Nicotine Withdrawal

When will I stop thinking about smoking?

Many times you message or email me and you tell me: “I quit smoking, I’m a happy non-smoker, I don’t want to go back but I still think about cigarettes. Is this normal? Does it mean I’m not over smoking?”

Maybe the same thing has happened to you.

You’ve quit and you’re wondering when you will stop thinking about cigarettes or you worry you’re not over smoking because it’s still on your mind.

You may even notice you think about smoking even more now that you quit.

So is this normal?

What does it mean?

And when will these thoughts end?

Is it Normal to Think About Smoking After You Quit?

Yes, it’s very normal to think about cigarettes more right after you quit.

As with any event, the memory of the event is intense right after it happens. But with time, the memory fades.

For example, if you break up from a relationship, take a divorce, or stop a friendship, you tend to think about this event more right after it happens because the brain is biased.

Well, smoking is like breaking up from a bad relationship.

So right after you break up with your cigarettes, you will think about it more because your brain is biased towards smoking. Your radar is wired to pick up on smoking-related thoughts, memories, and triggers, and focus on them.

It can be thoughts about cigarettes, smoking, or even thoughts about not smoking and how great it is that you’re smoke-free. You’re generally more likely to have smoking-related thoughts.

It’s neither good nor bad. It’s just your mind that’s focused there.

When You Will Stop Thinking About Smoking

There are two factors to consider here.

1. How you think about smoking

Does thinking about smoking means wanting it?

Absolutely not.

There is a difference between thinking about smoking and wanting it or missing it.

It’s how you think about it.

For example, I think, talk and write about smoking all the time without ever wanting it.

Why?

It all has to do with the associations you have with smoking.

Remember, a thought is just a thought. It cannot hurt you, break you, or make you do anything. As long as you change the meaning you give to those cigarette thoughts, they won’t bother you.

If you think about smoking as something that’s good for you, you will crave it.

If you think about smoking as something you used to do but don’t do anymore, you won’t crave it.

For example, let’s say you quit smoking and you’re drinking your coffee as a non-smoker. At that moment you’re very likely to have a craving thought like “oh I used to smoke with my coffee”. This is just a memory, nothing more.

But if you associate this memory with feeling deprived and not enjoying your coffee, you’re going to crave smoking at that moment.

Instead, if you tell yourself it’s normal to have this thought, it’s going to be very easy for you to let it pass and you won’t feel deprived.

So when you encounter a trigger or a situation where you used to smoke, reassure yourself that it’s okay to think about smoking. It doesn’t mean you want to smoke, it means you’re healing. It’s part of the adjustment process.

We can’t always control our thoughts but we can control what we focus on, we can control the meaning we attach to our thoughts. And the meaning we attach to our thoughts affects our experience.

So it won’t matter how long you think about smoking because if you change how you think about it you’re not going to crave it.

2. Time

With time, all craving thoughts will become less and less frequent until you rarely think about smoking anymore.

You’re not going to wake up one day and suddenly stop thinking about smoking. This is going to happen gradually.

But one day you’re going to think to yourself “Did I think about smoking today?”

And you’ll realize you didn’t! And you’re going to feel so excited about it.

How to stop thinking about smoking faster? How to speed up this process?

The more you let the craving thoughts pass mindfully without fixating on them the faster your brain will know that those thoughts are not worth focusing on.

Also, observe the dialogue that happens in your mind when you think of smoking and even write it down. Transferring a thought from your mind to a piece of paper or your phone, makes the thought weaker and helps you assess it better.

So thinking about smoking more is normal right after you quit. Thinking does not mean wanting and when a cigarette thought comes up, reassure yourself it’s normal to have it, let it pass without fixating on it, and if the craving thought persist, write it down and share it with someone.

Taking control of your thoughts is a core part of the CBQ method.

If you want to learn more about the CBQ Method and get support on your quit smoking journey you can join our Facebook support group. The CBQ Facebook community has thousands of amazing members who are in the process of quitting smoking or have already quit. Being in that group can really help you, plus we share tips and advice every day.

Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cbqmethod/

Knowing how to overcome mental cravings is part of the third stage of the CBQ method: Change your smoking pattern.

Here’s what you need to know so you can overcome cravings easily.

What Are Mental Cravings?

There are two types of cravings: physical and mental.

The physical cravings are a twitch, a hunger feeling in your stomach when your body is low on nicotine.

The mental cravings are just positive thoughts about smoking that create positive feelings about smoking.

CBQ Method Principles

Thoughts like “I need a cigarette right now.”

“A cigarette would make me feel better.”

“If I don’t smoke, I won’t enjoy my day.”

Or “Just one puff won’t matter.”

All these are craving thoughts.

But remember, thoughts can’t hurt you, break you, or make you do anything- but they can be very overwhelming if you don’t know how to handle them- and I’m gonna show you how in a second.

How Long Do Cravings Last?

Physical cravings last around 3 minutes each. The physical cravings go away 3 to 5 days after you stop smoking because, by that time, almost all nicotine is out of your body. So if you stay nicotine-free for 5 days or more, you’re done with the physical addiction and the physical cravings.

Mental cravings are a bit different. Because they are thoughts, they can last for hours, months, and even years if you don’t handle them. Mental cravings go away when you change how you think about smoking.

So every mental craving will last for as long as you entertain the thought of smoking. For example, if you have a mental craving like “I need a cigarette right now,” and you start thinking, “yes, maybe I do need it.” And then you start picturing yourself smoking the first puff and feeling relief… then you’re putting fuel to the fire, and you are prolonging the mental craving.

You Have A Craving Mind that Causes Your Mental Cravings

Think of your craving mind as Gollum from Lord of the Rings. If you haven’t watched the movie just imagine a miserable and needy creature that all it wants is its precious fix.

And the craving mind communicates to you in the form of a thought like “I need a cigarette right now” or “a cigarette would make me feel better.”

Why Do You Even Have a Craving Mind?

The reason you have a craving mind is that nicotine has hijacked your brain and makes it believe that you need nicotine to survive – just like you need food.

For example, when you eat, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel rewarded, so you want to eat again. The brain does that so you can keep eating and survive (If it didn’t release dopamine when you ate, you would forget to eat and die)

Unfortunately, nicotine affects your brain the same way. It hijacks the dopamine receptors in your brain, which makes it think that you need nicotine to survive.

So your brain reminds you to smoke, through your craving mind, because it thinks you need nicotine to survive.

But of course, you don’t need nicotine to survive. Your brain simply has outdated information.

In other words, the biological part of your brain has been totally hijacked. So you need to use the intellectual part of your brain to rewire the biological part.

How to Handle Craving Thoughts

A craving is a thought and there are many ways to handle your thoughts.

1) Reply back to the craving mind. When the craving mind tells you “I need a cigarette right now”, you can disagree or disregard it. You can say, “No, I don’t. You’re wrong,” or you can say, “okay, I heard you now I’m gonna move on.”

2) Let the craving thought pass. There was a recent study that found we have 6200 thoughts every day! So just let the craving thoughts pass from your mind as if they were any of the thousands of thoughts that you have every day. Don’t interact with them, don’t try to think about them, don’t try to entertain them… just let them pass mindfully.

3) Replace the craving thoughts. You can’t have two thoughts at the same time. So you can always replace a thought you don’t like with a new thought. Just imagine you’re watching TV and you’re changing the channel. Or that you’re changing the station on the radio. You can do the same thing with your brain. When you have a thought you don’t like you can replace it, you can tell yourself “next thought please” and there will always be a new thought available. Watch how to do that in my TED talk.

Will You Always Have Mental Cravings?

Your brain is a learning machine. The same way you programmed your brain to think about smoking, you can reprogram it to stop thinking about it as something desirable.

How?

The more you put yourself in situations where you used to smoke, and you don’t… and you feel good in those situations, your brain gets new information and sees that “hey we didn’t smoke and nothing bad happened to us.” And this new information allows you to rewire your brain because it gets proof that you don’t need nicotine to survive. So with time, it’s going to stop reminding you to get it!

A Craving is a State of Wanting

A mental craving is a state of wanting but what are you wanting?

Has this ever happened to you? You stop smoking, and this feeling of wanting stays with you for a while. So you think that smoking left a void, and you try to fill that void with other vices like food and alcohol.

But here’s the thing. Everyone has this feeling of wanting – smokers, non-smokers, never smokers. But as smokers, we have learned to respond to that feeling by smoking. In reality, we don’t want the cigarette nobody wants rolled grass with poisonous chemicals. What you want is to change how you feel.

So when you have a mental craving, this is a sign you’re low on some of your emotional needs. We all need to feel certainty, love, security, comfort, and relief. But when you have a craving, what you’re really craving is to meet an emotional need. You crave to feel in a certain way.

What to do?

When you have mental craving, ask yourself, “What do I really need right now?” or “What am I missing from my life right now?”

Find what you need, meet that need in a helpful way, and the craving will go away.

For example, let’s say you’re home alone and you feel that something is missing. Ask yourself “What do I really need right now?” Maybe you’ll realize that you feel lonely and need some connection.

Then ask yourself “How can I meet this need in a helpful way?” Perhaps making a phone call to a loved one is going to give you some of this connection. And, if this is what you were looking for.. you’ll see that the craving will go away.

Or if you feel anxious after an argument, instead of reaching for a cigarette, ask yourself “What do I really need right now?” Maybe it’s to feel relaxed and secure.

Then ask yourself “How else can I meet that need?” Maybe do deep breathing, journaling, take a walk, practice gratitude, there are many ways to feel relaxed and secure.

Or let’s say you’re in a social situation and everyone smokes and you crave a cigarette. Ask yourself “What do I really need right now?” Maybe it’s to connect and feel belonging or not to feel awkward with your hand.

Then ask yourself “How else can I do that?” maybe change the conversation or hold a glass of water with the hand you used to smoke. There is a solution to everything.

To sum up

• Mental cravings are positive thoughts about smoking that create positive feelings about smoking.
• The craving mind reminds you to smoke – through your craving thoughts – because it thinks you need nicotine to survive.
• You can overcome your craving thoughts – replace them, let them pass, reply back to them. Don’t act upon them.
• A craving is a state of wanting but what you’re wanting is to meet a need (not inhale chemicals). Meet that need in a helpful way, and the craving will go away.

Overcoming the mental addiction and specifically overcoming the mental cravings is part of the third quit smoking stage of the CBQ method which is Change your smoking pattern. The CBQ method has four stages in total and they’re all important to take you from a smoker to a happy non-smoker.

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 of the CBQ Method

If you want to learn more about the CBQ Method and get support on your quit smoking journey you can join our Facebook support group. The CBQ Facebook community has thousands of amazing members who are in the process of quitting smoking or have already quit. 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/

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/

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

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

• How To Overcome Mental Cravings
• Craving Technique “Replace” – from Nasia Davos’ TEDx Talk
• Step-by-Step Craving Technique from the CBQ Method – “The Recast Technique”
• Willpower vs. Mindpower to Quit Smoking
• How Long Cravings Last

This content is the intellectual property of the CBQ Method.

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