| SMOKING CESSATION |
WEIGHT-LOSS STOP SMOKING STRESS ANXIETY & PHOBIAS MOTIVATION PERFORMANCE PAST LIVES? HYPNOSIS & PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING DISCUSSIONS & GROUP SESSIONS SESSIONS BY PHONE BIO TESTIMONIALS RADIO SHOW GIFT CERTIFICATES HOME PAGE CONTACT LINKS |
Cigarette smokers tend to smoke in predictable situations. They may smoke while having having meals, drinking cocktails, during work breaks, while he is engaging in social conversation, while driving, while under stress, after dinner, before dinner........ Depending upon how severe a person's habit is the smoking is enmeshed in a wide range of everyday activities. Particular factors associated with these activities function as "triggers" that set in motion a chain of stimulus-response conditions which seemingly compel smokers to light up a cigarette. The stimulus is the external or internal cause of the reaction, while the mental conditioning is what we would normal refer to as the habit or habitual response. A smoker sees a friend and strikes up a conversation, and before he gets much further than "Hey, how ya been doing" he is lighting up. Much the same with stress. The smoker is under pressure to meet a deadline at work and without thinking he lights up a cigarette or is going to the smoking area to do so. Hypnotherapy can interfere and interrupt the habitual sequence by working with the subconscious mind to modify cravings while simultaneously implanting suggestions of alternative and substitute forms of behavior. The simple suggestion of breathing deeply and enjoying the feeling of filling the lungs with fresh air without coughing, or of redirecting the minds attention to some pleasing memory or activity, or of perhaps substituting a piece of gum or hard candy, to name only a few are the sorts of alternative behavior patterns than can interrupt the non-thinking pattern of reaching for a smoke. I also carefully employ what is sometimes called "aversion therapy." Although frowned upon by some hypnotherapists, I have found that when used with discrimination and care negative suggestions concerning the taste, smell and appeal of cigarettes can be highly effective. I always obtain the prior consent of my client before using any aversion therapy in my practice. As in the case with weight-control, quitting smoking with the aid of hypnotherapy is very unlike other approaches. Subconscious cravings are modified and aligned with the positive choices of the conscious mind. Smoking cessation when done through a program of hypnotherapy is a wonderfully natural experience compared to other methods. At its most effective, hypnotherapy shuts off the cravings and gracefully replaces habitual reactions to environmental triggers. However, the gracefulness of the process varies. Some individuals admittedly do have an easier time in quitting than do others. Nonetheless, even when the smoker is struggling to quit after the hypnosis he almost certainly is a stronger soldier in the battle because he is equipped with more powerful weapons at his disposal. Urges are modified and alternative behaviors to the habitual response of reaching for the cigarette are implanted and have the opportunity to become stronger and more powerful with each passing day. My smoking cessation program combines suggestions encouraging an immediate and complete stop to smoking with a simultaneous option of phasing out cigarettes more gradually. The abrupt cessation of the cigarette habit works for some people but not for all. By allowing the client the alternative of a gradual but steady reduction of the habit s/he is given the maximum opportunity to succeed. All forms of hypnotherapy require the client's positive, conscious desire to make positive changes in his or her life. I like to say that "hypnotherapy is fifty percent positive thinking and fifty percent hypnosis." This is especially true in the case of breaking the cigarette habit. Using hypnotherapy to quit smoking can and very often does work! Integral Hypnosis is conveniently located in Newton, MA near the Mass Pike and Route 128 and is within a 1/2 hour drive of the following Greater Boston, MetroWest, North Shore and South Shore communities: MAP & DIRECTIONS
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D. Schwartz, Ph.D. Certified Hypnotherapist National Guild of Hypnotists 717 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02460 (In Newtonville near Newton Corner and Watertown Square) Tel: 617-964-4800 or 617-824-4289 Free Initial Consultation Home Page |