RAQ Training

Hypnotherapists help many smokers achieve their goal of quitting on a regular basis. It is a well-known area of our work, and the results we produce are quite astounding, that’s why so many ex-smokers send their friends and family members to us. Deciding to become a smoker is not a decision that most people take logically. It is an emotional decision taken at a subconscious level. Therefore, any decision to stop needs to be taken at that same level. Quite simply, this is why hypnosis is such a successful way to give up smoking cigarettes. Many people considering stopping smoking feel that their true choice is being taken away from them. The secret of hypnotherapy is that it gets people to use their imagination to create a non-smoking future. This often feels very positive and empowering. Stopping smoking becomes the positive and definite choice.

Stop smoking with hypnosis - some research
The National Council for Hypnotherapy recently circulated information about new research into the effectiveness of hypnotherapy as a way of stopping smoking.

To investigate the most effective method of stopping smoking, the University of Iowa’s Frank Schmidt along with research student Chockalingham Viswesvaran carried out a meta-analysis, using the results of more than 600 studies, with a total of nearly 72,000 people. The results included 48 studies of hypnosis covering 6000 smokers, and were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. They clearly showed that hypnosis was three times more effective than nicotine replacement therapy

If you find the thought of smoking too daunting or difficult or have suffered any ill effects during a previous attempt to stop then it is important that you speak to your own doctor who will help you plan your next attempt.

Stopping smoking requires faith and belief. Many people who are thinking about quitting smoking can’t imagine that they’ll ever reach a point where they will find it easy and think of it in positive terms. This is why you will need to take a leap of faith in the beginning. You will have to believe that before long there will come a time when you can go for a month without even thinking about cigarettes or smoking, and even then it will be a passing thought which will be gone as soon as you’ve had it. This may seem too good to be true but, rest assured, people are getting there every day.

Sit down and pretend you are a year into the future. You have given up smoking - you have forgotten about smoking and cigarettes. Make a written list of all the things that will be different and the benefits that you will see. Write down as many things as you can think of. It’s important with this exercise to be positive, and not just to use double negatives. For example, instead of writing ‘I will not be in bad health’, write ‘I will be enjoying better health and exercising three times a week’. There are lots of benefits to becoming a non-smoker - how many can you think of right now?

Consider going for a hypnotherapy session to help you stop smoking. Don’t go before you have done some research and spoken to a hypnotherapist, and reassured yourself that they are qualified and will be able to meet your needs. But lots of people have found hypnotherapy to be a successful way to stop smoking, and the cost of one hypnotherapy session is likely to be no more than one or two weeks’ worth of cigarettes. Seeing a hypnotherapist is a cost effective way to quit smoking, but if you don’t want to see someone in person, there are also popular and effective hypnosis CDs, tapes and MP3s which you can buy.

Avoid substitution. People may tell you to have something else instead when you want a cigarette - perhaps a drink, or something sweet to eat. But you don’t need to do this. Smoking is not that important; there is nothing good about it, and you don’t need to replace it with something else. If you feel that you need to do something else, then choose something healthy and positive, such as going for a walk or run.

WHAT CAN HYPNOTHERAPY HELP WITH?
You will probably be amazed by just how many different issues hypnotherapy can help with.
Most people know that hypnosis can be helpful for stopping smoking and treating phobias. However, you may be more surprised to find that it can help you to pass your driving test or become better at public speaking.
When asked the question, “Can hypnosis help with my problem or goal?”, most hypnotherapists would answer “no”, if it’s purely a physical problem, but “yes” if there is any kind of a psychological aspect to the problem or goal.
An example of this would be that hypnosis could certainly not help you to grow back a lost limb, but there is good evidence to show that hypnosis can help with phantom limb pain. Hypnotherapists are not, for the most part, medically trained, and so will not aim to treat medical or psychiatric illness, unless under a doctor’s supervision. Other benefits include:
weight loss, smoking cessation,
phobias, past dramatic traumas (post dramatic stress disorder),
nail bitting, concentration,
lack of focus, enhance performance,
anxiety and depression, sexual dsyfunction,
test anxiety, sleep disorder/ relaxation,
grieving/bereavement, anger management
self esteem/self worth/self value issues
self confidence issues
rigid/limiting beliefs/early life
major life/career changes, past life regression
pain management/pain control
accelerated healing after surgery
Anorexia/Bulimia & eating disorders
Agoraphobia