Hypnotherapy can be a great way to quit smoking and can easily be achieved by most people in a single Hypnotherapy session.
Kick the habit
The therapist will generally really want to understand your smoking habit which means understanding what it means to you, when you do it, when you don’t do it, and what you’ve tried in the past to quit. The fact that a large part of a hypnotherapy quit smoking session is understanding the habit and talking through your ‘triggers’ for smoking. It is also really important to understand how you will be in life when you’ve stopped smoking and when you are a non-smoker.
How do cigarettes actually work?
Many people don’t really understand how nicotine really works, how addictive it is, how it relieves stress etc. The reality is often very different, giving up can be easy, a great deal of our smoking habit is just that, ‘a habit’ rather than just addiction.
For example:
I smoke after each meal.
I smoke to have a break at work.
I smoke when the kids are stressing me out
I smoke when I’m bored.
I smoke with a coffee/beer.
Many cigarettes are not even wanted.
How does Hypnotherapy work?
Hypnotherapy challenges misconceptions about the bad side of giving up that we have heard about such as anger, weight gain, boredom, relaxation time. For each individual, these are all different and many are just simply not factual or true. Hypnotherapy looks at cutting the habit off completely.
The talking part of the therapy is just as important as the hypnosis itself. It gets your mind ready to quit before the hypnosis even starts. There are a number of facts about smoking that can explained and this alone can help someone to stop smoking.
Understanding our minds
Understanding how the mind works, and why we smoke is also a great way to regain control of smoking. Recognising that when we are operating well from the prefrontal cortex, anything that we decide to do is achievable, which includes giving up smoking.
As we move away from that more pattern led part of the mind, that just follows the same habits and behaviours day in and day out because ‘that’s just what it does’ giving up smoking becomes easier.
Different hypnotherapists will use hypnosis in different ways to achieve the end results, and lots of imagery and metaphor as well as positive direct and indirect suggestion is likely to be included, giving you the confidence and belief in yourself to be able to say with conviction when you leave the session ‘I don't smoke’.
Hopefully you leave the session feeling motivated, in control and with a feeling of freedom and positivity about your smoke-free future.
The big question. Does it work?
There have been various studies that found that hypnosis may help quitters to focus on their own resources to help them to curb their cravings. Other studies have suggested that it is more due to the state of focused attention attained during hypnosis. The relaxation effect that many gain from hypnosis helps to better cope with nicotine addiction and withdrawal. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to resist cravings.
The only word of caution to add is that the Client has to really want to stop smoking. A hypnotherapist can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. If you feel undecided or doubtful in any way, then you may need to wait until you are sure. The easiest way to find out is to talk to your hypnotherapist and ask them the way forward for you.
Finally, no therapist can give you a 100% guarantee that you will quit, but they will give you all the tools you need to succeed and kick the habit. Get in touch to find out about our Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy sessions at Natural Minds