At the reception there is a woman with a gray complexion, faded eyes and dull hair. The smell from her clothes reveals that she is a heavy smoker. With thin fingers with wrinkled skin and cracked nails, she pushes a strand of blond hair out of her face, and I see a completely young woman. Help, I’m so tired of problems. Plus this smoking, I just can’t stop it. Some kind of vicious circle! I get nervous and smoke, and when I smoke, I blame myself and start getting nervous again. What to do? The problem of smoking worries people of different ages and professions, different social status and income. Experts have different opinions. Some people consider smoking to be a bad habit, while others consider it a mental illness. Any addiction does not just arise out of nowhere. It can appear gradually and be mild, without causing addiction. But over time, an insidious addiction can completely consume a person, and only health problems accompanied by a hacking cough can be one of the reasons why a person seeks help from a psychologist. At an appointment with Olya (client’s name has been changed), we looked at all the pros and cons of smoking . This is an important part of addiction treatment. Don’t be surprised, smoking also has its advantages, and everyone has their own. For example, a client said that at lunchtime you can go to the smoking room and smoke with the whole group, without being separated from the team. This helps her keep abreast of all events. You can discuss personal problems and gossip in between puffs. For Olya, it seemed impossible to do this without a cigarette in the smoking room surrounded by tobacco smoke. Community, belonging, a sense of unity - that’s what the client needed in this case. Having weighed all the pros and cons, we looked at how you can get these advantages, but in a different, healthy way, without resorting to the need to drag on a cigarette in a smoking room. It is important for a person to understand that meeting needs is possible using other methods that are safe for health. Finding new opportunities to communicate with people to gain feelings of belonging, community and unity is a joint task of the psychologist and the client. For example, in this case with Olya, options for team sports competitions in basketball and tourist trips were considered. Olya also remembered that she could communicate with non-smoking friends over a cup of tea. A special topic for women who smoke is the effects of smoking on beauty and attractiveness. With Olya, we looked at how nicotine affects a woman’s health, including her appearance. Olya remembered how healthy her skin was with a blush on her face, how thick and silky her hair was, and how strong her nails were. Where did it all go? The answer is obvious. The comparison was not in favor of cigarettes. The work of gaining independence from smoking does not end in one session, it is a long process that requires patience, awareness, motivation and a willingness to change. Olya made the right choice and decided to continue therapy. To smoke or not to smoke is a person’s choice and it’s good that there are specialists who know how to achieve freedom from any addiction in a short time and with less losses! Read my articles on the topic of smoking: "I want to quit smoking. What should I do?" "Quit smoking in the New Year! Homework for a smoker" "An easy way to quit smoking. Bookstore" "How to quit smoking, drinking and all that. Motivational calendar" 🌹With respect and care for you, Marina Kudrina🔎You can read other articles by the author hereRegister for consultation here