Stop Smoking

 

People tend to smoke because of the belief systems (or narratives) that they have built up around the habit over time; that it helps calm them down, it gives them something to do with their hands or it helps them digest a meal. Often these belief systems are so deep rooted that they go unchallenged by our conscious brains and allow us to carry on smoking. This is why hypnotherapy can help as it works with our thinking patterns at a much deeper level.

 

One of the stories I hear many a time in my clinic is that ‘my Uncle Bob smoked 50 a day since he was 13 and lived until he was 90.’ Smokers will clutch onto stories like so as to convince themselves that the harmful effects of cigarettes are false and overblown.

 

This would also suggest, however, that the main incentive to giving up smoking is about mortality. Though the links with COPD and Lung Cancer are undeniable, the consequences of smoking stretch out much further than life versus death.

 

If mortality isn’t a big enough incentive – try looking at some of these:

 

For the body

 

Cigarettes actually contain 30 different chemicals that actively cause cancer. The chemicals can also give rise to poor circulation and cold hands and feet.

 

Death rates

 

Every hour in the UK, 14 people die from smoking related causes. This is six times higher than the total deaths from car accidents, murder, manslaughter, poisoning and HIV combined. The BMA reports that 16% of all deaths are related to smoking

 

For the Lungs

 

As well as the links to lung cancer, smoking can cause and exacerbate asthma.

 

For the Heart

 

Smoking is one of the primary causes of the hardening of the arteries – this is known as COPD which is evident in 20% of smokers. About 26,000 people die of COPD each year and death is usually drawn out and painful.

 

For Reproduction

 

Smoking can cause infertility. It is thought that infertility can also be passed down to the children of smokers as well. In men, smoking over a long time can lead to impotence and erectile dysfunction. The BMA estimates that 120,000 are impotent through smoking. Smoking can lower sperm count and sperm mobility.

 

For the ego

 

As blood vessels are constricted through smoking, smokers become very pale and ‘grey’ looking. The chemicals in cigarettes also destroy blood vitamins (particularly C and A, both vital for healthy skin). Smoking can also give eyes a more bloodshot look as well as causing premature wrinkling, especially around the lips and eyes. Circulation issues can also affect gums with many smokers losing their teeth in middle to old age.

 

For the Mind

 

Smoking is linked to many psychiatric diagnosis such as anxiety and depression, agoraphobia, panic disorders and dementia.

 

Hypnotherapy can be a positive and powerful way of giving up smoking. The treatment is quick at only one two hour session.

Click here to book your session

Click here to find out more about why you should choose hypnotherapy to stop smoking

 

This has been by far my best Stoptober to date. I have had to open my Crawley clinic an extra three Sundays to manage the demand for smoking cessation therapy. Well done to all the now non-smokers who committed and broke the habit. The health benefits are very obvious but you are also about to find a sense of freedom that you haven’t had for years. You are no longer a slave to the habit and are going to find out so much about yourself now that you no longer hide behind a puff of smoke. Hypnotherapy seems to be able to help both the ‘sixty-a-dayers’ and the ‘causal weekenders.’ It truly is a remarkable process.

For those of you still on the fence or, for whom cold turkey is just too painful, there is still time left. And if you need any more convincing just imagine this…

The short term effects of giving up happen within hours. Your blood pressure returns to normal, nerve endings regrow and the carbon monoxide levels in your body return to normal.  Within weeks your smell and taste return and breathing can increase by up to one third. Coughs go, gravely voices soften and your energy returns.

Within two to five years you’re really gaining momentum. Excess risk of heart disease is halved as is the lung cancer death rate for the average non -smoker.

Depending on the severity of your habit, you can be a fit and healthy as a non-smoker in ten to fifteen years. If you are middle aged that means you can look forward to a happy and healthy old age…

No more ageing of skin… No stinking clothes, more money, more vitality, no guilt… No formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, ammonia, nicotine… happier relatives… better mental health… Man – the person who invented smoking must have been a real villain!

Keep on trying and happy Stoptober.

Click here to find out more about quitting smoking with hypnotherapy

Click here to book your Stop Smoking session

You don’t have to look far, nowadays, to learn the benefits of quitting smoking – you can exercise harder, have more energy, less guilt, smell better, have more money, less paranoia, increased lung function… the list goes on and on… Not to mention the dramatic statistical decrease in your chances of getting lung cancer or heart disease.

Despite these overwhelming motivations, many people still struggle to kick the habit and will try numerous methods to quit. Often hypnotherapy is the lowest on the list as people see it as a form of ‘magic.’ But here are ten incredible reasons why hypnotherapy remains the best choice for stopping smoking –

1)      It is the quick and efficient – Whereas nicotine replacement patches can take weeks and months to slowly wean you off the habit, hypnotherapy is powerful and instant. In fact, the full treatment is only a relaxing 2 hours long – you come in a smoker and leave a non-smoker.

2)      It has the excellent success rates – Just 9 years ago the Which? report concluded that of all the methods used to stop smoking, hypnotherapy is the most successful.

3)      You can have very few cravings – Most people who have given up through hypnotherapy would conclude that the reason it was so effective was because they didn’t crave cigarettes. People are astounded that, after years of being trapped in a craving cycle, their bodies can so easily go without. Most of my clients report little or no cravings whatsoever!

4)      The relapse rates are low – In research conducted by the hypnotherapists in Clifton Practice in 2003, participants were given the opportunity of a ‘free top up’ if the quit smoking hypnotherapy they were given was unsuccessful. After six months only 8.3% of clients returned for this offer suggesting that relapse rates for this form of hypnotherapy were under 10%.

5)      It is cost effective – Although there is an initial outlay, other forms of stop smoking therapy, such as nicotine replacement patches, will spread a much greater cost over a longer period of time. Often nicotine patches can be around £20 for a week’s supply and this cost can skyrocket if a client is on them for extended periods of time.

6)      It deals with the actual problem – Most nicotine replacement therapies help you quit by gradually reducing the nicotine intake but this is not the route of the problem. Addiction happens in the limbic system of the brain so when we intellectualise the habit most people reject it at a deep level. Other therapies rarely deal with why we smoke and, therefore, never break the cognitive association between pleasure and smoking.

7)      It is incredibly pleasant – Nicotine replacement is a slow process, cold turkey is hard… Hypnotherapy, on the other hand is a process that promotes positivity, relaxation and creativity. Quitting has never been so soothing!

8)      It is based upon science – Hypnotherapy is often misjudged by people that have seen various stage hypnotists performing entertaining routines. The success of hypnotherapy is actually based in pure science rather than faith – once you understand how our brains are wired to want cigarettes it is easy to understand how we can ‘re-wire’ under hypnosis. All my sessions come with a discussion about the neuroscience of smoking… and you will be astounded at how it works.

9)      You are not alone – Most stop smoking therapies can be brought over the counter in a chemist. There is little interaction with others and ‘going it alone’ often leads to failure. When working with a hypnotherapist you have someone ‘on your side’ who truly understands the nature of addiction and how best to support you in giving up

10)   There are other benefits too – When we work together using trance we achieve so much. The focus of stop smoking hypnotherapy will, at the same time as helping you quit the habit, address a number of other important feelings, with many clients reporting increased confidence, self-esteem and happiness after treatment. *

To book your Stop Smoking session click here to contact Paul or call him on 07780 843817

 

**Disclaimer: Please be advised that there is no guarantee of specific results and that results can vary from person to person