It can be emotionally difficult to prepare yourself for a life without cigarettes. Smokers sometimes continue smoking partly out of fear of the withdrawal symptoms. Cigarettes provide emotional release for many people, so it can be difficult to psych yourself to quit smoking.

Other people worry about some of the other consequences to giving up tobacco, such as weight gain. Seasoned smokers may also worry that they've already damaged their health to such an extent that they feel discouraged about quitting. Motivating yourself to quit cigarettes should involve framing the situation in just the right way.

For one thing, it is never too late to quit. The body is excellent at healing itself: after only twelve hours without a cigarette, smokers' blood levels of oxygen return to healthy levels and the risk of heart attack is significantly reduced. Within a year of not smoking, ex-smokers have half the risk of stroke, heart disease, heart attack and lung cancer they did as smokers.

One way to psych yourself is remembering just how much is still within your control, and how much you can fix. The younger you start quitting cigarettes, the more likely your body is to heal the damage. Concentrating on the benefits of quitting can help psych yourself out to stop smoking tobacco, as can trying to reduce your anxiety about the consequences.

The cravings during the quitting process get easier every day you abstain from cigarettes. Within two weeks to a month, most of the withdrawal symptoms, like anxiety and depression, are gone.

It is easier to psych yourself to quit smoking when remembering that at any given point, you may be only a month away from meeting most of your goals.

People may fear the weight gain associated with smoking, but it's usually only ten pounds: less than most freshman college students during their first year.

Thinking of the amount of money you'll save in just a few weeks can also help motivate you to quit, since the financial benefits of such decisions can be less emotionally charged than the health-related ones.

Family members and friends will probably be ready with emotional support for loved ones who want to stop smoking. They'll also be supportive and congratulatory once their loved ones succeed. Quitting smoking is a very rewarding process, and you can motivate yourself to quit by focusing on all the ways your life will improve even in the short-term.