Hypnozine | Hypnosis Magazine Articles by Hypnotherapists Worldwide
As hypnosis has been found to be a powerful form of therapy, helping people to make desired changes in their lives, there has been much interest in its ability to aid in the smoking cessation process. Many people looking to abandon their bad habits are asking the question, “Can I stop smoking with hypnosis?”
Over the years, there has been much research on this topic, and many studies have indicated that hypnosis can actually aid in the smoking cessation process. A study showed that patients who received hypnotherapy treatments were two to three times more likely to remain abstinent compared to those placed in the Nicotine Replacement Therapy group and the “cold turkey” control group at the 26 week point. Other studies and research have also shown its effectiveness compared with other methods of intervention such as aversion therapy, nicotine replacement, and without any outside assistance.
While there are many people who wish to put an end to their smoking habit, they often struggle in the process without the use of hypnotherapy. Often times, people will assume that hypnosis is simply a party or stage trick with no value as a form of treatment, however, it is a technique that has been used therapeutic tool with a history of use dating as far back as Ancient Egypt and India, although it has seen more use in psychoanalysis in the past couple hundred years. As hypnotherapy is a powerful tool able to help change people’s’ patterns of thinking, behaviors, and habits, its effects can help to reinforce your desire to quit smoking.
In using hypnosis to battle your smoking habit, the process generally focuses around three crucial ideas:
- Smoking cigarettes poisons your body
- Your body is needed to live
- Your body should be respected and protected
These ideas are presented to the client, often with vivid imagery of the negative health risks associated with smoking. Hypnotherapy reinforces these ideas with their associated outcomes to prevent this behavior. In helping hypnosis clients overcome their smoking habits, the hypnotherapist usually has an initial meeting to learn about their smoking history and behavior, which will help the hypnotherapist use to create a customized program for the client’s specific goals, which will include a single session (or multiple sessions in some cases) and a follow up session, provided with personalized recordings to listen to at home.
It is common to see many hypnosis clients diffuse the triggers that had once given them the urge to smoke, and many are now living smoke-free lives. Using hypnosis to quit smoking has been found in many studies to be more effective than simply using nicotine replacements or cold turkey methods and should be considered by those looking for a treatment method to stop smoking.
