Many people who smoke or vape want to quit but find it very difficult to do so. When my clients find me, they have often already tried quitting in several ways. They struggle with perseverance and willpower, with stress management and with habit control. There is a strong sense of commitment, yet it seems to fail repeatedly.
Do you ever wonder why you do things you don’t want to do, and why you don’t do things you want to? Your subconscious mind is responsible!
Why can some quit smoking easier than others?
Some people are able to stop on their own, while others find that they need some help. About 30% of smokers can quit by themselves without the help of anyone. The other estimated 70% of smokers are satisfying a stronger subconscious drive. For that reason, they cannot quit on their own.
First, what is Hypnotherapy?
Let’s start with what it is NOT. You must have seen videos where a stage hypnotist makes people do the funniest things. That has nothing to do with Hypnotherapy. You can’t be forced to do something you don’t want to do.
It is also not a miracle cure that solves your problem for you without you having to do something yourself. That would be like hiring a personal trainer for physical fitness and expecting your trainer to do the workout for you while you get the results.
Hypnosis is a deep state of relaxation. Our brainwaves reach the Theta Frequency, a relaxed state we also reach right before we fall asleep, where we begin to let go and relax, both physically and mentally. At that moment we are very receptive to promptings and insights. Our subconscious mind is more accessible. We are deeply relaxed and have a greater ability to harness the tremendous power of the subconscious mind to our advantage.
Why is Hypnotherapy so effictive for smoke cessation?
During our lifetime we learn from positive and negative experiences, and we create associations, which in return create motivations. This is what happens with cigarettes as well. You might have learned one day to smoke a cigarette when stressed, now motivating you to want to smoke whenever you are stressed, giving you “break time”, or during unwinding evenings where you don’t have to meet any more expectations. Or you might have started smoking because when you were young, people you wanted to hang out with were smoking, now motivating you to want to smoke during social events, or while drinking alcohol. It’s also possible that you and your young group of friends associated smoking with a certain rebellion against authority, associating it with personal freedom. Or you might have fond, loving memories of a wonderful grandparent, who happened to smell like cigarettes. Your brain connects the two.
But you were not born to those associations. Once your mind creates these you don’t think anymore. Your logic tells you that you don’t want to smoke. Logic, intentions, reasoning, decision making, analyzing abilities and willpower are stored in our conscious mind, which occupies close to 12% of our total mind power. Those typical traits don’t always work when and how we want to.
The subconscious mind occupies the other approximate 88% of your total brain. That’s the real Captain of your ship, where we hold the trained behavior that we are not even aware of, like software that never gets updated. Your subconscious beliefs cause your conscious process to be subjective because it is entwined with subconscious responses. It can take our willpower and intentions off track.
When you were younger, you consciously wanted to smoke. When you consciously no longer wanted to smoke, the unconscious part didn’t change with it. Hypnotherapy can help you to unlearn and replace this learned behavior. Hypnosis opens a pathway of direct access to the subconscious mind. This allows us to replace subconscious undermining emotions and beliefs. It reframes our feelings and thoughts, creates new neural connections in our brain, and makes it easier to integrate these into our lives.
Can everybody be hypnotized?
With their consent and participation, anybody can be hypnotized. Dr. John Kappas (1925–2002) identified three different types of suggestibility and the way we receive information that have improved hypnosis. We determine if you have a higher degree of responsiveness to inferred (right brain dominant) or literal (left brain dominant) suggestions, or if you tend to analyze and rationalize highly intellectually. A simple test will outline the best way to hypnotize you successfully.
How can a Hypnotherapist make a difference with smoke cessation?
Although a hypnotherapist can help you make impressive changes in a single session, and depending on your history and goal, expect a program with an average of 6 sessions for the best results. We address your thoughts and feelings during your smoke cessation process, and:
- detach emotional connections from cigarettes,
- lower cravings,
- create new neural connections in your brain that supports your smoke-free lifestyle,
- improve self-esteem and confidence.
You receive tools and a personalized MP3 recording for self-hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy makes it easier to reach your goals, maintain a healthy lifestyle and feel good about yourself.
Contact me to answer any specific questions you might have during a free 20-minute consultation.
Esther van Rein C.Ht.
© Esther van Rein