8tsw?sub_confirmation=1
“Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
“How to Overcome Mental Cravings”
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=710881806386082
“Smoking Addiction: Is it Mental or Physical?”
https://youtu.be/flSDd_fr2ac
“Nicotine Addiction 101: Everything You Need to Know about Nicotine”
https://cbqmethod.com/nicotine-addiction/

Transcript

There are 4 types of hunger that you experience during nicotine withdrawal and knowing those hungers can help you cope with the withdrawal easily. But if you don’t know them, you might find that the withdrawal is a painful and overwhelming experience.

Now this is something nobody else teaches about quitting smoking so I know it will help you.

Nasia Davos here and this video is for you. If you feel something is missing when you quit smoking, if you have an empty feeling in your stomach and you don’t know how to cope with it, if you tend to eat more during the withdrawal, if you feel you have cravings all the time, if you feel hungrier after quitting smoking and if you tend to substitute smoking with food, so if that’s you keep on watching.

Before we get started subscribe to this channel and hit the bell button so you can get notified when we post new videos that will help you on your journey.

So, the 4 types of hunger during nicotine withdrawal, the 4 types of hunger in smokers. Now first of all you need to know that how you experience the withdrawal depends mainly on your overall health, your mindset, and your nutrition. That’s why some people find withdrawal so easy even passes unnoticed or they may find it so easy in some quit attempts and really hard in others.

So why does this happen? It’s not because of luck or genes or any of those things. It has to do with your overall health, your mindset and your nutrition. And when it comes to your overall health, you can improve it of course by quitting smoking.

So up to the point of quitting smoking, what you have control over is your mindset and your nutrition and what we’ll talk about in this video can help you with both.

So let’s look at the 4 hungers smokers experience during withdrawal. The first hunger is the nutritional hunger. This is to make sure your body takes the vitamins and nutrients it needs so it can function properly and so you can be as healthy as possible.

The second hunger is thirst. Yes, thirst is a hunger and it’s essential to our survival. We cannot go long without water right?

The third hunger is the emotional hunger. We all need to satisfy our emotional needs. We all need to feel loved and help others and feel safe and feel excitement and variety and feel important that we matter and that we grow as people and so on.

The first person to talk about our human needs was a psychologist named Maslow. And he said that in order for us to survive, we all need to feel physically and emotionally safe. We need to have social connections, we need to have self-worth and grow to the best we can be. We all have those needs.

And here’s the thing that you may not know, when you have an emotional need that must be met, you don’t always know it. We’re not always really aware of it. We tend to experience a feeling of wanting when we have a need. And everyone has this feeling of wanting. Smoker’s, ex-smokers and never smokers, everyone has it.

But as smokers we learn to respond to that feeling of wanting. How? With a cigarette. Because smoking is an emotional behaviour and we have linked it to our needs and our emotions. That’s why when you have a mental craving in reality you’re craving to meet an emotionally need that you used to mask or meet by smoking. Because a craving is just a positive thought about smoking that creates a positive feeling about smoking. It’s a thought that smoking will help you somehow in that moment and this thought creates a craving. But what you’re craving is not the cigarette itself, you crave to change how you feel. You crave to meet an emotional need and it has nothing to do with what’s inside your cigarettes.

And the fourth hunger is the nicotine hunger, the physical hunger for nicotine. Smoking is 80 percent a mental addiction and 20 percent a physical addiction. Now if you want to know what are the differences make sure you watch the video I have for you in the description.

Now the hunger for nicotine is different than the other hungers. Because it is an unnatural hunger, it’s a drug and you don’t have to satisfy this hunger to survive. But sometimes you may think you do or you may feel like you do simply because nicotine has hijacked your brain it makes it believe that you need nicotine to survive just like you need water and food but of course you don’t. And the good news is that the nicotine hunger dies out when nicotine leaves your body.

So 4 hungers: nutritional hunger, thirst, emotional hunger and nicotine hunger. Now why is it important to know them? How does this affect your withdrawal? Well these hungers feel exactly the same way. So it’s very easy to mix them up, it happens all the time. They all feel like a twitch in your stomach, an insecure, uncomfortable feeling in your stomach.

Now of course, if you’re starving for food and you’re starving, really starving this twitch will progress to louder sounds. But it all starts with a twitch in your stomach. For example, you may have nutritional hunger and you may think its emotional hunger so you have emotional eating as a result. And the thing with emotional eating is that, nobody is binging on celery, we usually eat food with zero nutritional value. So we don’t satisfy neither the emotional hunger because food cannot satisfy our emotions nor the nutritional one.

Or another way you may mix them up is you may feel hungry while in reality you’re thirsty. Our ancestors used to take a lot of their water from food so that’s why we evolved to feel hunger and thirst the same way.

I remember, many many years ago, I was at a Tony Robbins event and Tony comes to this huge stage. There were thousands of people there and he tells us “oh this is going to be a big event we’re going to do a lot of things and if you’re hungry, you can go out, but before going out to eat drink water. You’re going to realize you’re going feel better and that you weren’t really hungry”. And then he explained why. Because many times we’re hungry, we think we’re hungry, when in reality we’re thirsty. So when you drink water, the hunger is gone.

And another way you can mix them up is you may have emotional hunger and think its nicotine hunger. Or you may think you crave nicotine while you’re thirsty or you may be undernourished while in reality you crave nicotine. You can mix them up in all sorts of ways and when you do, the withdrawal becomes an overwhelming experience and you feel you’re out of control. But like we said, how you experience the withdrawal depends on your overall health, your mindset and your nutrition.

So how can you stop mixing those hungers up? It’s actually very simple. Number 1 stay nourished, feed your nutritional hunger. Eating the right things will ease your withdrawal. And right now we’re creating a program, a nutrition plan that helps you ease the withdrawal based on what you eat. Because eating the right things helps a lot.

Number 2 stay hydrated. We always say that when you stop smoking you need to drink a lot of water and now you know one of the reasons why. Because many times you may feel you may think you’re craving nicotine while in reality you’re thirsty and when you drink water the craving will go away. And of course, other reasons are that water helps you detox, it helps with withdrawal symptoms like constipation, and it has many many benefits so drink more water than ever before.

And number 3, stop using nicotine. Because three to five days after you stop using nicotine, the nicotine hunger will be gone, you will be done with it. So when these three hungers are dealt with, when you’re nourished, when you’re hydrated and when you stop using nicotine what’s left?

You know that when you experience this twich in your stomach, it’s going to be an emotional hunger. And when you know what it is, you can direct your efforts there and feel better. And yes when you first stop smoking during the first three to five days after quitting, you’re going to experience both the nicotine hunger and the emotional hunger.

About the nicotine hunger, you just have to wait it out, it’s just a twitch in your stomach. And after day five, if you get this twitch in your stomach, then you know it’s the emotional hunger. It’s a need you’re wanting to meet in that moment. So when you do ask yourself: What do I really need right now? What am I missing right now in my life? And when you have your answer and you meet this need in a helpful way, the annoying feeling will go away.

So this is for this video, these are the 4 hungers all smokers experience during withdrawal. Nutritional hunger, thirst, emotional hunger and nicotine hunger. And when you know those hungers, you can have control over the withdrawal because you can direct your efforts towards the things that matter, and avoid gaining weight, and substituting smoking with food.

So I hope you enjoyed this video, I hope it benefited you. Thank you so much for watching.

Thank you so much for watching. Let me know in the comments if you like this video, if you find it helpful and what you’re taking away. I’m looking forward to reading your comments. And if you want more tips and advice from me join our Facebook group it’s free it has thousands of amazing members and we post tips every day. So you’re going to find a lot of support and a lot of people who have already quit or they’re now quitting smoking and they’re on the same journey as you. So make sure you join and I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

And if you like this video hit the like button below, share it with someone who can benefit from it and subscribe to this channel to get more videos like this, see you in the next video.

Ask An Ex – Episode 5: How Dolly Quit Smoking with the CBQ Method & How She Turned a Relapse into Success

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Welcome to episode #5 of Ask an Ex.

In this video, you’ll hear Dolly’s story of how she quit smoking after 23 years in February 2019!

Dolly has an amazing story with a lot of valuable lessons and tips!

She tried to quit smoking many times in the past to no avail. She tried nicotine substitutes, ear magnet, pills and cold turkey.

After going through the CBQ program she quit, but she found it so easy she couldn’t believe how it happened.

Then she found herself in a tempting situation and relapsed, but she knew she’d never smoke again. And she didn’t. That was on the 15th of February 2019.

Later, her resolve was tested again but she didn’t cave and didn’t feel deprived either!

Best thing, I had the pleasure of meeting her in London and gave her her success certificate in person 🙂

In this video, Dolly shares:

  • How she quit smoking.
  • Tips to turn a brief relapse into a lesson so that you won’t go back to smoking.
  • What she enjoys the most about being a non-smoker.
  • What helps her when she feels stressed.
  • What you should you if you have “just one cigarette” after your quit date.

About Ask An Ex

ASK AN EX is a new interview series. Each interview features an inspiring ex-smoker who succeeded with the CBQ Method ™

And they tell you everything – how they did it, what helped them, what challenged them, their fears, motivations and aspirations. 

Because the best person to ask about quitting smoking, is an Ex who’s been exactly where you are right now. 

Every EX shares their unique perspective and wisdom on quitting smoking (because everyone has a unique mix of background, mindset, and experiences). 

And they do it for 1 reason: to help YOU become an EX too. 

Get the CBQ Method Foundational Video & Join our Newsletter here: 
http://bit.ly/startcbq
Join the CBQ Method Facebook Support Community:
http://bit.ly/cbqmethodcommunity
SUBSCRIBE to this channel to get more videos like this to help you quit smoking:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRPLgL5_AAHwtnP9Qwu8tsw?sub_confirmation=1

3-Minute Craving Technique

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In this article, you will discover an effective 3-minute craving exercise called “Climbing the Craving.” You can use this mindfulness-based technique to overcome intense cigarette cravings, food cravings, or drug-related cravings without resisting them with willpower.

Read on to discover why this craving technique works and how to use it step by step.

Why this Mindfulness Craving Technique Works

There are two types of cravings: physical and mental. A physical craving is a hunger-like feeling you experience when your body is low on nicotine and lasts three to ten minutes. However, mental cravings are very different because they are thoughts! The CBQ Method teaches that “Cravings are just positive thoughts about smoking that create positive feelings about smoking.” In other words, cravings are thoughts that imply there is a benefit from smoking at a particular moment, either by enhancing a situation or avoiding a catastrophe. For example, craving thoughts can sound like “I need a cigarette to enjoy this evening” or “If I don’t smoke, I will feel anxious.” What makes physical and mental cravings overwhelming is the idea that something bad will happen if you don’t smoke.

Mindfulness is an effective way to manage and let go of an urge without resisting it and without feeling overwhelmed or overpowered by it. Instead of thinking about a craving as something unmanageable that happens to you, mindfulness helps you think of a craving as a passing experience that can’t hurt you.

In the “Climbing the Craving” mindfulness technique, you will picture yourself climbing a mountain that has an upward slope, a peak, and a downward slope. The mountain is a metaphor for your craving that also peaks and then subsides.

In a study, smokers learned and practiced a similar mindfulness exercise and imagined riding a wave during a craving episode. This helped them cut down 37% of their smoking.

Let’s get to it!

If you have a craving now, do the following steps. Read through them first so you’ll know what to do. Alternatively, you can listen to this craving technique by clicking here.

If you don’t have a craving now, read through the steps and save this page so you can come back to it when you need it.

The 3-Minute Craving Technique “Climbing the Craving.”

Step 1. Take a few moments to notice where you experience the urge to smoke.

Is it your stomach? Head? Chest? Leg? Where exactly do you feel the craving? Close to the center? More to the right? To the left? Does it feel like it’s on the surface or inside?

Allow your attention to go to the exact spot where you experience the urge to smoke.

Step 2. Once you locate that spot, place your hand over it.

Step 3. While you keep touching that spot, start picturing yourself climbing a mountain.

The mountain is your craving. The mountain is as high as the intensity of your craving. Imagine this as high as you need to.

Step 4. Keep climbing the mountain…

Now, much like the mountain, the craving will have a peak and then go downhill. It will get stronger, but at some point, it will fade away.

Keep climbing…

The more you feel the craving getting tense, the closer you are to the mountaintop.

Step 5. Focus on the mountain: What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear while climbing it?

Step 6. Allow your pace to follow the ups and downs of your emotions. You may take two steps forward and one step back but keep going.

Step 7. When your craving peaks and you think you have reached the top of the mountain, stand tall and put a flag on the summit. Push the pole down to the ground! A flag means that you conquered that craving.

Step 8. When the craving starts to fade away, it’s time to go down the mountain. From that point onwards, the craving will start fading away.

With practice, this exercise will help you manage your cravings without resisting them with willpower but by using your mindpower instead. You can discover the difference between willpower and mindpower in this short video.

Can You Quit Smoking Using Craving Techniques?

Quitting smoking is a process that happens when you change how you think about smoking and break the habit. Craving techniques are very effective tools to use the moment you’re craving, but techniques are not a process that takes you from a smoker to a happy non-smoker. Relying on techniques without changing your relationship with nicotine will likely lead to short-term results.

To benefit the most, start experimenting with different mindpower techniques before you quit smoking and specifically when you are on the third quit smoking stage of the CBQ Method “Change Your Smoking Pattern.”

More CBQ Method Strategies for Overcoming Cravings

This content is the intellectual property of the CBQ Method.

Transcript

Hi, Nasia Davos here. In this video you will learn a three minute exercise to help you get over any cigarette craving no matter where you are or how intense it is. And the great thing is that you can use the same technique to overcome any food or drug related craving that causes you anxiety or irritation.

If you don’t know how to go through a craving then, when you experience one you will feel anxious or confused and overwhelmed. And the problem is that this anxiety will keep building up until you smoke to stop the craving.

But what makes cravings so overwhelming? Listen, cravings are positive thoughts about smoking. That’s one of the principles of the CBQ method. And what makes a craving so overwhelming is the thought that it will not pass unless you give in and smoke.

What’s the solution to this? Well to think about the craving in a different way so it can pass easily. So the exercise we’ll do together now it’s called Climbing the Craving and it can help you go through a craving because it occupies your mind during the craving, it turns off the craving mind, and it makes you think of your craving not something that happens to you but something you experience.

So now let’s do the exercise together step by step it’s very easy. If you have cravings now do the exercise with me and pause the video anytime you need to. If you don’t have a craving now practice and save this video so you can come back to it when you need it.

Okay here we go. Take a few moments now to notice where you experience the urge to smoke. Is it your stomach? Your head? Your chest? Your leg? And where is it? Close to the center? More to the right? To the left? Does it feel like it’s on the surface or inside? Allow your attention to go to the exact spot where you experience the craving and once you find that spot I want you to touch it; just touch it. While you keep touching that spot start picturing yourself climbing a mountain.

The mountain is your craving; the mountain is as high as the intensity of your craving imagine this as high as you need to. Keep climbing the mountain. Now much like the mountain the craving will have a peak and then downhill. It will get stronger but at some point it will fade away. Keep climbing… Now the more you feel the craving the closer you are to the mountain top.

Focus on the mountain: What do you see? What do you feel? And what do you hear while climbing it? Allow your pace to follow the ups and downs of your emotions. You may take two steps forward one step back but keep on going. When you think you have reached the top of the mountain stand tall, and put a flag. Push it to the ground!

A flag means that you conquered that craving. And when the craving starts to fade away it’s time to go down the mountain. And from that point onwards the craving will start disappearing and that’s your craving technique.

Picturing yourself climbing a mountain while you experience a craving will help you manage it and go through it without smoking. But please keep in mind that craving techniques alone are not enough to help you quit. Quitting smoking is a process that comes down to the decision to live as a happy non-smoker and also go through the stages of change.

But if you’re ready to quit or if you’re on your journey craving techniques will help you achieve your goal. Thanks for watching.

Thank you so much for watching. If you want to learn more about how to quit smoking, check the links I put for you in the description of this video and make sure you subscribe to this channel to get more videos like this. Have a great day and see you soon.