The Hypnotherapist's Role in Smoking Cessation Hypnosis

The vast majority of smokers trying to quit smoking go from one pill to another, one patch to another, or one inhaler to something else. The latest craze is the laser and for the past few years it has been Chantix, a pill put out by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company. I say this to demonstrate the inherent flaw in the idea of quitting tobacco using similar methods as you would to treat a cold or infection.The smokers going through this litany of pills, patches, potions, piercings, and pressures are not at all unusual. They believe, as most others believe that smoking is an addiction, and they therefore, look for the magic bullet to relieve that addiction. The truth is that Nicotine may have some addicting qualities, but smoking per se is clearly habitual!It generally takes two things to create a habit. One, there must be some perception of pleasure, and two, there must be repetition. Nearly every smoker who first began smoking thought they looked "cool" or were in someway more acceptable to their peer group. The more frequently they smoked the more the subconscious part of the mind recognized their perception of "cool." There's the pleasure. Secondly, if ever there was repetition in performing something, smoking most assuredly qualifies. If each cigarette is good for ten good drags and there are twenty cigarettes in a pack and ten packs in a carton, the smokers then repeats the hand to mouth movement about two thousand times (2000) per carton of cigarettes. Little question that smoking meets the definition for a habit!Science informs us today that repetitious behavior in the form of a habit is taken over by the subconscious part of the mind which, performs such behaviors automatically. So, most smokers are not fully conscious of their habit and therefore, they are wasting their time looking for that magic pill, patch, or potion. That is why the number one drug boasts only a 44% success rate after months of taking the drug and hundreds of dollars spent. When most of us were in school 44% was a failing grade!All that having been said, it is now time to explain the role of the Hypnotherapist in providing the most successful form of treatment to help smokers quit once and for all. Of course that method is hypnosis for smoking. Advanced Hypnotherapy for Smoking Cessation combines neurolinguistic programming (NLP) with hypnosis for smoking and is the most successful form of smoking cessation hypnosis.First and foremost, the smoker must have a sincere desire to quit; must make a firm decision to kick the habit for good; and must accept his responsibility for quitting. Meeting these requirements, the Hypnotherapist can then successfully carry out his duties. Contrary to popular belief the hypnotherapist cannot make anyone into a "non-smoker." He cannot make anyone into anything whatsoever. He can however, act as the voice of the smoker's conscious mind having formed a conclusion to quit, and he can convey the smoker's desires to the subconscious part of the mind in a manner that the subconscious will quickly and readily implement as a whole new code of behavior.The Hypnotherapist provides the reasons and the emotional basis for quitting and more especially informs the subconscious part of the mind that it is violating its own objective, that of keeping the smoker protected. Once the subconscious mind understands that prompting and permitting the smoker to smoke is not only dangerous, but DEADLY, the subconscious will re-organize its priorities and will actually work to keep the smoker from smoking again. It is the job of the hypnotherapist in smoking cessation hypnosis to inform the subconscious part of the mind about all the good things associated with the quit smoking benefits, and all the negative and harmful aspects of prompting the person to smoke again. Of course the therapist using hypnosis for smoking is responsible for understanding the various techniques of relaxation, induction, ideomotor response, anchoring, and the specifics of language in the NLP components.It is also the responsibility of the therapist to prepare the smoker properly and that is usually an hour long consultation without hypnosis per se. Without proper preparation the smoker will again be looking for that "magic bullet" thinking that the Hypnotherapist can make him into a non-smoker and that he has no responsibility in the process. Failure is mostly then assured because as I have already said, the Hypnotherapist cannot make anyone into anything. He can only "act as the voice of the conscious mind while the smoker is deeply relaxed."