Hypnosis to Quit Smoking

On the face of it, hypnosis may give the impression of a vaudeville trick that probably has no real benefits. This method, however, has proven to be effective in the case of patients suffering from physiological ailments.

What Is Hypnosis
The easy explanation is that hypnosis is an altered state of mind where your conscious mind may be asleep or in a state of complete relaxation. The general perception is that you can be made to do anything by the person that hypnotizes you. Scientific studies have shown otherwise. You may be receptive to the ideas suggested during hypnosis, but your brain is still very active during the process, with constant neurological activity.

How It Can Help Smokers
Hypnosis can be tried as a last line of defence when other methods have failed to work for you. If the nicotine patches, gums, and lozenges have not deterred you from picking up the cigarette, then it may be time to visit a certified hypnotherapist. Any apprehension can be cast aside, as the qualified professional will follow a step by step smoking cessation program. Some of the methods they employ include:

• Suggesting graphic ideas that compare the habit to repulsive associations. For instance, the therapist may suggest that smoking will leave your mouth as dry as a desert, or that the smoke that you inhale feels or tastes like toxic car fumes.
• The therapist will feed you with the thought that smoking poisons your body and how it can eat away at your health.
• The habit is equated with killing yourself. If you want to live, you should kick the cigarette butt.

The therapist trains your mind to repel the very idea of smoking a cigarette. The next time you reach out for a tobacco stick, your mind will be repulsed by the sight of the tobacco stick.