Brought to you by NiQuitin. 

It's the end of an era.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. In this case, it's a good thing. A non-smoking life is vastly better than a smoking life. However, depending on how long you've been a smoker for, it can feel a bit like you're giving up a part of your life. And in a way, you are. All forward progress means some loss of who you were before, and quitting smoking is no different. A lot of the time, smoking can be part of how you identify yourself. It can be so closely associated with your identity that it's a little scary to think of going forward without it. This week we're going to look at ways to help you disassociate the new you from the you that smoked. Move over, old you, it's new you's time to shine. Quit To Fit addiction expert and life coach, Raul Aparici, tells the story of a friend who recently quit smoking. "He told me he had realised that he had taken up smoking shortly after getting married, and he had recently divorced. Turns out his identity as a husband was tied together with his identity as a smoker." Raul says to look at yourself and try and figure out how much you still consider smoking to be a part of your identity. "Ask yourself, how much of who you are (or perceive yourself to be) is tied in with your relationship with smoking? "Now that you have been smoke free for 7 weeks, who are you? "If you are struggling with your new identity as a non-smoker, you are not alone. We humans find change difficult, even when it is a positive change. Any change will involve a loss and this loss needs to be mourned. There were so many things you hated about being a smoker, but there were of course some that you will miss. Perhaps around your social life or how you managed your anxiety. "It would be a great idea to consider how the change has happened; change is mostly made up of little daily behaviours done consistently. Sometimes we need a good narrative to put it all together and to illustrate our hero's journey." So set that out as your exercise for this week. Think back to when you started smoking - what was going on in your life? Were there any significant life changes that happened around the same time? Or try to pinpoint when smoking changed from a habit or social activity to an addiction - where was your life at when you started NEEDING a cigarette? And what moments in the day do you most crave them? Try and answer all these questions and create the narrative for how you became a smoker. Once you do that, you can combat the addiction with more knowledge about how it wheedled its way in. Then you can finally start creating your new narrative. It's going to be one hell of a story. Keep up to date with how our teams are doing on Instagram. Follow along with the campaign on Facebook and Instagram and let us know how you're getting on with the #QuitToFit hashtag. Brought to you by NiQuitin. Combining nicotine patches and nicotine lozenges is clinically proven to be an unbeatable way of quitting.* Try the NiQuitin 14mg patch for 24-hour craving control and NiQuitin 1.5mg mini lozenges for craving relief.  NiQuitin Clear 21mg, 14mg & 7mg 24 hrs transdermal patches and NiQuitin 1.5mg & 4mg Mini Lozenges are stop smoking aids that contain nicotine but you still require willpower. Always read the label.

*Provides significant improvements in quit rates compared to the patch alone.

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In partnership with NiQuitin.