Quit Smoking Through Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy

Can one successfully quit smoking through hypnosis or hypnotherapy?

The smoking habit can be counted among one of the most difficult habits to break. Nicotine powerfully stimulates the nervous system and can be highly addicting. Many individuals, desperate to break this highly addictive and health damaging habit, try various techniques repeatedly and unsuccessfully - everything from the patch to nicotine gum or even expensive new medications.

In fact, statistics show that the average smoker finally manages to quit on the seventh try. Only 20% of people quit for reasons other than concern for their health. Everyone else worries that the habit that they seem to enjoy will one day cut their life short. Once an individual becomes addicted to nicotine, the habit becomes that much more difficult to break.

Will trying to quit smoking through hypnosis be useful? Hypnotherapy provides some techniques that have proven successful for many people, including those that have nicotine addition. Hypnosis, a specific mental state of acute alertness, focus, and concentration, can either be induced by suggestion (as by a therapist), or by certain cues that the individual have trained themselves to receive (self-hypnosis).

When applied to the goal of smoking cessation, hypnotherapy allows the patient to go into a light trance so that he or she can remain receptive to suggestions to quit smoking, and so that the desire or urge to smoke can be effectively replaced with other thoughts and suggestions. In sum, the power of the mind can control the urges of the body; this is key to help quit smoking through hypnosis.

Consistent therapy should eliminate the cravings that most often cause a person to relapse into smoking. While in the trance state, suggestions such as “you will have no desire, no urge for a cigarette,” or “you will be unable to buy a carton of cigarettes,” are repeated and cemented into the subconscious mind. Once implanted on this deep level, these thoughts and suggestions can be easily recalled, often at a critical time such as the onset of a craving. This then lessens the likelihood of succumbing to a craving. For some people, cravings can be eliminated altogether.

Trying to quit smoking through hypnosis, though effective for many in the short term, should be combined with other natural techniques to ensure that the smoking habit can be broken for the long term. When selecting a hypnotherapist to help you quit smoking through hypnosis, as when selecting any other professional, try to obtain references from friends or from personal doctors.

The number of sessions needed will vary from person to person. Some people have reported quitting after only one session. Some hyponotherapists conduct sessions on a one-to-one basis, while others will have group sessions (which should generally be more cost-effective).

As smoking can be such a detrimental habit for one’s health, as well as the health of those around you due to the effects of second hand smoke, experimenting with a session should be worth the investment. Hypnosis has many positive points – no medications, the possibility of requiring only one visit, and the promise of a quick fix especially for people who feel their inability to quit stems from lack of willpower.

However, as with most professional therapies, trying to quit smoking through hypnosis can be somewhat expensive, and may not fully address all the issues related to nicotine addiction. Ideally, many experts recommend that hypnosis be used in conjunction with methods such as gradually cutting back, keeping a journal (to learn when and why cravings are triggered so as to better manage them in the future), using the patch or nicotine gum, acupuncture, or aversion techniques that build an intolerance to the habit over time.

Does hypnosis really work? Click here to learn about how hypnosis could help you overcome anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, impotence, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, smoking, stress, weight issues and more. In addition, you can access more resources on how you can improve your life and your health through hypnosis by clicking here.

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