Using Hypnotherapy To Stop Smoking

Smoking is a terrible habit to have and an even harder one to break.  Since cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug, people have a difficult time quitting even if they have a desire to do so.  There are a number of methods out there to help people stop smoking, some more effective than others.  A smoker can just try to stop cold turkey, without gradually reducing the amount of nicotine intake.  Newer methods of quitting involve the use of nicotine patches or chewing gum.  Due to the addictive nature of the drug, when someone goes without it, they will experience withdrawal symptoms.  The patches help ease someone off the drug, without them experiencing those symptoms.  Another method that can be used is hypnosis.

Stop smoking hypnosis will only work if the smoker really has the urge to quit.  While undergoing a hypnotic session, the patient is put into a relaxed state of mind through the use of coached mental images and repeated words and sounds.  In this type of relaxed mental state, the patient will be more open to suggestions.  This is why hypnosis is used to change any number of behaviours that people want fix.  The hypnotist can establish ideas dealing with smoking, such as the health benefits of quitting, how the person will look and smell better, and how much money they can save if they quit.

The practice of hypnosis has been around for a few hundred years, and yet, scientists and researchers still cannot come up with the complete details for how and why it works.  Psychiatrists, who use the practice in their line of work, have a grasp on the basics of what is happening during a treatment session.  A hypnotic state can best be compared to being in a trance, where the patience is relaxed and has an increased sense of imagination, thus allowing them to be likely to listen to suggestions.  This is how the practice can be used to help someone stop smoking.

Being under hypnosis is not the same thing as sleep, as the person is still alert the whole time.  Perhaps it would be better to compare it to someone daydreaming or how someone feels when they become “lost” in a novel or a movie.  The person is still conscious but they can block out all the noise and everything else surrounding them, letting them concentrate more attentively on suggestions that are made.  This is why hypnosis is used in changing people’s behaviour, like getting them to stop smoking.

Tom Smith common name, uncommon therapy