Smoking: A Therapeutic Approach to Quitting

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Smoking

A Therapeutic Approach to Quitting

While smoking is a problem that affects millions of people in The United States, several different approaches are available to assist in breaking the habit; specifically, therapeutic approaches, when utilizing group sessions, one-on-one interaction, or self direction, do offer the ability to modify personal views, behaviors or other challenging issues to achieve predetermined results. Since each of the aforementioned options provide varying amounts of contact with trained therapists and other people, it is necessary to make a remedial selection based upon the comfortability and willingness of a person to openly talk about their dilemma with others.

However, in order to successfully establish the most appropriate manner to address such problematic issues, as is involved with smoking, the first step is to correctly identify the problem in its entirety; therefore, the difficulty to stop smoking is largely due to the mind altering capabilities of nicotine, which is “a highly addictive drug. Nicotine is a potent psychoactive drug that induces euphoria, serves as a reinforcer of its use, and leads to nicotine withdrawal syndrome when it is absent” (Lande, 2010, para. 6). In consideration of the countless reasons people fail to quit smoking, the nicotine dependency related issue is perhaps the most devastating and is not easy to withstand.

Also, some smokers develop an oral fixation, which adds to the already growing list of problems. This situation occurs when the very act of smoking a cigarette, itself, has been repeated over long periods of time and becomes an extremely well learned action or behavior; so much in fact, that it becomes a procedure which is done automatically and the pe...

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...e involved in this situation. But for now, I am not ready, nor do I really care to stop. I fully understand the risks of smoking and how expensive they are; but, I like it and it is one of the few things I have left that I enjoy. Perhaps, one day, this will be different.

References

Lande, R. (2010, March 11). Nicotine Addiction. eMedicine.

Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287555-overview

Unknown Author. (2007, July 11). There’s More to Quitting than Nicotine. Chemistry World. Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2007/July2007/TheresMoreToQuittingThanNicotine.asp

Unknown Author. (2006). Using Your Will Power to Stop Smoking. Stop Smoking. Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://www.stop-smoking-updates.com/quitsmoking/stopping-forever/secrets-of-success/using-your-will-power-to-stop-smoking.htm

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