Living with metabolic syndrome comes with specific challenges. Our article ‘The Metabolic Syndrome’ enumerates a few of these, such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. Further, your risk of developing complications like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes is higher when you’re diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
Fortunately, metabolic syndrome can be treated. Proper lifestyle changes can lower your risk of developing more serious health conditions. One of the things you can change is your smoking habit. Smoking increases your chances of stroke, heart complications, and cancer. With that said, here are a few ways you can finally quit smoking:
Undergo nicotine replacement therapy
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a treatment that gives you small doses of nicotine in alternative forms. This helps you quit by gradually decreasing the amount of nicotine your body is used to consuming instead of quitting cold turkey.
Under NRT, one product you can try is a nicotine pouch. These are oral pouches placed between the lip and gum. Here, they deposit nicotine through the mouth. They’re small enough that other people won’t know you’re using them, making these the perfect option for public places. The nicotine pouches sold on Prilla come in different strengths (from 2mg to 10mg), making it easy for you to start at a nicotine level that you’re used to before lowering the dosage over time. Another product to consider is a nicotine patch, which is stuck to the skin for nicotine absorption. The patches by NicoDerm can be worn for a full 24 hours for your convenience. These also often come in opaque or skin tone colors, making them very discreet for social settings.
Seek support from peers
Quitting a smoking habit is challenging enough to do on its own. For motivation and support, seek the help of your family and friends. Let them know that you’re on a quitting journey, so they can remind you whenever you get urges to smoke. Doing so also keeps you accountable, knowing that other people are monitoring your progress. When you’re feeling hopeless about quitting, your support system is what will encourage you to keep going for the sake of your health. Because they know you best, they will be able to find ways to keep you on track in doing the lifestyle change.
Give aromatherapy a try
Aromatherapy is a treatment that uses natural plant extracts—usually in the form of essential oils—to promote health and wellness. A Journal of Substance Use study concluded that black pepper essential oil and angelica oil are effective in reducing a person’s craving for nicotine.
One way to achieve this is by placing a drop or two of the essential oil onto a tissue and inhaling it for two minutes whenever you want to reach for a cigarette. If this isn’t your thing, place some essential oil drops into a humidifier in your space. There are also essential oil roll-ons available in the market for when you’re on the go. Roll some oil onto your wrists and inhale when you feel like smoking. Aromatherapy is an excellent method if you wish to cut off nicotine consumption as soon as possible.
Turn to healthier activities for stress relief
One of the reasons people smoke is to relieve stress. While stress is, unfortunately, a part of daily life, there are better and healthier ways to manage it. A stress reduction post on Medium suggests meditating, exercising, and spending time in nature. Meditation lets you get in touch with your mind and relax your body, freeing it from stress. Exercising enables you to release stress through physical activities. Finally, being in the presence of nature reduces muscle tension and calms brain activity. With these healthier coping methods, you’ll avoid reaching for a stick when stressed.
As a metabolic syndrome patient, you’re at a higher risk of serious health conditions. Quit smoking today through NRT, aromatherapy, healthy stress-relieving activities, and peer support to lower your chances of developing more serious conditions.
