Jim Hoke Hypnosis Blog

 

Smoking used to be cool. It was a way to be independent, to be rebellious, to show your strength. But since the medical world has linked smoking to so many health issues, it has lost favor in society. More and more, smokers are being made aware that though they may be welcome in public places, their habit of smoking is not.

 

You used to be able to smoke on airplanes, in restaurants, even in some offices. But those days are gone, and many smokers are ready to quit, freeing themselves from a habit that costs them time, money and health.

 

There are many options to help smokers quit – nicotine patches and gum are sold at most every grocery store and drugstore, supposedly helping smokers wean themselves from the nicotine in the cigarettes. Do they work? According to the Shiffman “Real-world” study, only 3% of those using the Rx nicotine patch and 9.2% of those using the OTC patch were not smoking at six months. In the nicotine gum groups, only 7.7% of the Rx gum group and 8.4% in the OTC gum group were not smoking at six months. Sadly, the average for the four groups was just 7%.

 

Then there are the stop smoking pills that have become available…according to studies, they can be effective for a small percentage of people, but the side affects are a bit dramatic. People taking Chantrix, for example, can suffer from anxiety, nervousness, tension, depressed mood, unusual behaviors and thinking about or attempting suicide. I think I’d rather smoke.

 

Many studies have proven the effectiveness of counseling and hypnosis for smoking. In many study groups, counseling along with another treatment method boosted results noticeably, and counseling or therapy on it’s own has been show to be effective with smokers trying to quit cold turkey.

 

Hypnosis has been proven very effective for smoking cessation, citing reports of 40% to more than 60% success, even after 6 months and beyond. Yes, there are side effects…let’s see. Increased self esteem, improved health, sense of well being, decrease in anxiety and nervousness. That sounds a lot better than unusual behaviors and depression!

 

There are a few things you should know about hypnosis. It’s easy, you’re totally in control, and it can be a profound experience. Hypnosis is simply a relaxed, meditative-like state where you can access and change your inner beliefs – and habits, like smoking. Habits come from your inner, subconscious mind, so doesn’t it make sense that you can change habits by visiting that part of your mind? Your hypnotist is simply your guide.

 

Many people think they can’t be hypnotized, but they just don’t understand what hypnosis really is. Most people go into a state of hypnosis every day, while reading a book, watching TV or even driving a car (ever heard of highway hypnosis?). It’s simply a focused state of awareness where your subconscious mind is accessible.

 

A good hypnotist will spend time with you, helping you understand their program, which can range from one to more than twelve sessions. When you choose a hypnotist, you’ll want to find one that does more than just read you a script. More seasoned hypnotists will help you find the reasons that you are compelled to smoke, and help you resolve them. They will have techniques to help desensitize you from smoking, and retrain your brain for success as a non-smoker.

 

To be successful in a hypnosis session, you’ll want to find a hypnotist that makes you feel comfortable and at ease, and one with a structured stop smoking program. Find out how many sessions they usually recommend for smoking cessation, and whether they charge by the session or the program. One hypnotist may charge $200, and have a reputation for helping you quit in just one session, another may charge just $50 per session, but sell you a 12-session program. Either way, however, you win. Just consider how much money you’ll be saving when you quit! You’ll be doing your body, mind and wallet a favor.

 

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic health problem that develops as a result of damage to the lungs. This acronym is used to identify three medical diagnoses categorized as COPD. These include emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis.

Asthma starts when a person’s body views something in the environment, such as chemicals, cigarette smoke, or foods, as hazardous. The immune system begins to emit proteins known as histamines. These proteins produce inflammation in lung tissues to help the body ward off invaders. This stiffens lung tissues and weakens breathing.

Persons can be diagnosed with asthma in childhood or even later in life. One of the best ways that family and friends can help individuals with this condition is to quit smoking cigarettes, since secondhand smoke kills. If someone just diagnosed with this condition does smoke, he or she ought to quit smoking as soon as possible.

Physicians also classify chronic bronchitis as a form of COPD. This condition develops in people who have smoked for a number of years. Tobacco smoke causes tar and bacteria to become trapped in the lungs. This bacteria cause recurrent inflammation of the bronchi, or airway tubes, of a person’s lungs.

Chronic bronchitis irritates and stiffens these passages. People with this disease find deep breathing and exercise difficult. Because their lung tissues are stiff and irritated, they become short of breath with even a little exertion. Sometimes, if these people stop smoking, some of their breathing difficulties will diminish.

The third lung disease categorized as COPD is emphysema. A person’s lungs have air sacs at the end of the bronchial tubes. These grape-shaped sacs, called alveoli, inflate and deflate as an individual inhales and exhales. Persons with emphysema become short of breath and are unable to breathe deeply or exhale completely since air stays trapped in these alveoli. If these people find ways to stop smoking, these symptoms may get better.

Medicines and breathing exercises may help people who have COPD. In spite of these therapies, however, these people continue to have significant anxiety levels. Having COPD is like trying to breathe underwater. Even though you try to stay under longer, you feel you must breathe – now! Therefore, you swim toward the surface and take a deep breath. Those who have COPD, however cannot swim to the surface and take a deep breath.

Several stop smoking programs treat clients with COPD. Most COPD patients understand that smoking increases their breathing problems. Most have been smoking for many years, however, which often makes consciously quitting extremely hard.

Many stop smoking programs are available. Most encourage people to utilize the conscious mind to stop smoking. Since the dependency on smoking is etched strongly in the mind’s unconscious, few people who quit smoking with the help of approaches stay quit without making changes at the unconscious level. Moreover, the majority of these programs center on the smoker’s physical addiction to nicotine, which comprises only about one-tenth of the smoking addiction.

A number of stop smoking programs claim to help persons to relax better. The most effective ones use Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. Polarity responses often happen with traditional hypnotherapy and straightforward post-hypnotic suggestions.

Ericksonian hypnosis uses metaphors that relay suggested thoughts that promote peace to the unconscious to help people to overcome the propensity to do the opposite of what is suggested. Often, people who learn to relax through the use of the NLP Flash strategy are able to decrease anxiety and panic attacks better. Therefore, they breathe more easily.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapy provides an innovative alternative strategy for helping individuals learn how to stop smoking. Professionals who teach this understand that the problem is rooted in the unconscious. Therefore, they assist people at this level, through stop smoking hypnosis. Contrary to the techniques used by traditional approaches, hypnosis to quit smoking focuses on stress reduction, mental addiction, and the habit, which together make up 90 percent of one’s smoking habit.

Through Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP, these patients can live a better life. These approaches coach individuals with breathing problems to decrease anxiety. In addition, they assist eliminate unconscious associations between cigarettes and environmental factors. This extinguishes nicotine cravings. These treatments provide hope to persons with COPD.

Summary: Three chronic lung problems are categorized as COPD. These include asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Controlling anxiety that occurs because of breathing problems and finding ways to stop smoking are probably the most effective methods of helping patients with COPD experience a higher quality of life. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP approaches assist patients to control anxiety and quit smoking.

Alan B. Densky, CH is the developer of the best way to quit smoking cigarettes with hypnotism. He offers a powerful Stop Chewing Tobacco program based on those same methods. See more at his Neuro-VISION hypnotherapy & NLP site where you can use Free hypnosis videos and articles.