The trick is to just not want it anymore. ?
When stopping smoking, nicotine is NOT the issue. The main problem with most smoking cessation tactics is that they address the nicotine issue, but they all ignore the psychological aspect. It’s like giving Valium to someone with anxiety, without dealing with the cause of anxiety. It helps a bit, but the problem is still there.
But let’s have a look at patches for example: you stick a patch on your shoulder, and over 8 to 12 weeks, you decrease the dose. Three months later, you’re supposed to be free from smoking! Great… Except that the patches success rate is pretty low. Depending on the studies, it’s between 6 and 19% ( Journal Addictive Behaviours, Nov 2006, and National Center for Biotechnology Information). Patches manufacturers will brag that it multiplies by 6 your chances than going cold turkey (3.4%), but the failure rate is still, at best, a whopping 81%! Whoop-de-doo! No wonder the average number of attempts to stop smoking a person makes is about 30. ?
If it were just a matter of weaning yourself off, you could just smoke 1 cigarette fewer per day? Even smoking 20 a day, you’d be cigarette free within 3 weeks! Yet most smokers don’t. Also, if the nicotine craving is taken care of with patches, why do you still want to smoke? The reason is that it is mainly a psychological addiction. The physical part of the addiction is easy to deal with and is gone in a matter of days at the most. The habit can be harder to shake off.
With hypnotherapy, we deal with the psychological side of your smoking habit. That is why it works so well. According to a study from the American College of Chest Physicians in 2007, 50% of smoking patients who participated in one (yes, just ONE!) hypnotherapy session were still non-smokers 6 months later. To make those odds higher, I only work with people who genuinely want to stop smoking, not because they’ve been nagged into it or just want to give it a try. It’s teamwork. I also offer a free booster session within 4 weeks, although not everybody needs it.
Now, we’ve all heard for decades that it is hard to stop and of all the nasty side-effects. We’ve all been told that you will be cranky, put on weight, be depressed, etc. We’ve been told that it will be hell. Just the language alone is depressing and evokes a feeling of loss and sacrifice: “giving up smoking“, “quitting smoking“. You’re not a quitter now, are you? It’s almost as if “someone” doesn’t want you to stop. “Someone” wants you to keep spending money on cigarettes (and pay tax on top) even though we all know it’s hurting and killing you. “Someone” doesn’t have your best interests at heart. ?
Well, in my office, nobody gives up or quits smoking. YOU JUST STOP. You don’t stop because I tell you to, but because you choose to. I help you address your psychological dependency rapidly and in a way that fits you best, so the need for cigarettes is gone. And because you make that choice both at a conscious and a deep subconscious level, your new healthier habits are easier to follow and to stick to. The side-effects are that you regain your health, your taste buds, your energy, your time and money (and you don’t smell like an ashtray anymore). You are free from cigarettes.?
So yes, after the session, you can still smoke all you want. You just don’t want to. You choose a better, healthier and more enjoyable way of life.
Contact me now if you want to discuss it further.
