Stop Smoking with Hypnosis
By: Kevin Linehan
Why is it that so many attempts to quit smoking fail? Many people take a look at the logical reasons to quit smoking, the health issues, the cost, the smell, and the fact that it is less and less accepted each year and then use will power to try and stop. The real problem is that you started smoking after having made an emotional decision. Perhaps you were trying to look older, fit in with the gang, to feel “cool”. Since it was an emotional decision to start smoking it will require an emotional decision to stop. No one can make you stop smoking. Only you know when the time is right. When the time is right not only will you quit but also you will be amazed at how easy it turned out to be.
Easy? How can it be easy? Each time I’ve tried to quit in the past I was miserable and I made those around me miserable too. Using will power to quit smoking causes you to focus on what you are missing; no one really wants to give up anything yet you are forcing yourself to do just that. After just three days your body will have removed all of the toxins due to smoking. After the effects are gone it should be easy but you are still thinking about what you are missing, having that next cigarette. If you focus on the benefits you will get as you stop smoking your entire focus has changed, you are now thinking of what can be gained. So why not focus on the benefits instead? Here is how you can do that.
· Make a list of your personal benefits. Some folks may require only one, for example, a woman upon finding out she is pregnant may decide that the benefit of a healthy child far outweighs the need to smoke. Others may fill a page with health benefits, monetary benefits, social benefits, looking smelling and feeling better etc.
· Keep in mind that you really don’t gain anything from smoking. If you never had a cigarette you would not want one, you’ll be back in that mindset soon after you quit for good. Some people have their own reasons to keep smoking such as it relaxes me. In reality it is the associations, the ability to take a break and go outside for a few minutes, which is important.
· Commit 100% to quitting. Don’t “try”, try means failure. Take a look at anything you wanted to accomplish in the past, you either succeeded or you tried and failed. Once you have committed 100% you will succeed.
· Use your imagination. Think about how you will look and feel 1 year into the future. You breathe easily, you look healthier, you look cleaner, your finances have improved and you feel pride at having accomplished what you have set out to do. You’re in control not the cigarettes.
Hypnotherapy can help you become a non-smoker in a number of ways. Keep in mind that without your personal desire and commitment to become a non-smoker it is no more effective than any other method.
· Direct suggestions to help relieve the anxiety related to the cleansing your body goes through in the first three days.
· Breaking your personal associations to cigarettes. Some people associate coffee, driving in the car, after a meal, breaks etc. with having a cigarette. A healthier response can then be associated to those things such as taking a deep breath or a sip of water. Using hypnotic techniques these new and healthy associations can be made automatic.
· Helping you to imagine yourself in the future. Involving all of the senses the hypnotist can paint a scene in general while you use your imagination to fill in all of the details. You’ll easily imagine yourself as a non-smoker having achieved all of the benefits that are on your list.
· Using hypnosis to recall and reframe the thoughts you had at the time of your first cigarette. As an example a thirteen year old that wanted to look older (back then looking older was a good thing!) may have thought smoking was a good way to do that. This experience can be reframed so that the subconscious mind recognizes that looking older is no longer desired.
Each person has their own reasons to smoke and will eventually come up with enough reasons to actually stop smoking. Why not now? Good luck, as you become a non-smoker on your own, or come in and talk to us about how we can help you get control of your life once again.
We offer a free consultation to anyone that is considering the use of hypnosis to create a positive change in his or her life. There is no obligation and it takes 20-30 minutes of your time. Is it time for you to make that lifestyle change that leads to health?
Self-hypnosis classes are held monthly, contact Kevin or Christine at OnTrac Hypnotherapy Inc. at 603.362.8868 or email ontrachypnosis@aol.com. We also offer hypnosis CD’s for Weight Loss, Stress Management, Smoking Cessation and Golf Score Improvement.
Is there anything related to hypnosis that you would like to know more about? Feel free to give me a call; I’ll be happy to address your question in a future article.
