Part 2: Preparing for Change

Mindfulness means you are fully aware of what you are sensing in the current moment. Mindfulness can help you get through a stressful or uncomfortable time without your usual tobacco/nicotine use. It can also:

•  Give your mind a chance to think creatively and come up with the answers to tough questions.

•  Help you gently pull yourself back to the present when your mind wants to go somewhere else.

•  Exercise greater control over your actions and your energy.

•  Understand yourself more.

•  Lower inflammation in the body.

•  Activate areas in the brain that give you feelings of calmness.

Mindfulness Exercise

Practice mindfulness while you listen to music, walk, run, eat, or sit in traffic. You can also try this the next time you feel the desire to have a cigarette, dip, or puff from your vape:

•  Try to physically pause your body. Sit or stand still. Maybe you can lean against the back of a chair or a wall. Get comfortable.

•  Focus on your breathing or anything in the present, such as the sounds you hear or an object in your sight.

•  As thoughts pop up in your mind, notice them without judging them. Picture your thoughts like clouds floating by—let them go by. Return your focus to what you see, hear, and feel.

•  Notice the feelings you have about smoking/your habit and what may be making you feel that way. Be aware of what is helping you do what you want and what is not helping.

•  When your mind starts to drift, imagine gently guiding it back to the present, as if you’re helping a child that has strayed off the path.

The craving may have gone away or is now much less. If this is the case, try to do something else while the craving continues to fade.