For people with a pre-existing mental illness, smoking cessation can look like climbing two mountains at the same time.
Treating mental illness is a daily – sometimes moment to moment – challenge, and smoking is often used as a coping mechanism. Understandably, people with mental illnesses who smoke often fear that taking away this source of comfort could result in tailspin.
“This is how I always seemed to deal with my stress: sit down, light a cigarette and my brain thought, 'It will be fine. & # 39; But in reality it's not like that, "says Rebecca M.. * A Florida resident living with depression who is a participant in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign.
Rebecca smoked her last cigarette in 2010. With the help of a professional counselor, she finally quit smoking – and found a balance in her life. In hindsight, smoking only made her depression worse, Rebecca admits.
For many people, mental health and smoking go hand in hand – you can't fix one without addressing the other, she claims.
“It is impossible to be sane while smoking. After I stopped, I was able to see the world with a completely different attitude, ”says Rebecca. “Smoking affects every aspect of your life – family relationships, work, personal life. It's just a cloud. … When I see people struggling with mental health [while smoking] I have deep compassion for them. You desperately want to get better, but smoking is like taking two steps forward and two steps back. "
In the family
Rebecca says she was "born into a smoking family". As she was growing up, all of her friends and family members smoked, so it seemed natural to her to start smoking as a teenager.
She quit smoking for the first time in 2002. However, she began smoking again seven months later when she divorced and struggled with intense emotions and stress.
During this time, she met with various counselors in order to manage her depression. She had an "Aha!" Moment in 2009 when their first grandchild was born; she then knew that she wanted to quit smoking for good.
“When my oldest grandson was born, I paused and thought about life from a different perspective. At that time, I was trying to find another counselor, to learn from past mistakes and to learn a new way of life, ”says Rebecca.
After smoking for more than three decades, she quit completely in 2010, about a year after setting intent, counseling, and "intense self-reflection," she says. "I've been thinking about who I am now and where I want to be, and where I want to be [in life]? I had a desperate desire to lead a healthy lifestyle, and what can I do to get there?"
"The counseling gave me a sounding board, someone I could trust and who could give me trustworthy answers," says Rebecca.
Since quitting she has had to investigate some friendships with close friends and even family members who continue to smoke. "If they're not healthy for you and are supporting your healthy lifestyle, it's important to make those changes too," she says. "It was a change of perspective: it's the difference between being born in a life you can't choose and choosing the life you want to live."
The rise
Professional counselors can help clients overcome life's challenges with an approach that is based on harnessing the client's existing strengths. For Rebecca, this included her intention to be a healthy example to her grandson. Practitioners have an arsenal of tools that clients can use to transform their lives and achieve their goals, including quitting smoking.
Rebecca's counselor helped her establish a self-care routine that included exercise (she now runs regularly) and meditation. She realized that she had to replace unhealthy behavior, smoking, with healthy behavior, exercise.
“Nothing will go well if you don't take care of yourself first. The counseling taught me how to take care of myself first, ”she says.
“[Quitting successfully] is about teaching people the tools they need. When faced with a situation that may make them uncomfortable, or cause a panic attack, or need a cigarette, tools must be [coping] ready and available. For me it was movement to stay grounded and focus on what I can control. I am [continuing to] educate myself and learn as much as I can so that I can take care of myself as well as possible, ”she says.
Most importantly, Rebecca & # 39; s counselor helped her accept that her depression, tobacco addiction and "none of this was my fault," she says.
“I don't think I could have stopped without counseling. I didn't have the knowledge to do it alone, ”says Rebecca, who turned 63 this summer. "It's important to find someone [a mental health professional] who can help you on this path to a healthy life. It is a path, a journey. It is one step at a time, one day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time, but it strengthens. It is doable and it feels amazing. "
Rebecca M. exchanged an unhealthy behavior, smoking, with a healthy behavior, exercise. After smoking for more than three decades, she completely quit in 2010. Photo courtesy of CDC's "Tips from Former Smokers" campaign.
Ten years after quitting smoking, Rebecca is mentally healthy, but she admits she has to work on it every day. In addition to exercising regularly, she also meditates often, trying to approach each other with an attitude of gratitude each day, especially for things like a beach walk or video chatting with her grandchildren.
"I'm grateful for each of these little moments that I get," she says. “It feels wonderful to climb this mountain. … It is so important to be able to overcome tobacco use. There is still a lot of life left [after cigarettes] even if you think it isn't. "
Advisors as allies
Professional counselors are particularly useful in helping clients quit smoking because the profession has a number of tools that focus on behavior change. Instead of focusing on the health effects of smoking – as a medical professional could – counselors can instead help clients focus on why they want to quit and how they can use their own strength to achieve that goal.
Practitioners also use a holistic perspective to help clients. For example, if a client turns to smoking for fear in social situations, a counselor will help the client address the root cause and find ways to deal with social anxiety. When a client smokes to escape the negative thoughts that can be a constant companion of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or other mental illness, a counselor can equip the individual with techniques to calm their inner critic.
Read about the many ways that professional counseling clinics can support clients on their travels in the article What Counselors Can Do to Help Clients Quit Smoking.
In addition to counseling, Rebecca encourages people to use the plethora of tobacco cessation resources offered by the CDC.
"It is okay to seek help," she urges. “[Counselors and other professionals] wants you to succeed. You have what it takes to be successful. That success is in you; you just have to learn to be kind to yourself and to love yourself. Above all, I had to learn that: to give myself the love that I give to others. "
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For smoking cessation assistance, including free coaching, a free smoking cessation plan, educational materials, and references to local resources, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
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* The last name of Rebecca M. has been omitted for reasons of data protection.
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Resources
From today's consultation: "What consultants can do to help clients quit smoking"
Find a professional counselor near you using the link here: Counseling.org/aca-community/learn-about-counseling/what-is-counseling/find-a-counselor
CDC tips from former smokers: cdc.gov/ tips
Rebecca Ms page: cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/stories/rebecca.html
CDC page on smoking cessation: cdc.gov/quit
Additional CDC resources for combating tobacco consumption in people with behavioral disorders:
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Bethany Bray is a senior writer and social media coordinator for Counseling Today. Contact her at [email protected].
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It should not be assumed that opinions and statements in articles appearing on CT Online represent the opinions of the editors or guidelines of the American Counseling Association.
