- Hi, I am Gillian Freeborn, a clinical psychologist
and the Health Behavior Coordinator
at the Fargo VA Medical Center.
You have made it halfway through the class,
congratulations.
This class is entitled Envisioning my Future.
In this module we will cover the benefits you may experience
following your quit date,
how to recognize and deal with triggers,
the importance of rewarding yourself for your success,
and we will share some inspiring stories
and encourage you to create your own story of your journey
to quit tobacco use.
In previous classes we have reviewed many
of the harmful consequences and drawbacks of tobacco use.
Quitting tobacco use will also provide you with many benefits
that you will likely begin to notice right away.
Turn to page 21 in the workbook to see a list
of some of the good things about quitting tobacco use
that can improve your life and daily lifestyle.
Also use this page in the workbook to list some
improvements you may have noticed since reducing or
eliminating tobacco use and some additional benefits
you are looking forward to in the future,
as a result of quitting.
An important thing to consider before making a quit attempt
is to think about what causes you to use tobacco.
Much of your tobacco use is a habit,
something you do over and over
until you no longer think about doing it.
You may find yourself using tobacco because you "always do"
when you do certain things, for example:
Waking up, drinking coffee, feeling upset,
experiencing pain, stress, during work breaks,
seeing other people smoke, while driving,
and there are many other possibilities.
Identifying your triggers and tobacco use patterns
is being able to recognize "when" and "why"
you use tobacco on a typical day.
To stop using tobacco,
you must identify what your triggers are.
In previous classes, you began to think about your triggers.
Today, we encourage you to think more about them and
how to overcome these urges to use tobacco.
Understanding what triggers cravings
is an important first step
in helping you later decide that you are ready to quit.
Review pages 3 and 4 in the workbook to help you come up
with a plan to manage high-risk situations and patterns that
often produce cravings or urges for you to use tobacco.
Remember that urges become less intense and often disappear
within 3-5 minutes.
Consider using the DEADS strategies or another activity
you identified last class to help you break through
your urge to smoke with success.
Please take a moment and watch this short story of a Veteran,
Tiffany, who shares her journey to quit smoking.
- Some of the best things for me about quitting smoking
are just enjoying food again,
enjoying it for the food
and not for the cigarette after.
Another good thing about not smoking is
being confident that I smell fresh,
and, you know, nobody's walking by me saying,
"Ooh, she smells like cigarette smoke."
But, "Ooh, she smells good."
And then, another good thing about quitting smoking is
just feeling more energized
and being able to get out and walk
and not feel so out of breath,
and my breath is fresh.
I enjoy kissing a lot more.
That it's--
the money that I'm saving not smoking
is absolutely great.
I mean, when I think about the money
that I was spending buying, you know, at least a pack a day--
I save so much money that
actually now my money goes to a kitten that I adopted.
So...I save so much time
and I have more time to get more accomplished now
that I'm not smoking.
I'm Tiffany, and I quit smoking.
And so can you.
- Visit www.cdc.gov
to review more inspiring stories of others
who have successfully quit tobacco use.
I encourage you to use the "My Quit Story" handout
included in the My HealtheVet tobacco cessation education
packet to write your own quit story and to share it with
a family member, friend, or member of your healthcare team.
Quitting tobacco use is something to celebrate.
Although there will be some challenging times,
you have made an important decision
to live a healthier lifestyle.
Consider how you can reward yourself for
taking this big step.
Celebrating quitting as often as you can.
For many people, the idea of saving money
can be a strong motivator for quitting smoking.
Use page 22 in the workbook to calculate how much money
you will save after quitting tobacco use.
For example, if you are smoking 1 pack of cigarettes a day,
at $6 a pack, you will save nearly $200 per month and
over $2,000 in the next year by quitting.
Give yourself small rewards such as a small gift or
treat with the money you have saved.
There are also many low cost options such as
reading a book, taking a bubble bath,
going for a bike ride,
or listening to your favorite music.
Social rewards can also be very powerful.
Tell others you are now tobacco-free or imagine other
people congratulating you on your success.
Think about some things that you can do
to reward yourself weekly
as you quit using tobacco.
Use some suggestions from page 21 and 22 in the workbook
to build a reward plan for you.
Congratulations on completing class 5.
Now that you've taken some time to envision your future without
tobacco, we encourage you to complete course 6 titled
"Crossing the Finish Line".
You are well on your way to a tobacco-free future.