Without a doubt one of the most popular reasons that someone gives for trying hypnosis is to help them quit smoking. By the time they are sitting in the office of a hypnotist who is trained in quit smoking hypnotherapy, they have usually exhausted all options in their quest and are really prepared to try anything having given up on using their willpower alone to stop.
Now many people view hypnosis as a bit of a con and cannot really see any value in using hypnosis to stop smoking. On the other hand those who have successfully undergone some form of hypnosis program know it works and also know the challenges they faced when trying to quit on their own. As strange as it sounds hypnosis is without a doubt the most popular of the non-drug based quit smoking programs.
And it could not have gained such a following if there was not something of value in the process. It is still an unfortunate fact that even in this day and age many people see hypnosis as nothing more than making seemingly normal people bark like dogs. They forget that hypnosis is often used in medical and dental procedures and is often a major part of counseling and psychotherapy.
Barking like a dog does not really have much to offer someone who is looking to hypnosis to help them stop smoking and so obviously has no place in a clinical hypnotherapy setting where the client is seeking help.
So how exactly does hypnosis work to help someone quit smoking ? Hypnosis is nothing more or less than the power of imagination and suggestion. A skilled hypnotist can quickly and easily put someone into an hypnotic trance state where they have an increased ability to imagine more vividly the suggestions that the hypno-therapist is giving them. Not only is there imagination more vivid the suggestions they are given, in this case suggestions in relation to stopping smoking, are accepted without judgment or evaluation and most importantly acted upon.
A typical quit smoking hypnosis session begins with a discussion about what hypnosis is and specifically how hypnosis can help. A detailed case history is then taken where the specific details of the clients life in relation to smoking are taken. This part of the quit smoking hypnotherapy session is all about putting the person at ease making sure they understand what will happen during the session and help both the hypno-therapist as well as the person about to be hypnotized understand a little more about their smoking problem
Once the preliminaries have been taken care of the hypnosis can start. There are a variety of ways that hypnosis can be used to help someone stop smoking. In days past the preferred method was aversion therapy.
With aversion therapy the hypnotist gives the client suggestions that will make them feel sick about their smoking. All kinds of disgusting and vivid images and scenes are created that can quite easily make the person being hypnotized quite ill whenever they even think of smoking. While aversion therapy can be a very effective method , problems can occur when a person who has undergone aversion therapy encounters cigarette smoke out in their day to day life.
Today aversion therapy is often used as a tool of last resort if other techniques have not worked. Most quit smoking programs that utilize hypnosis have some form of modified aversion therapy as part of the program. The reason why is because aversion techniques work very effectively, its just that the hypno-therapist and the client need to be aware of possible consequences when using this stop smoking technique.
These days a more ecological approach is typically used where positive suggestions in relation to health and being healthy are used to move the person wanting to stop smoking towards something compelling and highly desirable. Fresh breath, more energy, greater feelings of wellbeing, being fit enough to keep up with the kids could be some positive suggestions used in a quit smoking hypnosis session.
Many quit smoking hypnosis programs will claim to be able to help you stop smoking in a single session. And for many this will be the case. However you must remember that everyone is different and if your first session did not give you the result you were looking for it does not mean that hypnosis cannot help you it may simply mean that you need a few more sessions. Many programs offer a course of treatment over a period of time 3-4 sessions over a couple of weeks for example. You may find that this style of treatment is more to your liking
When looking at any quite smoking program do your research and find an approach that works for you. Quitting smoking is probably one of the most powerful things you can do to dramatically improve the quality or your life now and well into the future.
If you have reached the point of almost giving up hope of quitting on your own you might want to give some serious thought to signing up for a course of quit smoking hypnotherapy. You have got nothing to lose apart from your smoking habit and a lot to gain in a life time of improved health and wellbeing.
