Month: April 2019

Relapse is just not Will Power, but Environment As well

LEWINS EQUATION TO MAKE YOU A TOBACCO WINNER!

Kurt Lewin in 1936 gave a very simple formula an equation which said behaviour is a function of the person in the environment. What it means is – the habit or behaviour of a person is just not dependent on a person’s character but it also depends on the environment one is exposed to.

This is very much true with tobacco also whether it is smoking or chewing.

Both your personality and environment determines the good habits you would build, bad habits you would break and the way you would progress in life.

A person who is into the action phase of quit cycle, relapses not just because he is born with low will power but mostly because of the environment.

Tobacco addiction has three important components – PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL.

Determining the level of Physical addiction and controlling it with medication when necessary is the first step. But a major component is also the Psychological and Social environment. Psychological or mental strength is a must but at the same time you need to be surrounded with a healthy environment and motivational materials to keep you strong and constantly remind you and strengthen your will power.

Your social environment is one major determinant of your long journey of tobacco cessation – your friend circle, the party time, office colleagues, the pan shop etc. may trigger you to try once again. One slip will take you back to the bottom of the stairs you have climbed so far in your quit cycle. Keep track of your triggers, it is important. I will talk about triggers in subsequent blogs.

Anyone who is into a wrong habit we should help before the early signs of tobacco harm sets in. The advance harms are really dangerous.

The book WIN OVER TOBACCO MADE EASY would be of help.

A word of caution – the teachers, school counsellors, parents should be aware how to deal with such situation. I will talk about it in my subsequent blogs.

Your Environment Influences Your Tobacco Habit

Kurt Lewin in 1936 gave a very simple formula an equation which said behaviour is a function of the person in the environment. What it means is the habit or behaviour of a person is just not dependent on a person’s character but it also depends on the environment one is exposed to.

This is very much true with tobacco also whether it is smoking or chewing.

Let us see an example – the beginning of tobacco depends very much on the person but also the environment he or she is exposed to at home or at the school or college. If someone at home takes tobacco whether chewing or smoking (a very common at home in north India is hukkah), one is likely to start tobacco.

During my medical study, the hostel was divided into multiple wings. I would talk about two wings the one in which I stayed. Another wing left to our wing. In the other wing stayed a boy, Sidhu (name changed) who was addicted to tobacco from school itself. Sidhu was a very social person and from a well to do family. He would often organise parties and go for movies and each time he would take someone along with him. By the end of 3 months, almost 50% of his friends were chewing tobacco. By the end of our MBBS almost everyone in the wing where into smoking and chewing tobacco.

But in the hostel wing I stayed, our seniors never promoted and were strict about tobacco consumption. No one in this wing ever took to this habit thankfully.

All of us have come through the entrance examination, studied hard have become doctors and into various speciality, but due to the environment, took to various habits. We cannot say that all of them had a weak will power. Environment affected them too!

It is for us as parents, seniors, teachers to guide our next generation in the right direction, we should be aware of the environment – the friend circle. I specifically tell children not to be associated with anyone who takes tobacco. However strong the child would be, their will power would get overwhelmed at some point in time only because of the environment with which they are associated with. Young minds are very easy to entice and lured to what is not good for them.

The other thing that I want to convey is that if anyone of your friends or colleagues is into tobacco, let us be good influencers on them. Help them get rid of the disease. We should not fall prey to this habit but let them adopt our good habit. If we hide or lie we cannot help them. They are into a wrong habit and we should help before the early signs of tobacco harm sets in. The advance harms are really dangerous and fatal.

The book WIN OVER TOBACCO MADE EASY would be of help. Visit the tobacco wellness centres.

A word of caution – the teachers, school counsellors, parents should be aware how to deal with such situation. I will talk about it in my subsequent blogs.

Is Will Power Alone Enough to Quit Tobacco ?

WILL POWER is the most important part in the quit process of tobacco. WILL power with the mindset to win!

The cold turkey method for quitting is totally based on will power. COLD TURKEY – you quit at one go! This usually happens when one gets a realisation of the harm by tobacco. The harm that has happened to self or to a close relative is mostly the advanced complication due to tobacco.

Mr. Kamal, a well-established chartered accountant, is a regular smoker of 15-20 sticks per day. His father, also a smoker, had a cardiac attack. While attending to his father, Mr. Kamal, realised the health hazards of tobacco. He already had early signs of harm due to tobacco.  His daughter was only 5 years old. He has smoked for 12 years already. He decided to quit. But at present the stress was too high. 3 months later on his trip to Haridwar, he had his last puff and gave away the cigarette lighter all to God Shiv and Goddess Ganga. He had a strong will power and he had prepared himself enough. It is now 11 years.

Mr. Raju decided to quit after he himself had a minor cardiac problem and when the doctor said the main reason for the problem is smoking. He used to take 10-12 cigarettes per day. He went cold turkey. Around 3 months later during a party with his friends, he took one puff and was again a regular. He continued for 8 years and in between he had multiple attempts. It is now 6 months following my intervention with Behavioural therapy and Medication, that Mr. Raju has successfully quit smoking.

Yes, WILL POWER is a must and is required but it may not be enough. WILL power needs constant efforts by your mind. Like any muscle, your mind can also get fatigued. It can be overwhelmed and then you would be back to your old habit. Do you have enough of will power to quit? TEST YOUR WILL POWER HERE.

A strong will power needs a progressive mind. YOUR MIND IS YOUR BIGGEST BLOCK.

Besides Mind may not be enough, the environment is also very important to keep your will power strong. We will learn about this in the coming blogs.

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