- With Mayo Clinic behavioral counselor
Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
Jennifer Kern is a tobacco treatment specialist, certified through the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center.
Her counseling work addresses various aspects of tobacco addiction, including the love-hate relationship many tobacco users have with their smoking or chewing, education about nicotine addiction, and effective strategies to help with quitting.
In addition, she explores the importance of getting emotional and social support when stopping tobacco use, and offers ideas and suggestions about how to ask for and give this support.
Being bilingual, she enjoys counseling in both Spanish and English. She holds a master's degree in psychology, with interests including spirituality, psychosomatic illness, depression and anxiety, maladaptive coping behaviors, and overall health behavior change.
"As a former smoker, I am personally familiar with the complexity of dealing with the 'tobacco shackles,' " she said. "I am committed to helping others conquer this addiction so they may regain their freedom and possibly even save their own lives."
Latest entries
- Focus on gratitude, not craving a cigarette
Nov. 24, 2009
- Join the Great American Smokeout
Nov. 17, 2009
- Preparation key to quitting smoking
Nov. 5, 2009
- Learning to be a non-smoker
Oct. 23, 2009
- Build confidence in effort to go smoke-free
Oct. 16, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Quit smoking blog
-
Aug. 16, 2008
Moving through ambivalence is a key step in quitting
By Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
Any cartoon lovers out there? It may have been a while since you last watched them, but do you remember what sometimes happened when the main character was faced with a dilemma? All of a sudden there would be a "poof" over each shoulder — an angel would appear hovering on one side while a devil would be perched on the other, each arguing their case. The character would listen to the angel and agree, then listen to the devil and see his point as well — neither of which resolved the character's problem. That's a great visual depiction of something many tobacco users experience, called ambivalence.
Ambivalence is a state of internal conflict — different parts of the self are battling with each other about what they want and what is important. However, these things may not be compatible with each other; satisfying both what you desire and what you value cannot necessarily be accomplished from one single choice or action.
Ambivalence acts as a sort of immobilizer, keeping us frozen in a given state. We can see the pros and the cons of each choice, but cannot seem to take any action in one direction or the other. I think that most smokers live in this place for a long time, wrestling between what they enjoy about smoking and the intellectual knowledge regarding the consequences of continuing to use tobacco products.
When looking at any kind of lifestyle change, it is important to resolve the ambivalence that is an inevitable part of the journey. One way to start is by making a list of the good things as well as the not-so-good things of both smoking and of quitting. For example, a lot of people feel like smoking helps them relax, but they do not like the smell. To the same effect, they want to quit so they can feel better, but they are concerned about withdrawal.
Creating your own list like this can help you get in touch with where you are along the continuum of change. It'll help you identify how ready you are to start making new and different choices. Going through this process can bring to light any underlying issues you may need to address in order to move forward with stopping tobacco use.
Remember, it's normal to have ambivalence when you consider quitting smoking. Taking time to clearly identify how you feel about each course of action is one way you can work through ambivalence in order to resolve your dilemma and start moving forward in the direction you most want to go. What are some ways you've done this in other areas of your life?
36 comments posted