Weight-Loss... becoming a non-smoker... old habits, but how can you overcome them?

Our automatic thoughts can help to keep us stuck in old habits and emotions which are often not the best habits and emotions for us. However, if we become more aware of the impact of automatic thinking on our lives, we will have more options and change will be easier.

Teaching someone to see their own thinking patterns is like teaching a young gardener how to identify a rare type of plant. The gardener needs lots of examples of what the plant looks like and they also need to know where it usually lives.

For instance, some people may think: 

What caused the weight problem

"I don't understand why I am overweight. I don't stuff myself all day".  
"I may have slow metabolism"

What to do about the problem and what this "solution" will be like

"My life is busy and difficult enough already, I can't cope with losing weight at the same time"
"Losing weight will be awful. I will have to go running and do aerobics and go to the gym the whole time"

And many other thoughts such as:

- Thoughts about what you "can" or "can't do" or
- Thoughts that happen "on the spot" whilst trying to lose weight or stop smoking or 
- Thoughts about yourself...

Being able to "catch" or spot an automatic thought is a hugely useful skill, but it is not easy or straightforward - like the new gardener trying to spot the rare plant - it takes practice.

However one can try to pinpoint the most important automatic thoughts such as:

What was going through my mind just before I started to feel this way?

What does this say about me? What does it say I can/can’t do?

What does this mean about me? My life? My future?

What am I afraid might happen?

 

Once those automatic thoughts have been spotted, we may choose to question/challenge them:

What is the evidence for these thoughts? What is the evidence against it?

What are some other ways of thinking about this situation?

Am I blaming myself for something over which I do not have complete control?

Am I always thinking that things will go badly?

Am I exaggerating how bad things would be if they did go wrong?

Ok, so... you may ask me, is that all? I am afraid not... this is only a glimpse of what I use to help/empower my clients to overcome their eating/smoking habits. I employ other techniques such as Hypnosis, CBT and NLP to find out the reasons for those thoughts and behaviours. 

This is not aimed to be "a" guide but it helps those people out there wanting to either lose weight or stop smoking as well as start thinking differently about their habits.


As I mentioned before, our automatic thoughts can help to keep us stuck in old habits and emotions, however it is never too late to start the process!

Smoking in front of children can make them addicted to nicotine

Most smokers are very aware of the damage they are doing to their own health - and know that others can also suffer though passive smoking. 

But a worrying new study reveals that smoking infront of children not only passes on the harmful effects of the smoke in the air - it can also get them hooked on cigarettes.

A Concordia and University of Montreal study published in the Oxford journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, found that tweens who repeatedly observe a parent, sibling, friend or neighbur consuming cigarettes are more likely to start smoking themselves.

Worrying: A new study reveals that smoking infront of children not only passes on the harmful effects of the smoke in the air - it can also get them hooked on cigarettes

'Kids who see others smoking are more likely to take up the habit because they don't perceive cigarettes as unhealthy,' says lead study author Simon Racicot, of Concordia University's Department of Psychology.

'We found that kids who'd never smoked who were exposed to tobacco use were more likely to hold positive beliefs about the killer habit. These are the kids who are more likely to start smoking as teenagers.' This new investigation builds on previous studies examining the negative effects of being surrounded by smokers.

 

More...

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• Boy, 3, who feels no pain forced to sleep in a padded tent after biting his tongue in half

Senior author Jennifer J. McGrath, a professor in the Concordia University Department of Psychology said around 60 per cent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke across North America.

'Greater exposure to smokers is largely associated with greater exposure to nicotine,' she said.

'Children exposed to the same amounts of secondhand smoke as adults absorb higher doses of nicotine. 

'Early findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure could possibly trigger addiction in the brain – before kids actually start smoking themselves.'

Earning: Early findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure could possibly trigger addiction in the brain - before kids actually start smoking themselves

For the study, 327 11-13 year olds enrolled in French-language public schools were questioned about their smoking habits, the number of smokers in their entourage and the situations where they observed smoking. 

'Preteens who were surrounded by more smokers believed that there are greater advantages to smoking,' says Racicot. 'Therefore, smoking by parents, siblings, and friends increases risk factors for later smoking.'

The researchers argue that new prevention efforts must be tailored to children who are highly exposed to secondhand smoke - ensuring they are aware of the risks.
The general public also needs to be informed about how smoking around youth normalizes the dangerous habit.

'When it comes to smoking around kids, the best thing a parent can do is to avoid exposing their kids to cigarettes and to secondhand smoke,' says Racicot. 

'A parent should step outside of their home or car to smoke. And the addictive habit should remain out of sight, out of breath and out of mind.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2003453/Smoking-children-make-addicted-nicotine.html#ixzz2CImuje98