Do you need a Stop Smoking Hypnotherapist?

Four Common Blocks to Quitting Smoking for Good

I have helped many people to quit smoking and had a lot of success...but along the way I’ve met my fair share of challenges and obstacles that I’d like to share with you. Have a look at these common blocks to success and see if any of them ring true for you:

ONE: I don’t Really WANT to give up

Can you imagine the reaction I get from potential clients who contact me looking for a stop smoking hypnotherapist when I ask them if they truly WANT to give up? I’ll give you an idea: “What sort of a question is that???!! I rang you didn’t I???” Ok, it might seem a little strange, but I’ll tell you what sort of a question that is....it’s a very valid one. Because nobody, I repeat NOBODY can ‘make’ you do something that you do not want to do.

This is a myth that’s been around for a long time, and one that’s more often associated with hypnosis than anything else. So I’d like to make it clear that the first step to quitting smoking is examining your motives – do you really want to stop smoking, or is there another reason you have contacted a stop smoking hypnotherapist? I’ll give you an example: Recently, I saw a man who had a serious case of diabetes – so serious in fact, that his doctor gave him an ultimatum: “Quit smoking or die”.

One small problem – this man loved to smoke; and I mean loved it. I warned him that unless he really wanted to give up, hypnotherapy would be ineffective. He begged me to work with him anyway, and against my better judgment, I agreed. After the second session he confirmed to me what I already suspected – that the therapy wasn’t working. A very sad but true case, and a reminder to you that if you have the desire and the means to do something you WILL do it – but the desire MUST be part of the equation.

TWO: If I have a cigarette after my first hypnotherapy session, this means the therapy hasn’t worked

Not so! Look, some people never touch a cigarette again for as long as they live after one session with me. Others take a little longer. If you are smoking 30 cigarettes a day, and after one session you cut back to 15, that is still a very good result! – and it certainly does not mean you have failed...it simply means that you need another session with your stop smoking hypnotherapist to help build on the previous suggestions. All too often, people buy into the myth that a stop smoking hypnotherapist only has to do one session with you and that will be it.

The truth is, there are many factors involved; how much stress is in your life, the reasons why you smoke and your susceptibility to hypnosis all come into play. The important thing to remember is that any reduction in the number of cigarettes you smoke is a good result. Some people quit forever after one session, but the average number of sessions required is usually about 3 to 4 sessions. So don’t be ashamed to make a second appointment – each session builds on the last and the suggestions become even more deeply embedded each time. So, provided you truly want to quit, your stop smoking hypnotherapist CAN work with you to achieve your goal. Whatever the mind can conceive, the mind CAN achieve!

THREE: Someone Close to me is nagging me to Quit

Here’s an interesting thing about your subconscious mind – it hates to see you oppressed. This means that, even if you truly want to quit smoking with all your heart and soul, you may find it difficult if your spouse, mother or sister is pushing you to quit. You see, that ‘defiant’ part of you actually thinks it is protecting you in some way – so when it hears sister or mother or spouse saying ‘you’re not smoking AGAIN are you???’, it goes on the warpath and says ‘Don’t tell ME what to do!!’ Next thing you know you’re puffing on a cigarette and not even enjoying it!

But never fear – this is where I come in. I’m well acquainted with the process of talking to these ‘parts’ of your subconscious mind that unwittingly sabotage your efforts. In fact, the therapy I do for this kind of problem is, quite appropriately, called ‘parts therapy’. So you see, there really is no reason at all why you can’t succeed with the help of the right stop smoking hypnotherapist.

FOUR: I Smoke to help me Relax

Understand this simply fact: The primary intention of your subconscious mind is to serve and protect you. So if you try to eliminate a habit that up until now, has helped you to deal with underlying anxiety in your life, then your subconscious mind will say ‘no dice’ – after all, you’ve always had your trusty friend smoking to help you deal with things – kind of like a crutch, so you can’t just take away that crutch without putting something in its place.

Have you ever wondered why so many people gain a pile of weight as soon as they quit smoking? It’s because they have simply replaced one addiction with another. So what’s the solution? Your stop smoking hypnotherapist should always treat the cause as well as the symptom; and the cause can usually be addressed by combining self-confidence therapy with other techniques that give you a solid foundation on which to handle to day to day stresses of your life without reaching for the cigarettes!