Smoking is one of the most difficult vice to let go. It is because it is difficult to drop the habit that techniques and devices were created to help smokers in their fight to become smoke-free. It includes the use of smoking aids like: nicotine patches, artificial cigarettes, nicotine gums that help smokers get through nicotine cravings. Some techniques use the help of relaxation exercises like deep-breathing exercises or yoga to help calm a person down during moments of restlessness when withdrawal symptoms attack. And some people find it easy to just undergo hypnosis to get rid of their smoking habits. But how does hypnosis help in the fight to stop smoking?
Hypnosis isn’t just a simple technique wherein a trained professional embeds thoughts into your mind and you’ll wake up wanting to do what they tell you. It also involves positive affirmations and suggestions to back you up on your chosen cause. Hypnotherapy has a particularly high success rate in helping smokers fully quit, making it one of the most commonly sought out treatments for quitting smoking. It is also partly because, instead of focusing on the negative aspects of smoking, it informs the smoker of the positive effects they can enjoy if they stop smoking.
Usually people who use the natural method of quitting smoking complain about the most crucial part of the process, this is the time when withdrawal symptoms start kicking in. These withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, dry mouth, nicotine craving, quitter’s flu, irritability, fatigue, an inability to concentrate, constipation, and a feeling of tightness in the chest. These symptoms are largely a result of powerful conditioned responses. With hypnotherapy as a means to quit smoking, you can do away with the hassles of experiencing these withdrawal symptoms. With hypnosis, we reinforce these conditioned responses with positive thoughts. This means creating new conditioned responses to override those that think you will fail to stop smoking.
Here is an easy and simple way to get yourself started in stopping smoking for good: make a list of all the benefits you can enjoy from being a non-smoker. Close your eyes and imagine your future self where you are no longer a smoker. Let your future self think back on the time line and remember how quick and easy it was for you to stop smoking. Reflect on the wonderful feeling you felt when you realized the one day you’ve let go of the desire to smoke and stopped giving it any thought. Think of how proud you will feel the next time somebody offers you a light and you were able to successfully refuse. Enjoy that freedom and bring it back with you to your present self. To create an anchor for this feeling, press your thumb and forefinger together on your right hand and hold it for about thirty seconds.
After having anchored that new, powerful condition response follow these steps when you feel a craving to have the treatment work more effectively:
1. Take three deep breaths, hold each breath for at least eight counts, and then exhale fully.
2. Drink a large glass of water all at once.
3. Use the anchor you’ve created and have a nice, long moment of peace and quiet.
4. Eat an orange. Oranges have bioflavinoids that combat cravings. The act of peeling an orange also gives your hands something to do, and the smell of the orange is a lot better than that of cigarette.
Hypnosis is more than what we see in television shows or movies. In fact, you cannot make people do anything using hypnosis. The truth is, if someone doesn’t want to stop smoking, they will be even more definite about that during hypnosis sessions! People can always lie during hypnosis sessions, the effectivity of this treatment only depends on a person’s willingness to let go of this habit and finally stop smoking.
