(ARA) - It comes as no surprise; you've heard the statistics before. Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, yet each year millions of Americans continue to light up. So why is it that you can't seem to break the habit that you know is so bad for you? Because smoking is part addiction, part habit and it's not an easy process.
Kay Anderson, recently named the NicoDerm CQ Quitter of the Decade, finally found her motivation to quit after a two pack-a-day habit took its toll. "For 20 years, fear of living without cigarettes crippled my ability to see the reality of my addiction and nothing made me want to quit," says Anderson. "Then one day, something clicked. I realized that my choice was easy: live or die. I decided to finally take control of my life and begin the hard work of breaking my long-time addiction."
Using the patch to calm her cravings and gradually and safely wean herself off of nicotine, Kay was able to address both the physical and psychological aspects of quitting smoking, enabling her to do things she couldn't do as a smoker. Last year Kay accomplished a life-long dream. She competed in an Olympic-distance triathlon, raising thousands of dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Kay didn't stop there; she went on to participate in a 450-mile bike ride and is now training for a half Ironman Triathlon.
"As a smoker, I would never have been able to do these sorts of physically challenging activities. The patch gave me the confidence to take control of my addiction and live the life I've always wanted," Anderson says.
There were a number of steps Kay took that helped contribute to her personal success over quitting.
*Make the Decision
An important step for Kay was to set a quit date and create an action plan, once she made the decision to quit smoking. Giving her time to prepare and making sure she was emotionally ready was the first step towards a successful quit attempt.
*Ease Your Cravings
Kay chose a form of therapeutic nicotine -- NicoDerm CQ -- to reduce the intensity of nicotine withdrawal cravings so she could focus on changing her behavior.
*Be Active
Kay found productive ways to calm her nicotine cravings. Bicycling, swimming and running became an important part of her quit process. Physical exercise not only benefits the body and spirit, but was a great way for Kay to get her mind off of her addiction to cigarettes.
*Find Your Support
Kay logged on to www.CommittedQuitters.com, a comprehensive support system that offers individualized stop-smoking plan to help overcome personal barriers to quitting smoking. Committed Quitters is clinically proven to improve success rates in smokers when used in conjunction with nicotine replacement therapy.
*Change Your Habits
Changing her routine was an important step for Kay in quitting smoking, since nicotine withdrawal cravings are often triggered by habits associated with smoking. Kay found many ways to switch her routine: eating breakfast in a different place, drinking tea instead of coffee or taking a new route to work.
*Reward Yourself
Kay found special rewards she could give herself at particular milestones. She celebrated the first day, week, month and year to commemorate her success and keep her motivated.
Courtesy of ARAcontent 