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Suzanne — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:31:24 +0000

My newsletter subscribers liked this so much, I decided to share it with you.

Just download from this page!

A virus caught along with 5 other students at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy, and I have outlived one doctor’s prognosis by many years now.

I am now a complementary therapist, author of the Stop Smoking E-book at http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com and trainer specializing in energy healing. Want to use this article? You can, as long as you credit me with it and invite your readers to get my FREE book “EFT How-To For You” at http://www.EFT-Scripts.com

How EFT and Kinesiology-Based Methods Are Better Than Even Hypnosis To Stop Smoking

Suzanne — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:23:11 +0000

Welcome to the continuing story of “Marcelle” (not her real name), one determined ex-smoker-to-be slowly but surely overcoming a stubborn smoking addiction. To give you some background, I have a good history of helping smokers quit in one session in London and usually within 6 sessions in Cape Town (different cultural stresses). Marcelle’s relatives quit with me in 2-3 sessions, and she does understand the benefits of going at her own pace, which is relatively slower but a very healing process.

We are using a mixture of EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, or Tapping, and kinesiology-based muscle-testing and treatment. The treatment is gentle and removes the emotional reasons behind the smoking. As these are removed, Marcelle is able to smoke less. Every time that we can, we draw up a plan to cut down on the daily number of cigarettes smoked. The last target that Marcelle had was 7 cigarettes. It is the 10th session, and Marcelle showed me her progress sheet. She had stuck to her target 3 days out of 6. On one of the days, she even went below it. So we started with a quick analysis.

The first part of the analysis was talking about the progress sheet to identify areas that needed more work. The three days of smoking more had several stress and habit factors. The most important (in my experience) were the following:
* A visit to relatives who kept giving Marcelle cigarettes to smoke with them, saying “Oh, take a cigarette”.
* A day which started with Marcelle saying to herself “Today, I’m going to improve”.

Then I started the muscle-testing. We tested for a few things that came up not relevant, and then I asked Marcelle to repeat “I´m going to improve” whilst pressing on her arm. The arm went weak. In other words, there is something about “I am going to improve” that made Marcelle fail that day. We talked a bit about that and investigated the theme of the following ideas that Marcelle felt were related:
* “My mother never stops criticizing me, and so will not stop if I stop smoking, so what’s the point”.
* “I’m going to fail anyway, so I may as well fail now”.
* “No matter how much I improve, my mother will not love me”.

I then asked Marcelle to find a time in her life that encapsulates the above. She came up with a specific childhood memory that on the surface seemed totally unrelated. But it had many aspects of root causes of smoking. The story started when Marcelle had been given some money by a visiting uncle. The rule was that she had to hand that money over to her mother. But on that occasion, Marcelle, wanting to keep the money away from her abusive mother, left to the shop as soon as the uncle had left, and she bought a big bag of sweets with all the money. Upon her return, her mother threw her out on the porch in the dark. She was out there for several hours before her father came home and let her back in. The event started at an intensity of 8. We tapped in down to about a zero, tapping on all the following aspects:
* The hurt.
* That no matter what Marcelle did, she got a hiding from her mother, so she may as well be naughty anyway.
* The danger of being out alone in the dark as a helpless child.
* That she physically could not eat all those sweets, although she had them with her when she was thrown out, and her mother and sisters finished them afterwards.
* That her mother will never stop criticizing her.
* That her mother will never act proud of her or be approving of her.
* That her mother continues to treat her badly, in start contrast to the favored sister, who gets the good treatment.
* Smoking is a rebellion against her mother, who does not like her smoking.
* Guilt about not loving her mother like a daughter “should”.

By the end of this tapping, Marcelle was so relaxed she was almost asleep. We tested again for “I’m going to improve”, and it tested strong and clear.

We then tapped on other smoking issues, clearing them. And finally we muscle-tested for a new smoking reduction plan. Marcelle tested weak for 7 cigarettes a day and strong for 6 a day and 5 a day. This is good, meaning that she really did not want to smoke more than 6. So we drew up a new plan of a maximum of 6 a day.

The plan also includes exercise. As we were setting up the new version, Marcelle proudly announced that she had had to take her jeans in at the hips. Now how’s that for a great treatment? She is losing the cigarettes and weight! And she is overcoming the many years of abuse without any psychotherapy, without painful talking about the issue over and over again, nor anything like that. Every time she leaves her session, she feels lighter and stronger, her face radiant and calm. This is why I like this treatment so much; because it is holistic and gentle, the results far-reaching into every aspect of the person´s life and well-being. Now who do you know who did hypnosis-only and got these great additional results?! As always, I look forward to the next session!

Latest Success In Previously-Challenging Cape Town Stop Smoking Case

Suzanne — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:33:59 +0000

When “Marcelle” (not her real name) first came to see me, she was smoking about 15 cigarettes a day. The day before her 9th session, this was down to 7 a day. And now, after a few weeks’ stalemate, she has succeeded to stick to her last reduction plan, which was 9 cigarettes a day. Each cigarette represents negative emotion. We have been releasing plenty of these, and now, finally, the number is less than half what we started with. Marcelle was very proud.

If you have been following this series of articles, I am also pleased to report that the disastrous happening in Marcelle’s life is now over. The EFT we did has clearly helped her through it, as she has simply bounced back to her usual cheerful self now.

Whilst Marcelle’s relatives had quit with me in 2-3 sessions, including her husband, she does understand the benefits of going at her own pace, and that this is OK. Marcelle reported that she feels she has grown and developed through this healing journey. She has become a stronger person and feels different. This is what happens when you quit smoking using EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, otherwise known as Tapping. It is truly a journey to freedom from many negative emotions, so you feel lighter and calmer as a result.

We started Marcelle’s session with kinesiology-based muscle-testing. This is a biofeedback mechanism that gives information about the body and speaks with the subconscious mind. The testing revealed an imbalance in neurotransmitters on the left part of her brain. We proceeded to treat with a 635 nm cold laser.

Next came the emotional stuff underlying the smoking. I tapped on Marcelle as she verbally walked me through her average day’s smoking, from start to finish. Her voice became strained and her shoulders looked stiff when she came to one particular part, so we stopped there for tapping. The situation was teaching her grandson and helping him with his homework. The grandson insists that his teacher’s way of doing things is the right way and will not consider any other approaches that Marcelle takes. The desire to smoke after this homework session started on a 9 out of 10 intensity. Marcelle said that after all that, she needed a treat. We began tapping saying statements like “Even though I need this treat…” and “Even though I don’t want to deprive myself of this treat”. The intensity reduced to a 6 out of 10. And then I tapped on Marcelle something like “Even though he insists his teacher is right, at least he is respectful of his teachers, and that’s a great attribute than many kids don’t have”. Marcelle agreed, citing a story with one of her daughters, and how she did better when she learned to like her teacher. But still, Marcelle was unhappy about this teacher adoration, so much so, she still wanted that cigarette. I asked her if there could be a parallel in her own childhood and life where her mother favors her sister all the time. She agreed and saw the connection straight away. So we released this block with Inner Child tapping, and Marcelle no longer desired the after-homework cigarette. It was a zero intensity.

Marcelle then carried on walking me through her smoking day. We came at a point which I know from experience to be relevant. This was a cigarette smoked with a favorite close person. The person in question was her aunt, let’s call her “Auntie Nelly”. We started at a need to smoke with Auntie Nelly of 6 out of 10, which went down to 5 after some tapping. I kept tapping on Marcelle as I asked her if this aunt is like a mother to her, since her mother was abusive and not like a mother. Marcelle agreed, and we tapped on all aspects of this, until finally, the desire was about a zero, and Marcelle could see herself happily just being with Auntie Nellie as she alone smoked. The bond keeping the two so close together was love, and there was no need to cement it with a cigarette.

Lastly, we tapped on one more daily cigarette, and moved on to the muscle-testing. 7 Cigarettes a day tested strong, and 6 and 5 a day were weaker, so we set anew target of 7 cigarettes a day. I look forward to our next session!

Stop Smoking EFT Cape Town Case Study – 3 Emotional Root Causes

Suzanne — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:29:16 +0000

“Marcelle” is seeing me for stopping smoking. We are doing a gradual cut-down plan, which is great for smokers who have a large emotional element to their smoking and therefore cannot stop in just one session. To do this, we do as much treatment as we can fit into each session and assess at the end how free Marcelle is, cutting down accordingly. This is a relatively easy and pain-free process.

We are carrying out the treatment using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and kinesiology-based muscle-testing and treatment. EFT involves stimulating the end-points of certain meridian energy lines whilst using releasing wording. Muscle-testing is based on kinesiology techniques, and is a fairly accurate diagnostic tool for determining the state of mind of the client. EFT is my method of choice for releasing the underlying emotions to the urge to smoke. The muscle-testing helps me determine how successful we have been in an objective way, so than we can then plan the next step forward. EFT gave Marcelle a great deal of calm in this session. Like any other healing modality, EFT sometimes results in a gentle release, and this time the release was with a few tears, but this soon went away, and Marcelle was left with feelings of peace and calm, and desire to move forward. She had seen how a relative had released with laughter when they attended their sessions, and so she knew she was safe and protected in her session. Although EFT can be self-applied, I find that tapping on clients whilst they are lying down comfortably is gentler for big traumas. And Marcelle had given me a big trauma behind her smoking urges. We approached this very gently, and in this session, I chose to only take the edges off it, so that Marcelle would be thoroughly comfortable with the process. But before we approached this trauma, we worked on a general fear and on an innocuous specific smoking issue. This was to help Marcelle ease into the treatment and feel happily confident about it. So, in this session, we made good headway with three emotional root causes:

1. The fear of stopping smoking.
2. Overeating, which was kept at bay with smoking.
3. Childhood trauma of physical and emotional abuse.

Marcelle reported a fear of stopping smoking of value 10 out of 10 before we started. So I started with “Even though there is this fear of stopping smoking…” and peppered it with statements that made it comical, like “Oh my God, what am I going to do” in a funny tone of voice, which also helped Marcelle feel more at ease. We then took a detour to tap on overeating. I started by tapping “Even if you didn’t smoke, there is the fear of eating more, you can deeply accept yourself anyway”. We tapped around on this theme, and then I asked her if she did not smoke, what would she most likely binge on? She said “Luxury”. I asked her which luxury, to which she replied “Wholenut chocolate”. This immediately implied a need for luxury, rewards, a treat, and feelings of deprivation. So we tapped on all those. And we tapped on “this Wholenut chocolate desire” too. The chocolate desire went from a 5 out of 10 to a 2 and ended at about zero. After that, the fear of stopping smoking was down to a 5 out of 10 – half its value just 20 minutes previously. Next we started working on the trauma. Marcelle had said that she was the black sheep of her family, always blamed for anything and given hidings. I asked her how upset she felt when I said “black sheep of the family”, and she said 5. We tapped very gently on this statement and it went from a 5 out of 10 to a then a 1. We used gentle EFT with some inner child work, helping the young Marcelle feel good about herself, exonerating her from blame and taking her to a safe nice place. After that, the fear of stopping smoking was a 3, although we had not worked directly on it again. I explained that this was because the childhood trauma was a root cause of the smoking, and that by releasing it, we can move forward with ease. At the end of the session, we used muscle-testing to objectively determine how many cigarettes a day Marcelle can cut down to. This was 12 a day, 3 less than usual. I gave her a simple EFT tapping to do on the Karate chop as homework, and we set the next appointment.

Read on in this series of articles to see how Marcelle is doing. These are written as they happen, so that anyone who is looking for help can know that they are real, genuine treatments. Whether you are looking to stop smoking, or if you are a stop-smoking practitioner, I hope this article has given you useful ideas. And many thanks to my lovely client for permission to write about her case.

Stop Smoking EFT and Kinesiology-Based Testing in Cape Town – Case History and Background

Suzanne — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:02:09 +0000

“Marcelle” saw her family benefit from EFT tapping and Kinesiology-based muscle-testing and treatment. She was interested in stopping smoking using these techniques. And I am delighted that she has graciously agreed for me to write about her treatment so that others can benefit from this powerful combination. I am writing about “Marcelle’s” treatment as it unfolds, so you know that it is for real.

Marcelle was a 15-a-day smoker. In my experience, this implies deep emotional reasons for smoking. A 20-a-day or 10-a-day smoker tends to smoke one packet and when finished, simply have to stop for that day. There are packets of 20 for most smokers, which supply enough cigarettes to fit into the hours available normally for smoking. And the packets of 10 are usually used in Cape Town by those who cannot quite afford a packet of 20 and have to ration their cigarettes to last. For someone who is more physically than emotionally addicted to contain themselves and not smoke the 5 remaining in a packet of 20 is very unusual. And so, I was not surprised to learn that underneath that strong exterior, there was some past turmoil for Marcelle to release.

Marcelle had been the black sheep of her family of 7. She was blamed in childhood for whatever went wrong, and then given a hiding for it. She had recurring lower back pain in the coccyx or SI joint area, which in terms of energy healing means the need to let go of issues, an insecurity, and the need to belong or feelings of rejection. It transpired that the latter was indeed the case, as she had been picked on at school by snobbish children. The pain has been more prevalent in just over the past year without any obvious physical cause, which suggests that something emotionally significant has occurred just before a year ago. Marcelle also has had a few health scares in the past year or so, including a benign breast cyst, as well as challenges with blood sugar levels and high blood pressure for a couple of months. The health scares also indicate some emotional stresses at the time. Luckily, family members with problems that may have contributed to this stress have already been successfully treated, but it is something to watch out for anyway, in case Marcelle has any residual stress from that lurking about in her energy system.

Armed with information, we proceeded with the first session. We treated mainly one general issue from childhood, in order to reduce its impact on the need to smoke. We then determined that is was good to proceed with cutting down to 12 cigarettes a day, I gave Marcelle simple, non-triggering homework to do, and we happily arranged our next appointment. I predict that Marcelle will be mostly able to stick to the 12-a-day agreed reduction, and that we will be able to reduce this further next time. She knows that her treatment will not be as fast as some relatives’ treatments and is happy with waiting. Mostly, this is because she knows that everything will proceed at a pace that is very comfortable for her, and that it will be easy for her to succeed.

EFT is a great way to release the emotional (otherwise referred to as habitual) components of smoking gently and effectively. Short for Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT involves stimulating easy-to-reach acupressure points whilst repeating a releasing phrase. EFT is best performed in the waking state, where you are fully awake, and you remain conscious at all times. Kinesiology-based muscle-testing is a remarkable tool where the muscles in an arm or leg are used for bio-feedback from the mind-body. Using this bio-feedback enables a quick and far-reaching conversation with the unconscious mind that you can experience in the waking state. This in turn enables a fast and effective negotiation with the unconscious mind that enables you to break past barriers to success and move forward towards your goals. Thank you, Marcelle, for providing this case study for the benefit of all.

Stop Smoking By Solving These Reasons

Suzanne — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:52:21 +0000

So you want to stop smoking. It is good to take some time first to ask yourself why. The reasons why you want to stop can be a very strong incentive and motivation for you, and that is all good and well. But these are not the real reasons that I am talking about.

You may have expected to read motivation in this article to keep strong. For example, motivation about your health, your family, your looks, your teeth, all the money you will save, your smell, and your freedom from the constrictive habit, to name just a few of the common reasons. But just suspend your beliefs for a while and let me show you some other reasons.

* Smoking to relax.
* Smoking to de-stress.
* Smoking when bored at work.
* Smoking in order to go to the toilet in the morning.
* Smoking with your coffee, because the two have always gone so well together.
* Smoking with a friend.
* Smoking to rebel against a parent or teacher.
* Because it makes conversation easier in social situations.
* Because it helps you when you have a drink.
* Because it reminds you of the strong bond between you and your smoking family.
* Because it helps you concentrate on your work or studies.
* Because it is a luxury, and you deserve a treat.
* If you stop, you will eat and eat and put on weight.
* If you stop, you will feel nervous or anxious.
* If you stop, you may feel angry and irritable.
* If you stop, you may have difficulty sleeping.
* If you stop, you may feel deprived.
* If you stop, you may feel moody.

So, amongst these are reasons why you smoke. Armed with these reasons, and maybe a few more of your own, you now have a list of reasons that bind you to the smoking. Release these reasons, and you release that link to smoking. Every one of these reasons is a block in your path to success. But with the right techniques, you can bulldoze your way through and smash every block to smithereens! You can release every one of those reasons out of your system and break free!

The best method I know of to help you do just that is EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques. known also as Tapping, EFT uses a combination of acupressure and releasing wording to set you free the really easy way. It is suitable for almost everyone, unless you have schizophrenia or psychosis, in which case other methods are recommended, such as the gentler energy techniques like Reiki or Kinesiology. Whatever route you take, I wish you every success breaking through those reasons and reaching that beautiful place of freedom!

Reasons To Stop Smoking

Suzanne — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:55:13 +0000

So you want to stop smoking. It is good to take some time first to ask yourself why. The reasons why you want to stop can be a very strong incentive and motivation for you. And if you do not have enough reasons in mind, here is a list of common reasons to give you inspiration.

Your health. You may be getting warning signs already, like a morning cough, struggling to walk up stairs like you used to, varicose veins, heart trouble, or worse. Or perhaps you have a history of heart attacks, strokes, or lung cancer in your family.
If you have them, your children. If they are young, it is not good to subject them to either cigarette smoke or addictive behavior. If they are grown-up, you want to live long enough to see them settled and happy. For example, you may wish to see your children married, or be there to help with the grandchildren.
Wrinkles. This is especially so with women, who can look many years older if they smoke. If I say ¨smokers face¨, most people know exactly what I mean. It is not a good look.
Your teeth. You may have to always whiten them, and then there is that smell in your mouth that you just cannot seem to get rid of.
Money. Do you realize that you are actually paying to die, possibly slowly and painfully? Imagine saving all that money starting tomorrow. How much will you have saved in a year´s time? How much would that be with interest if you put it in a simple savings account? How would you feel if you had that money in your hand in cash right now? It feels good, doesn´t it?
Getting married. If you are getting married, it is a great opportunity to start afresh with a new beginning.
That awful smell. Your colleagues may look away when you open your mouth to speak or hold their breath when you pass by their desk. Your child, niece, nephew, or grandchild may ask you why you smell like that. How very embarrassing!
Pregnancy. If you are planning to get pregnant, you certainly do not want your fetus to smoke. And if you are a man planning children, did you know the quality of your sperm gets better 6 months after you have stopped smoking? Now that is certainly food for thought.
Habit. It is simply a nasty habit, an addiction that you are a slave to. It will be so nice to break free from its confines. Enough is enough.
How many years, months, weeks, and days have you been on this constant treadmill of smoke, smoke, and smoke?

Armed with these reasons, and maybe a few more of your own, now you have plenty of motivation to quit. Whether you quit the pharmaceutical, alternative, complementary, cold turkey, or any other way, I wish you every success.

© Suzanne Zacharia 2011. My name is Suzanne Zacharia and I am committed to spreading the word about health options. I believe that the more and better options one has, the more choice there is. A virus caught along with 5 other students at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy, and I have outlived one doctor’s prognosis by many years now. I am now a complementary therapist, author of the Stop Smoking E-book at http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com and trainer specializing in energy healing. Want to use this article? You can, as long as you credit me with it and invite your readers to get my FREE book “EFT How-To For You” at http://www.EFT-Scripts.com

Stop Smoking And Beat Cravings This Time!

Suzanne — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:52:21 +0000

Are you or someone you care for looking to stop smoking? Do you find that you have had a few failed attempts? Maybe you have listened to advice from others who have quit successfully or read and spent time preparing for the right mind-set for that quit. All this helps you with an arsenal of information against cigarettes.

You may have heard a friend say they were really craving a cigarette but will not smoke. This is a difficult concept for many to grasp. Surely the craving is a need to smoke? How can you ignore a craving? Maybe you have tried to ignore cravings in the past, it was really hard, and then one day, you just gave in. Or maybe temptation just came out of the blue. There are many ways of tackling this challenge. You can for example, become stubborn and hold strong against cravings, or you can rebel against the cigarettes, or you can release the emotions behind the cravings. There is a mind-set of embracing each crave and accepting it, observing it and just riding the wave. This is facilitated in Emotional Freedom Techniques, by first accepting psychologically that you have a craving, and then using special quick-releasing acupressure to let go of it. And Whatever tactic you use, you can be comforted by the fact that it gets easier as you go along.

You may have also heard that you can take one day, one hour, or one moment at a time. This avoids the hope that you can leave quitting till tomorrow, for example, because you are not considering tomorrow, you are living in the now – this moment is all that matters. Doing Emotional Freedom Techniques, meditation, or reading The Power of Now are a great help for building the one moment at a time mind-set.

Really, understanding stop smoking psychology leads to amazing insights. For example, you may well ask why when there is no nicotine left in the body that people still crave so badly. You may well ask if smoking is just a habit. The habit is to use the nicotine as a de-stressor, for example, as a mechanism for feeling full after a meal, as a way to enjoy a social occasion with confidence, as a way to drink alcohol or caffeine without feeling overwhelmed. The trick is to find another mechanism to de-stress and to cope with all the usual smoking triggers, and then there is no need to smoke. This is why meditation, Emotional Freedom Techniques, Reiki, prayer, and support have been cited as useful; these methods help you release what the cigarettes used to release for you (or those you care for).

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT for short) is a very quick and easy way to get rid of smoking cravings and have an easier quit. It involves a mixture of clever wording and easy acupressure to help you move forward with ease. You can download a free EFT guide from many online resources. Or you can get stuck right in and see an experienced practitioner or attend a local workshop.

Stop Smoking The Easy Way When This Friendship Is Acknowledged

Suzanne — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:27:18 +0000

Your Friend, The Cigarette

There is a friend that sits nicely in your pocket or bag, home or office, quietly waiting for when you need it. This friend is very loyal. It will always be there whenever you need it. This friend is very caring, being there for you in your darkest moments. It has consoled you through many a crisis; even in the middle of the night when no-one else was there for you. And it is not just there for those negative times. It is also there at those positive times. It has shared your good times with you too. It was there at many a happy occasion. It celebrated with you. It rewarded you and gave you the luxury of a treat. It helps you enjoy life in every way.

Your friend, your loyal friend, is always there for you. It never answers back. It never tells you what to do; never bosses you around. It never judges you. It never criticizes you. It is just there for you, just as you are.

Your friend may be getting somewhat expensive to support. But this is a small price to pay for someone so loyal, caring, and totally there for you. However, one day this cost may become too much. Or maybe you start paying with your health. Then it will be the time to part.

But parting with such a good friend is such sweet sorrow. You may even find yourself grieving for it or running back into its ever-welcoming arms. What do you do?

Modern approaches recognize that your friendship helped you for a long time. You were not stupid or crazy to have this friend. Rather, you smoked because your friend the cigarette helped you with all aspects of your life. However, now that you need to stop smoking, you can release the reasons tying you into this friendship. And then you can say Thank You to your friend for being there for you, and wish it well as you say goodbye with ease. EFT, short for Emotional Freedom Techniques, is a great way of helping you quit. It works by stimulating certain acupressure points whilst using some clever wording to release every block in your path, one by one, till they are all gone. Try it; you can be pleasantly surprised.

Have You Stopped Smoking But Are Getting Cravings? Irritated? Becoming a Monster?

Suzanne — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 07:45:02 +0000

Are you going through the quit process? Maybe you have stopped smoking just a couple of days ago, or perhaps it has been a bit longer. If you are experiencing some difficulty and looking for support, read on…

Maybe you started the day feeling fine but then got totally stressed out when you found out there was no coffee in the jar, or the train taking you to work arrived late, or there was an accident on the road causing you to get stuck in traffic, or any of a myriad of small annoyances that suddenly seem so overwhelming. It is as if now, you not only have to face not smoking on a morning, which may have been your most needed time to have a smoke, but you also have to deal with this stuff! Perhaps you have turned into a monster at work or with your family, and everyone is either giving you a wide berth or secretly wishing you would pick up smoking again. How did it get to this, you may ask, and what can you do about it? How do you cope with all this?!

The good news is that this scenario is only temporary. You can go outside or to the toilet and scream, shout, punch something or cry; do whatever you need to do. But do not under any circumstances give in!

You will manage to get coffee, get on the train, get through the traffic, or whatever other blocks there were in your path, tormenting you. This torment will eventually become a minor annoyance. You are going to feel better, so get yourself back on track. You can get through one crave at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time, and it does get better.

Everyone gets bad days. This includes non-smokers. But when you were smoking, those bad days were anaesthetized by the nicotine. The only difference now is that you need to find another way to feel calm while you adjust to your new, smoke-free life.

Alternatively, you can get help in order to calm that monster which is trying to come out at any minor annoyance. Or at least, you can seriously quieten that craving down to a whisper or even total silence – peace. Yes, you can do that, and most people can calm a craving in a matter of minutes. There is a little-known technique called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT for short. It is a little-known method because it is relatively new. EFT has been developed in the 1990s and is revolutionary in that it cleverly combines the physical with the emotional in a simple way that can easily be self-applied, bringing relief in as little as a few minutes. It sounds too good to be true. I know, because I myself resisted it for a long time, thinking it was just nonsense. How can anything work so fast, I thought. Well, it really can. If you need support to handle your quit with ease, try this strange and new technique. You may find it a great boon.