A Monthly Publication

By David Woolley

DipCAH, HPD, MPNLP, CertSCS, MNCH (Reg), MNGH

Certified Smoking Cessation Specialist.

If you are reading this article now, chances are you are either a smoker who wants to quit or know someone who is.  The truth is the vast majority of smokers do want to quit.  The intent of this article is to highlight why many people either fail in their attempts or are too scared to try.  It is also my intent to give you personally, a little help in quitting the habit and enjoying all of the benefits of being free from the burden of smoking.

Whilst in some ways it’s unfair to generalise, from my experience most smokers fail for one (or a combination) of 3 reasons:

1. They are trying to quit for someone else.  Maybe their children have been nagging them or maybe their GP has told them they must stop.  On some level we all resent being told what to do and tend to do the opposite as a result, even if it harms us to do so.

2. Fear of failure.  Maybe they think it will be too hard or their “addiction” is too great and they don’t have the belief that they can achieve it.

3. Fear of the consequences.  Some people think they will be isolated from their group of smoker friends, will lose the 5 minute breaks they currently have as a smoker or think they will gain weight (Quitting smoking does NOT mean you have to gain weight by the way).

So what should you do if you want to quit? The key then, is to make quitting as compelling as possible.  Note on one side, all of the benefits you will receive as a non smoker.  The extra money, the health and vitality, the confidence through achieving something worthwhile and so on.  On the other side, note all of the negative consequences of remaining a non smoker.  The feeling of being controlled by your habit, yellow teeth and rotten gums, premature death and so on.  Not a difficult decision is it?!

Next, deal with the concerns you may have about quitting.  Understand that many people gain weight as a result of quitting because they substitute the cigarettes for food.  With hypnosis you don’t have to, you have a choice.  Realise as well that you can still take that 5 minute break to relax.  Nicotine is a stimulant so is in no way relaxing.  What is relaxing about smoking is taking 5 minutes to stop and take a few deep breaths.  You can still do this, just without inhaling poison.  I could continue but you get the idea don’t you?

So where does hypnosis come in?   Hypnosis has been found to be 3 times more effective than nicotine replacement.* Hypnosis is a simple, safe and relaxing process that will enable your mind to understand that you are a non smoker and to help you act as such.  It will allow you to have greater influence over your habits and behaviours to make achieving your goal easier than you might imagine.

If you would like more information about quitting smoking with hypnosis contact David on 0845 603 4421, email CLOAKING or visit www.hypnopro.co.uk

*New Scientist Vol 136 issue 1845 p6.