Cravings are a strong wave of want and desire for nicotine by the body. They can be physical or mental cravings. Most smokers can vouch that cravings fully engulf your state of mind and creates a single-minded focus on getting the next smoke. Similarly, when one is curious about something, it trumps all other thoughts. We NEED to know the when, how, who etc. and we need to know it now. Curiosity and cravings are similar in this way, they create a tunnel vision.
When one craves a cigarette, they tend to get restless and reach out for a smoke to find some relief from this. This reinforces the behaviour of smoking and intime will make you crave again and give into the behaviour. The trick to successfully staying above the cravings lies in your MIND.
A lot of our behaviour, as mentioned before, stems from a seed planted in our mind. The habit loops created, the behaviour reinforced or the association of daily activities or emotions created with smokes overtime.
Smokers may experience cravings because even a simple act of sipping on coffee or having a beer with friends, overtime has been linked with lighting up a smoke. Or having experienced some temporary relief in stress or restlessness with smoking. When faced with a similar situation again the mind maps out the relief technique back to having a smoke.
When facing restlessness due to cravings, direct the sheer force of it into curiosity. Use the momentum to feed the mind. Identify if the craving lies in an idea or a pattern that was planted in the mind. Observe the onset of the cravings in a mindful manner. Identify and acknowledge the presence of cravings instead of struggling with it. Curiosity can help you ride out the cravings instead of succumbing to them. This seems like a simple trick, but when done right, it will free you from the bondage of cravings.
