“Dear Carolyn, just a quick email to let you know that one month on from our appointment I am still a non-smoker and have no intention of ever starting again. I cannot thank you enough, it’s been life changing.”
One of the reasons I enjoy helping people to stop smoking is that it is such a life changing event. Apart from the obvious health benefits, when we take control of the smoking habit we automatically have more control in other emotional areas of our lives. It’s no coincidence that people who give up smoking feel more confident, have higher self-esteem and more self-respect.
If you have tried to quit smoking you can probably think of many reasons that you should stop, yet something just keeps making you continue. Those emotional cravings happen, not because nicotine is particularly addictive, but because the smoking habit exists within your subconscious mind. The physical addictive aspect of nicotine is just 5 to 10%; the rest is all in the mind and the mind can be re-educated.
Hypnotherapy has a high success rate with smoking cessation and has been shown through research to be three times more effective than nicotine patches. By using hypnosis as a tool we can enable the subconscious mind to absorb suggestions about the health risks, costs and unpleasantness of smoking as well as all the personal benefits to you of being a non-smoker. The therapy helps people to use their imagination to create a non-smoking future which feels very positive and empowering.
It is a commonly held belief that smoking is “good for stress” and “helps me to relax”. Unfortunately, the subconscious mind has got it wrong. Smoking is actually one of the major causes of stress and anxiety. Nicotine creates an immediate sense of relaxation so people smoke in the belief that it reduces anxiety and tension. This feeling of relaxation is very short lived however. It soon gives way to withdrawal symptoms that are very similar to the symptoms of stress and anxiety. Smoking the next cigarette relieves the withdrawal symptoms, but it does not reduce stress or deal with the underlying causes. Hypnotherapy helps people to adopt other healthier behaviours that activate the same reward system in the brain, stimulating levels of serotonin, the mood enhancing chemical. This, along with listening to the hypnosis track provided, helps to counter stress and aids relaxation.
Through hypnotherapy and the power of hypnosis stopping smoking becomes the positive and definite choice, allowing you to take back control, not only of your smoking habit, but of your life.
If you feel ready to quit and would like some help, call 07514 931 096 or email me using the contact form.
Stopping smoking could be far easier than you think!