Smoking Relapse: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Quit, Quit Monday!

Quitting and staying quit is a journey. A smoking relapse can happen to anyone. The good news is every quit attempt counts! Use Monday to get motivated and recommit to your quit.

Cold Turkey and Recommitting After a Smoking Relapse

If there was ever a slogan that applied to quitting smoking it is, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Some people may be able to quit cold turkey, but most people weather several relapses before quitting for good. If you are one of the people who finds themselves “trying again,” you are in good company!

It’s OK to Recommit

Studies reveal it can take many attempts to completely kick the nicotine habit because it’s a physical addiction and it takes your body some time to stop craving it. But rest assured – this is a very normal part of a typical quit journey. The key is to prepare yourself for multiple attempts by managing your symptoms and accepting slip-ups, yet continuing to make progress.

What Success Looks Like

With nicotine addiction, success is reminding yourself you are making progress even if you relapse. Measure how much time passed between your quit and your relapse. Did you go longer than you did before? What worked during your cravings and triggers and what didn’t? Thinking and learning from your experiences can help prepare you when they come up again. That’s huge!

Self-Care

Instead of being hard on yourself during your relapse, turn to self-care tactics like:

Be positive – look at what your experience has taught you and take some deep breaths!

Get moving – plan to do some endorphin-boosting exercise to find your happy place.

Make a Quit Buddy – spend time with your quit buddy or a non-smoking friend.

Self-care methods differ for everyone. Share your methods with us on Facebook or Twitter!

The only way a smoking relapse can derail your quit is if you stop trying to quit altogether. This Monday, recommit to your quit if you relapsed. And if you haven’t relapsed, use this Monday to start the week fresh and stay quit!