Hypnosis for Quitting Smoking

I’m sure you’ve heard about using hypnosis for quitting smoking. A lot of people ask me if hypnosis is real, and if it will really help them quit. I can’t give you a definitive answer except to say that a number of smokers report hypnosis helping them quit.

To understand more about how hypnosis for quitting smoking might help, let’s learn a little more about it.

What is Hypnosis?

When we think about hypnosis, images of stage hypnotists come to mind who pick someone at random out of an audience, hypnotize them and make them do silly things.

There’s much more to hypnosis than that.

Although science doesn’t really understand how hypnosis works, what it does is put the subject in a sort of waking trance where suggestions can more easily be made to their subconscious. These suggestions can alter how the person thinks about him or herself. This altered self-image can help that person change certain behaviors, like addictive behavior.

What is Hypnotism Used for?

Hypnotism is regularly used to help people overcome psychological problems like phobias. It is also effective in helping people overcome addictions. In addition, hypnotism is used to help patients deal with pain from surgery. The fact that hypnotism actually works in many cases for pain is clinically documented.

Hypnosis has also been used to help patients overcome past traumas, and deal with a host of other problems.

Hypnosis is, in fact, a valid component of psychological therapy, and there are thousands of licensed hypnosis practitioners in the United States alone.

How Hypnotism Can Help You Quit Smoking

You smoke because you are psychologically and physically addicted.

Psychologically, you need to smoke because that urge is triggered by certain situations, such as social situations, eating, waking up, and any situation that is associated with stress, among others.

Physically, your brain chemistry has been altered so that you need the drug nicotine in order to feel like you are functioning properly. Nicotine essentially mimics and finally alters the function of chemicals that are naturally in our brains that control how we feel--serotonin and dopamine are two examples.

Hypnosis for quitting smoking can make you feel more relaxed and comfortable so that you feel less urge to smoke. It can also help replace negative thoughts and attitudes that lead to your becoming an addict in the first place with positive thoughts.

It actually works! Read this article about a guy who used hypnosis to help him quit smoking.

In essence, hypnotism can help you find the strength of will to quit smoking.

Is Hypnotism All I Need?

No, probably not. If you are serious about quitting smoking (and I hope you are!), you’ll want to work on quitting on several fronts. Your first step needs to be a visit to your physician. Next, find a licensed therapist in your area who is also licensed to do hypnosis. Through counseling and hypnosis you can begin to address the underlying issues that caused you to turn to smoking in the first place.

There are several over-the-counter and prescription medications you’ll want to talk to your doctor about. These can as much as double your chances to quit.

Conclusion

Hypnosis for quitting smoking is a valid therapy.

If you want to learn about how to use self-hypnosis to quit smoking, take a look at this interesting resource.

Not everyone is equally susceptible to hypnosis, so it’s not necessarily going to help you. But as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Take a look at this site to learn more about hypnosis for quitting smoking.

Couple hypnosis with other types of therapies and you probably have a winning combination that will get you off of and keep you off of cigarettes for life!

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