I am not a smoker myself but have often wondered how to help those who have tried and failed to give up the habit. I was recently discussing this with Duncan Batchelor, a local qualified hypnotherapist, who offered this guidance....
With most people the most difficult part of giving up smoking is breaking the habit itself. The habit is basically a learned response to stimuli, like stress, or certain places, it can be pretty much anything at all! Just like all learned responses they are unconcious and often we find ourselves doing things without even thinking about it. For instance when you drive a car it’s a learned response, or action and you can sometimes find yourself thinking “what happened to the last few miles”. Or riding a bike, do you need to think about how to balance. You can liken giving up smoking to trying to unlearn how to ride a bike, or trying not to be able to drive a car! How difficult would that be?
The idea of hypnotherapy is that we can get through to the unconcious part of the mind, the part that holds the learned responses, and deal directly with that incredibly powerful part of us. Pretty much everyone enters a state of hypnosis on a daily basis, for instance when you daydream or just before going to sleep, so it is a completely natural state to be in. In fact it’s just a slowing of the brainwaves to a state a deep relaxation.
The other great thing about hypnosis is that you cannot be made to do something that goes against your own core principles, and you stay in control. If you want to come out of a hypnotic trance at any time you can!
If you would like to help someone you know or kick the habit yourself, why not give Duncan a call on 01342 842098.