The importants of Changing your Beliefs!

I just talked to a very dear friend of mine, about how belief is a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise (argument) to be true without necessarily being able to adequately prove its main contention to other people who may or may not agree. The interesting thing about this talk was that we both agreed on that a belief in itself, is for the person who beliefs in whatever he or she might believe in, is a guiding principle, a dictum, a matter of faith or one can even call it passion that can provide meaning and direction in life. A belief is a prearranged filter to our perceptions of the world. For instance, those who believe that the Sun is a god will report that they know that the Sun is a god.

Beliefs are very power full for the person that believes in something. One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only an interest. We could say a lot about the negative affects about fanatic beliefs, which I however don’t want to concentrate on in this article. I rather want to concentrate on what one can do with his or hers believe system. For beliefs, are the compass and maps that guide us to our goals, and give us surety that we know that we will get there.

Why really work on beliefs? If you really want to change our behavior, don’t start changing what you do. Start changing why you do it and the rest will follow. This is why we need to start with our own beliefs. Belief becomes reality (placebo experiments) – for example medical drugs are not always necessary, belief in recovery always is. Belief is nothing but a state, an IR that governs behavior. Change your belief, and change your IR, which will change your behavior. Belief is a choice.

Sources of Belief
1. Environment – Success breeds success, failure breeds failure. Generally no part of belief values.
2. Events, small or large can help foster beliefs.
3. Foster belief through knowledge
4. Belief based on our past results. If someone succeeds once or twice, they will succeed in the future.
5. Creating in your mind the experience you desire in the future as if it were now. (Goal setting)

You can control your beliefs, you can control the way you model yourself as well as others. You can consciously direct your life, you can change:
• Beliefs that have limited you and that keep you away from your true potential
• Beliefs that can serve to help you achieve your highest goals

If you do not like what you do - you can change..... how? Change your beliefs. Important is to change your limiting belief, which are the beliefs that inhibits exploration of a wider cognitive space than would otherwise be the case. Examples of limiting beliefs are seen both in animals and people. These may be strongly held beliefs, or held unconsciously, and are often tied in with self-image or perceptions about the world. Everyday examples of limiting beliefs:
• That one has specific capabilities, roles, or traits which cannot be escaped or changed.
• That one cannot succeed so there is no point committing to trying.
• That a particular opinion is right; therefore, there is no point considering other viewpoints.
• That a particular action or result is the only way to resolve a problem.

The key is to take your beliefs, and ensure that they are working for you in a way to achieve your goals and objectives, ie that they are enlightening, uplifting, effective and empowering.

If you believe, nothing can stop you ....... you will keep coming back until you succeed! If one changes ones beliefs and IR’s to +ve, one can achieve huge results. There is no power like the power of a positive resourceful state, for the kind of behavior people produce is the result of the state they are in (which is based and motivated by their belief system). How they respond to the state they are in is based on their models of the world (the reality within they operate). Most people take little conscious effort to direct their beliefs about themselves or about others. This is why I wrote in the start that when people try to change something, they should not change what they do, they should start changing their beliefs, for it is those that ether will imprisons them or enable them and maybe even set them free. So when people want to change – belief changes is what they should be after. They want to be in a +ve belief state. Believe me when I tell you that happy and successful people know how to tap into their resourceful “belief states”. You could do this as well, for you can control the state you are in. You do not have to be at the mercy of whatever comes your way. This is why it says in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament: “Nothing can be kept back to him who beliefs”.

Just remember that the key, is the ability to control, direct and manage your beliefs (yourself).

Good luck on working on your beliefs and remember, watch your state of mind, keep it positive, clean and true to yourself at any time.

Mark von Rosing

 

Das mächtigste Werkzeuge zur Beeinflussung des Verhaltens anderer Menschen

Diesen Artikel schreibe ich bewusst in Deutsch, da ich persönlich der Meinung bin das hier die meisten Deutschen etwas lernen können. Dies ist nicht als Vorwurf gedacht sondern als ein Ansporn. Wir wissen alle das Lob motiviert und zeugt von Anerkennung - deshalb ist auch Loben eines der mächtigsten Werkzeuge zur Beeinflussung des Verhaltens anderer Menschen. Das gilt vor allem im Berufsleben, z. B. gegenüber Kunden, Partnern, Mitarbeitern oder Geschäftspartnern. Trotzdem geizen die meisten Vertriebsbeauftragten, Selbstständige und Unternehmer mit lobenden Worten und positivem Feedback an ihre Umgebung.
Trotz das viele Menschen sich nichts sehnlicher wünschen als Anerkennung und Wertschätzung durch ihre Umgebung. Dies gilt ganz besonders für das Berufs- und Geschäftsleben! Doch ausgerechnet hier kommt positive Anerkennung viel zu kurz. Dies kann ich als Däne eigentlich nicht richtig verstehen, denn unsere Kultur ist dort anders. Den glaubt man einer aktuellen Umfrage der Jobbörse Stepstone unter 10.000senden in acht europäischen Ländern, dann hat Deutschland das größte Aufholpotential, den dort sind "mehr als die Hälfte der Kunden haben den Eindruck, dass ihre “Einkauf“ von ihrem Lieferanten nicht geschätzt werden. Bei Mitarbeiter ist es noch schlimmer, den Sie hungern nach Anerkennung, den nur 28 Prozent wissen sicher, dass ihre Arbeit honoriert wird."
Ein Blick ins benachbarte Ausland zeigt überdies, dass es wie ich es erwähnt hatte, erhebliche kulturelle Unterschiede beim Verteilen von Lob und Anerkennung gibt: Vier von fünf befragten Niederländern sind sich beispielsweise sicher, dass ihre Arbeit anerkannt wird. Dort sehen sich lediglich 11 Prozent nicht oder ungenügend gewürdigt (mit 56 Prozent sind das in Deutschland fünfmal so viele Menschen!). In Dänemark, Schweden, Norwegen und Italien empfinden immerhin zwei Drittel aller Befragten genügend Wertschätzung.

Das heißt es gibt wirklich ein Lob-Lücke...
Ich sage nicht dass die Ergebnisse der Studie repräsentativ sind. Bin nur der Meinung das es einen gewissen Gedanken Anstoß geben sollte, dass gegebenenfalls viele Menschen von der Aushilfe bis zum Vorstandsvorsitzenden an einer möglichen "Kultur mangelnder Anerkennung" leiden. Dies alleine sollte Anlass sein, über das Loben nachzudenken.
Einen Mangel an Lob und Anerkennung gibt es nicht nur im Verhältnis von Vertriebsbeauftragten, Chefs und Vorgesetzten zu Ihren Kunden, Arbeitnehmern oder Mitarbeitern bzw. gleichrangigen Kollegen untereinander.

Meine Anregung an euch; denkt an Situationen wo ein Partner, Kunde, Kollege, Familienmitglied an "Unterernährung" in Sachen Wertschätzung leiden könnte und probiert dann mit lobenden Worten und positivem Feedback in eurer Umgebung einen Unterschied zu machen.

Wichtig für mich hier ist, das Ich in keiner Form anklagend sein wollte, dies ist ein Ansporn das man eventuell auch im Partner Management benutzten könnte. Ich freue mich von euch zu hören und verbleibe bis dahin mit den Besten Grüße aus dem heiteren Copenhagen.

Euer Moderator Mark von Rosing

 

 

If you can change your state of mind, you can change a behavior

In this little article, I would like to discuss how you can change your behavior, when you change your state of mind. As a basic principle, we all know that our mind has a lot to do with our state of being. I was already told by my mother, when I was a very young boy, these principles of consciousness and awareness about the power of your mind (and thereby your reality); if you feel you are on a roll, you will be on a role. If you feel that you cannot win, you will not win. Often there are times that you can do nothing wrong. Other times you can do nothing right. But the basic fact that your mindset is the reality within you can operate is very important.

Train yourself to continue to be on a role!! Here are some findings that mean something for me and my principles of consciousness about my state of mind:

Neurophysiological state

Enabling States (builds on the positive energies we have) – Confidence, love, inner strength, ecstasy, belief – tap great wellsprings of personal power

Paralysing States (builds on the negative energies we have) – Confusion, depression, fear, sadness, angst and frustration – leaves us powerless

If you can change a state, you can change a behavior!! We need to learn how to put us into an empowering state or behavior.

Peoples needs and goals, are almost always to achieve the state that they would ideally be in. Money will assist in achieving a feeling of freedom, success and respect. This is a state and a feeling.

The key to love, power, joy is the ability to control, direct and manage your states – your mindset.

Learn to effectively run your thoughts (brain). Man has been fascinated for centuries how to alter his states:- drugs, music, sex, religion, liquor, chanting. These all have their uses and limitations and will not help you find your potential.

There is an easier way that is easier, quicker and more precise. Let us take a look on the 2 components that create the state we are in?

1 Internal representations (mind)

E.g. spouse comes home late:

If worried about accident, unconditional love, and TG he’s home. State of concern If concerned about gambling/affair…different set of behaviors. State of angry and used. Our beliefs, attitudes, values and past experiences with the person all affect the type of representations we will make about the behaviors.

2 Physiology (Body)

Muscle tension, how we breathe, what we eat, posture, overall level of biochemical functioning have a huge impact on our state.

IR and P will work together in a cybernetic loop. What will effect one will affect the other. If you’re feeling ill and tired, IR will be –ve. If you feel vibrant and on a roll, IR will be +ve.

Learn how to change 1 & 2 to achieve results.

1 and 2 determine our behavior…Verbal and Physical – what we do and say.

Since we don’t know how things really are , but only how we represent them to ourselves, represent them in a way that empowers us and others. Focus on the positive.

If we represent to ourselves that something is not going to work it will not work. If we form a representation that it will work, we create the IR’s to produce the state that will support us in producing positive results. Life is like a river, its moving. You can be at the mercy of the river, or you can steer it in a predetermined course. At the end of the day, all of us will reach the same destination…what will differ is the knowledge, satisfaction, enjoyment and added value created along the way. Always move with the tide…if you move against it, it is like pushing shit uphill. The tide is determined by the set of values and beliefs that you hold. Your behavior and actions are a result of your state. If your IR tells you are going to have an accident…you will have an accident. If your IR tells you that you will be successful, you will be successful.

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

If one changes ones beliefs and IR’s to +ve, one can achieve huge results. There is no power like the power of a positive resourceful state, for the kind of behavior people produce is the result of the state they are in. How they respond to the state they are in is based on their models of the world (the reality within they operate). Most people take little conscious effort to direct their state of mind. When people try to change something, they should not change what they do, they should start changing their state of mind, which imprisons them. So when people want to change - State change is what most people are after. They want to be in a +ve state. Believe me when I tell you that happy and successful people know how to tap into their resourceful states. You could do this as well, for you can control the state you are in. You do not have to be at the mercy of whatever comes your way. “If you refuse to get the best in life, you will always get it”

Here is the success formula, I was taught as a young boy by my mother:

“Control your thoughts they become your dreams (wishes and thereby what you strive for)

Control your dreams they become your actions

Control your actions they become your habits

Control your habits they become your destiny”

Here are some good dreams to have, some good actions to take, some good habits to build.............and hopefully a good destiny to have (these are taken from my brothers family goals):

• be grateful

• be smart

• be clean

• be true

• be positive

• be humble

• be involved

• be still

• be understanding

• be loving

• be a part

Today, you are a summery/result of all decisions and commitments you have made in life! If you want to change your behavior, you have to change your decisions and commitments, which is your “state of being”. So how do you change your output? In changing your habits………..which means changing your actions ……………….. which means changing your dreams.

So this is how it works (combining the discussed) in order to target - Know your outcome.

• Control your thoughts – they are your state of mind and ultimately decide your behavior. This is why it sais in the Tora (the oldest known spiritual and personal development scriptures known to man)”beware of your thoughts - they are the gateway to your soul”.

• Action - Take action that you believe will produce the results you desire – else your desire will always only be your dreams

• Determine habits - Develop sensory acuity to recognize the responses and results you are getting from your habits, to determine whether they are moving towards the outcome.

• Adapt and change until desired result is achieved - Develop the flexibility to change your action until you get the result you want to achieve your outcome.

Take actions to achieve your dreams and build the habits that can make them happen. Success is not a random roll of the dice. There are consistent, logical patterns of action, specific pathways of habits that lead to excellence, which are within the reach of us all. Just remember that The key, is the ability to control, direct and manage your states (yourself).

Good luck on working on your state of mind - Mark von Rosing

Is there an ultimate success formula????

Well there could be a lot of different ultimate success formula and this one is more a collection of things I have learned and or picked up through live (so sorry if they don’t fit to you):

•                Target - Know your outcome.

•                Action - Take action that you believe will produce the results you desire – else your desire will always only be your dreams

•                Determine response - Develop sensory acuity to recognise the responses and results you are getting to determine whether they are moving towards the outcome.

•                Adapt and change until desired result is achieved - Develop the flexibility to change your action until you get the result you want to achieve your outcome.

 

Take actions to achieve your dreams. Success is not a random roll of the dice. There are consistent, logical patterns of action, specific pathways to excellence that are within the reach of us all.

 

The next thoughts are going to be the 7 fundamental character traits to succeed:

1 Passion

Consuming obsessive purpose to do what they do, to grow and to be more. Gives them the fuel that powers their success train and causes them to tap their true potential. Causes people to stay late and leave early; passion what people ant in relationships; passion gives life power, juice and meaning; passion to be the best.

 

2 Belief

Huge power and effect of faith and belief on mankind. Our belief in what we are and what we can be will determine what we will be.If we believe in magic, we will live a magical life. If we believe our life is defined by limits, they will be defined by limits. What we believe is true and possible will become what is true and possible.

People who succeed know what they want and believe that they can get it.

Passion and belief provides the fuel and propulsion towards excellence!!

 

3. Strategy

Way of organising resources to achieve goal. What one needs and what one needs to do to achieve the goal. One needs the resources and use it in an effective way. The best talents and ambitions need to find the right avenue.

 

4 Clarity of Values

Fundamental, ethical and moral judgements we make about what’s important. A belief system. Judgements on what makes life worth living. 1, 2 and 4 are interactive. If 1 and 2 do not conform with your values, the goal will not be fulfilled.

 

5 Energy

Physical vitality to take action. Physical, intellectual and spiritual energy to take action to make the most of what we have. Need to maximise physical vibrancy.

 

6 Bonding power

Ability to create and develop a rapport with different backgrounds and beliefs. Great successes are not on the world stage but in the recesses of your heart.

Need to form lasting, lovong relationships with others.

 

7 Mastery of Communication

The way we communicate with others and ourselves will determine the quality of our lives. (eg doing the washing – incidental activity as opposed to a bind).

People who shape our lives have an ability to communicate a vision, quest, joy or mission in a way that creates a passion in you to share that vision. It is what makes a great parent, artist, politician or teacher.

 

Regards

 

Mark von Rosing

The power of communication?

Every communication we make is an action, so communication is power. Those who know how to affect the thoughts feelings and actions of the majority of us are those who know how to use this tool of power. JFK, Thomas Jefferson, Jesus Christ, Gandhi, Winston Churchill etc.

Your level of communication mastery will determine your level of success with others, personally, emotionally, socially and financially.

The level of success you experience internaly, is based on how you communicate with yourself. How you feel is not the result of what is happening in your life, but what you perceive is happening in your life. How you interpret the results of what is happening. One can interpret any result in a positive way or a negative way.

The quality of our lives is determined by not what happens to us, but rather by what we do about what happens. How one reacts to events that one comes across is a measure of ones success.

One can control ones state of mind by adopting a point of view that creates that emotion. You alone controls the point of view that you take. It is your power and your prerogative. If we change our mental and physical actions, we can immediately change our emotions and behaviours.

You shape your perceptions or someone shapes them for you.

It is how we perceive events and what we do about these events that make a difference.

Regards Mark von Rosing

 

How to duplicate human excellence!

There are a lot of different and good methods out there of how to change, grow and improve; one of them is taking control of yourself! How? Well it is not even that difficult and it is about controling your thoughts. In our day language we would call it programming the language of your brain. Outstanding results can be achieved by producing specific communication to and through the nervous system. You will be supriced, for it will produce optimum results.

How to duplicate human excellence in a short period of time.

Modeling is the pathway to excellence. If I identify the traits and habits, and pay the price of time and effort of a successful athlete, friend, parent or businessman, I will become a successful athlete, friend, parent or businessman.

Many successful businesses make money by determining what is successful in one city and duplicating it in another. “LAG”. Take a proven system and duplicate it, and maybe improve upon it. People who do this are virtually guaranteed success.

The difference between those who succeed and those who fail isn’t what they have – it is what they choose to see and do with their resources and experience of life.

Modeling performance patterns called Optimum Performance Technologies.

NLP is a tool to develop your own insights and strategies.

Find models of excellence

You can teach a dog patterns that will improve his behavior. You can do the same with people. A business guru Henrik Scheel said in one of his leadership meetings: seize excellence, and make it your own! Building from the successes of others is one of the fundamental aspects of most learning. Technology – every advance in technology is based on the foundation of earlier discoveries and breakthroughs.

3 fundamental ingredients that must be duplicated to form any form of human excellence:

1. Belief System – be grateful, be smart, be involved, be clean, be true, be positive, be humble, be still, be understanding, be loving

2. Mental Syntax – organize thoughts, and understand how other people organize their thoughts. “Unlock the code”

3. Physiology – the way you breathe, hold your body, posture, your movements, determines what state you are in.

Regards

Mark von Rosing

What is SUCCESS????

In this business section, I would actually like to discuss what is success? What makes one successful?:

• To laugh often and much?

• To win the respect of people and the affection of children?

• To earn appreciation of honest critics?

• To endure the betrayal of right or false friends?

• To appreciate beauty?

• To find the best in others?

• To leave the world a bit better, whether by a child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition?

• Or like like Ralph Waldo Emerson said - to know even one life breathed easier because you have lived?

It is hard to define it, but what is it not?

• Success is not who you know (haha – Linked In or Xing might argue this point different!)

• Success is not where you go!

• Success is not what you own

For none of the above mentioned can be the true measure of personal success. I think that success can maybe be defined as:

• Ongoing process of striving to become more.

• It is the opportunity to continue to grow emotionally, socially, spiritually, physiologically,

• Intellectually and financially, while contributing in some positive way to others as well.

So success is not something static,therefore if you are on the road of success it is always under construction… it is a progressive course, not an end to be reached.

Before I close of, I would like to share what I believe to be some of the common thread of successful people... power!!!

If you use it right, the ultimate power is the ability to produce results you desire most, and create value for others in the process.

Best regards

Mark von Rosing

Vor tids paradoks

Jeg ved ikke hvordan det går med jer, men nogle gange oplever man noget (nogle gang er det noget stort imens andre gange er det bare en lille ting), der for en til at stoppe alt det daglige man nu gør og man tænker lidt over nogle dybere liggende tanker, her af nogle af dem :

I dag har vi større huse og mindre familier.

Mere bekvemmelighed, men mindre tid.

Vi har højere uddannelse, men mindre sund fornuft.

Mere viden, men mindre dømmekraft.

Vi har flere eksperter, men flere problemer.

Mere medicin, men mindre velbefindende.

Vi mangedobler vore besiddelser, men reducerer vore værdier.

Vi taler for meget, elsker for lidt og lyver for ofte.

Vi har lært hvordan man lever, men ikke et liv.

Vi har tilføjet år til livet, men ikke liv til årene.

Vi har højere bygninger, men kortere temperament.

Vi har bredere motorveje, men snævrere synspunkter.

Vi forbruger mere, men har mindre.

Vi køber mere, nyder det mindre.

Vi har været hele vejen til månen og tilbage igen.

Men vi har svært ved at gå over gaden for at møde vore naboer.

Vi har besejret det ydre rum, men ikke det indre.

Vi har splittet atomet, men ikke vore fordomme.

Vi skriver mere, lærer mindre, -------------------- planlægger mere, men udretter mindre.

Vi har lært at haste, men ikke at vente.

Vi har højere indkomst, men mindre moral.

Vi bygger flere computere til at indeholde mere information og til at producere flere kopier - men vi har mindre kommunikation med hinanden

Vi går op i kvantitet, men mindre i kvalitet.

Dette er tiden for hurtig føde og langsom fordøjelse.

Mere fritid og mindre sjov ,,,,, flere slags føde ,,,,, men mindre næring.

To indkomster ,,,,, men flere skilsmisser.

Flottere huse ,,,, men brudte hjem.

Vi forbruger for ubekymret

Ler for lidt

Kører for hurtigt

Bli’r for vrede for hurtigt

Er oppe for sent

Læser for lidt

Ser for meget TV

Og meditere eller beder for sjældent (hvad man nu synes der kunne være bedst for en)

Er det ALT ikke bekymrende?

Sidste år, var jeg meget syg og der, besluttet jeg det, jeg vil foreslår jer; at fra i dag, gemmer i/du ikke noget til en særlig lejlighed, for hver dag i/du lever er en særlig lejlighed. Søg efter viden, læs mere, sid på terrassen og nyd udsigten uden at tænke på hvad du behøver. Brug mere tid med din familie og venner, spis din yndlingsret, sige det til dem du elsker. Det er ikke så lang tid siden jeg var hos min bror og han haft følgende mål sammen med som familie (the freaks) som der virkelig godt opsummere nogle af mine tanker (håber jeg husker dem rigtigt):

Vær taknemlig!

Vær smart!

Vær venlig!

Vær ren!

Vær ærlig!

Vær moralsk!

Vær positiv!

Vær ydmyg!

Vær stille!

Vær involveret!

Styr dit temperament, udbrud og dine emotioner!

Jeg har forandret en del i mit liv de sidste år, men mest min indstilling og så kan jeg fortælle dig er livet en kæde af øjeblikke af mere tilfredshed og glæde.

Hvis du synes det er nogle gode tanker, men du har for travlt til at tage dig tid til at sende dette link til nogen du holder af, og du siger til dig selv at du måske vil sende det “en af dagene “ tro mig så forstå du ikke hvad jeg ville sige med disse tanker (lille smil).

Nåååå, men jeg håber det gav dig noget at tænke over - Hilsen Mark

Origin of addiction - smoking, eating too much, alcohol or just watching TV

From so many in the training and coaching sessions I get asked about smoking and the fact that they would like to quit it. Therefore, I have been thinking a lot about starting a discussion topic on this subject. There can be a lot of reasons why you started smoking, maybe because it was "cool" or everyone around you was doing it, but doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that now you want or you think you should quit, but don't know how, or can't seem to do it. Why? Because smoking is both a physical and psychological addiction. Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible either.

 

You really can give up smoking. How can I be so sure? Well, just for a moment...consider these facts now and please really focus on them:

1. Already since 1972, over 80 million people in the USA alone have successfully given up smoking.

2. At one stage over 60% of the European adult population was addicted to this drug. Today it is 28% and dropping.....

3. If all these people can do it ( MILLIONS OF THEM!) - and they include EVERY TYPE of person imaginable - surely that is PROOF that IT IS POSSIBLE to successfully give up smoking. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, nearly half of all adult smokers have already quit.

4. We now know from the latest scientific research, that although nicotine is one of the world’s fastest acting drugs --- the actual PHYSICAL withdrawal pangs when you give up ARE SO MILD, YOU WILL HARDLY NOTICE THEM WHEN YOU STOP.

 

The problem

Most people believe that the biggest problem in giving up will be..." How will I handle those horrible withdrawal symptoms, when I stop? My life will be a misery!"

But at the end they don’t exist! So we should much rather look at which forms of addiction a smoker is confronted with:

 

Physical Addiction

When you puff on a cigarette, nicotine peaks in the bloodstream and enters the brain within seconds. Once in the brain, nicotine triggers a number of biochemical changes, including the release of adrenaline and dopamine. The stimulating effects of smoking, such as feeling more focused and alert, are caused by this shot of adrenaline. At the same time, the increase in dopamine—the brain’s “pleasure chemical”—creates a feeling of satisfaction and relaxation. But nicotine’s levels in the brain, as well as the pleasurable effects the drug causes, dissipate within a matter of minutes. This fuels the cycle of addiction, as you need another cigarette in order to keep feeling good.

If you stop smoking and break the cycle, you will experience a number of physical symptoms as your body withdraws from the drug. Nicotine withdrawal begins quickly, usually starting within thirty minutes to an hour of the last cigarette and peaking about 2 to 3 days later. Withdrawal symptoms can last for a few days to several weeks and differ from person to person. Common nicotine withdrawal symptoms include:

 

Psychological Addiction

In addition to being physically addicting, smoking is often psychologically addictive as well. If you’ve been smoking for any length of time, lighting up has become habitual and ingrained in your daily routine. It may be an automatic response for you to smoke a cigarette with your morning coffee, while taking a break from work or school, or during your commute home at the end of a long day. Perhaps friends, family members, and colleagues smoke, and it has become part of the way you relate with them.

 

Because of nicotine’s “feel good” effect on the brain, you may also have become accustomed to smoking as a way of coping with stress, depression, anxiety, or even boredom. In other words you are escaping reality, running away from your emotions. The difficult part about just quitting is that recent studies have linked smoking to anxiety disorders, suggesting the correlation (and possibly mechanism) may be related to the broad class of anxiety disorders, and not limited to just depression. Current ongoing research are attempting to explore the addiction-anxiety relationship. Here some facts:

• Data from multiple studies suggest that anxiety disorders such as depression play a role in cigarette smoking. A history of regular smoking was observed more frequently among individuals who had experienced a major depressive disorder at some time in their lives than among individuals who had never experienced major depression or among individuals with no psychiatric diagnosis.

• People with major depression are also much less likely to quit due to the increased risk of experiencing mild to severe states of depression, including a major depressive episode.

• Depressed smokers appear to experience more withdrawal symptoms on quitting, are less likely to be successful at quitting, and are more likely to relapse.

• Quitting smokking can cause a state of emptiness and depression

• Neurologically, rodent studies have found that nicotine administration through smoking causes lowering of reward thresholds--a finding opposite that of most other drugs of abuse (e.g. cocaine and heroin). This increase in reward circuit sensitivity persisted months after the self-administration ended (smoking), suggesting that nicotine's alteration of brain reward function will therefore lead to a lack of “feeling happy, satisfied and in some cases a lack of focus” for a long lasting period.

Which means it is actually an evil circle, If you’ve therefore been using cigarettes to regulate your emotions and maintain a steady “good feeling”, giving up smoking may be particularly difficult. In order to successfully do so, you will need to be honest with yourself in exploring and understanding your motives for smoking (where and when do you escape from stress, run away from depression, anxiety, boredom or just dope yourself to feel better) so that you can create an effective plan that incorporates alternative coping strategies.