Cold Turkey Quit Smoking Method

Posted by Martin Woodchild on December 29, 2011

Many humans have heard of the cold turkey quit smoking method but where does the phrase ‘cold turkey’ actually come from? Well, it is thought to be a description of the withdrawal effects that heroine addicts must endure when they stop using. One of these withdrawal sensations or changes is a cold sweat leading to goose pimples on a clammy skin. It’s regarding the same a cold turkey before it goes in the oven at thanksgiving (without the butter of course!).

The roots of the phrase cold turkey also underline the extreme physical pain affiliated with heroine withdrawal. It is such a powerful drug (hence all the social difficulties it causes) that it leaves addicts with severe physical side effects when not taken. This uttermost is erroneously transposed into the smokers’ mind when using the cold turkey quit smoking method. Quitting smoking is nowhere near as painful!

Personally, I define the cold turkey quit smoking method as any method that does not employ the use of drugs or physical aids or ‘crutches’ to aid the smoker. By this I mean the likes of nicotine alternate therapy (patches, gum, lozenges, spray etc.), chantix, zyban or any herbal treatment, phony cigarettes or aversion therapies.

I do consider things like cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy to fall into the cold turkey quit smoking method because they do not condone the use of drugs to try and aid the smoker. They condone the power of the mind to get over the problem of nicotine addiction.

In the case of acupuncture and laser therapy, there is little proof that these methods work and they both require physical interference. Anecdotally of course, there are numerous ex-smokers that employed these methods but studies have shown no betterment in quit rates when equated to cold ‘turkeyers’.

Hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy are both cold turkey quit smoking methods that are known to be effective. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a means of altering your thinking (cognition) and behaviour to a specific event, habit or aspect of life.

Unlike the classic cold turkey “lock-yourself-in-a-room-and-suffer” method of quitting smoking, hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy work by dealing with smokers’ mental perceptions of smoking.

In the case of hypnotherapy as a cold turkey quit smoking method, the smoker may be ‘taught’ to respond to cravings for cigarettes by thinking in regards to a pleasant time in their life to get over the craving. The smoker may likewise be ‘taught’ to dislike smoking. Many people with great success quit smoking using hypnosis but a heap of fail too.

In the case of cognitive behavioural therapy, smokers are staged with a whole new view on smoking. It is a system by which the hugely perplexed psychological trap of smoking, is broken down into bite-size pieces. Each piece of the trap is then dismantled, leaving smokers with little choice but to quit of their own free will.

Unlike the classic cold turkey quit smoking method, smokers who quit using cognitive behavioural therapy often times report knowing that they have quit and that they will never smoke again. It is not the same with hypnotherapy or acupuncture or laser therapy.

I am of course a proponent of cognitive behavioural therapy. When I stopped smoking using this method, it was an epiphany. It was like my eyes had been opened after years in the darkness. The moment I stopped I knew I would never have another cigarette and it was a hugely liberating experience. However, it is not the same for every one and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method for quitting smoking.

Generally, my counsel to all smokers is to undertake any and each method to find the one that works for them. There are a great deal of ways to get off cigarettes and the cold turkey quit smoking method is just one of them.

Spending cash on money-back guaranteed schemes primary is the best approach because if that scheme doesn’t work, you may get your cash back and move onto the next. If it does work, it will be cash well spent. But my final and most indispensable piece of counsel to any would be quitter is to never give up attempting to quit, no matter how soul demolishing the procedure seems.