How do You Handle Your Ups and Downs?

During the quitting process, the withdrawal symptoms typically cause an increase in stress. Sometimes that means we are more likely to indulge in things that we shouldn’t. Whether the source is an internal or external cause, how we handle highs and lows that stress creates can make or break our quit plan.

For example, your husband locks his keys in the car; as a result you must drive half way across town with your keys to retrieve them. You may feel like fuming, indulging in a latte, or even grabbing a smoke. Whether we turn to these things to pick ourselves up or calm ourselves down, indulging in things like sugary junk food, alcohol and smoking actually increases stress over the long term.

If you have a stress management system in place to deal with everyday stresses, you are better equipped to deal with situations that inevitably arise in life. While you might want to jump to the familiar comforts, like caffeine, sugar and cigarettes, instead make this a perfect opportunity to exercise your stress management system.

Creating a stress management system, or SNS, is fairly easy and it will improve your life. It can help you deal more proactively with stress and help you handle those highs and lows. In my next post, I’ll discuss how to develop an SMS and what steps your system should include. This will help you get quit and stay quit!