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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How do I resist the urge to start smoking again with peer pressure?

    Related Topics
    Addiction Depression Mental Health
    My boyfriend is pressuring me a lot and my two friends are upset because I am going out with him. I wanna run away to hide from all problems and I want to smoke to take all my pain away. I am always depressed and not hungry at all.
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    Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    I am sorry to read that things are hard for you at the moment.

    Writing as an ex-smoker (2 years and counting…) two things worked for me.

    (1) I did the “one day at a time” thing - ie, I said to myself “You can have a smoke tomorrow if you want to. But, not today.”.

    (2) I keep count of the $$ that I am ahead by not smoking and every so often I give myself a reward from them - a nice restaurant meal, a book or CD that I have wanted, etc.

    Good luck.

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    Robyn Rowe

    Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist

    Robyn is a clinical psychologist with a particular interest in mood disorders – depression, bipolar & schizoaffective disorders, ante & post natal depression – and … View Profile

    It sounds like you are smoking to comfort yourself with respect to some personal problems. Smoking has the effect of making people feel better psychologically. If you were to deal with your underlying issues you would find it easier to stop smoking and to stay quit. In order to deal with peer pressure to smoke, you need to do some planning before you go into the particular situation where people are smoking. It means some rehearsing and having a number of strategies that you can use when people offer you cigarettes and when you are drinking alcohol etc.   It's more complicated than just stopping.     I suggest that you find a clinical psychologist in your area who specialises in helping people to stop smoking.                                                            

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