Smoke Your Last Cigarette
The World Health Organization and the Surgeon General know quite well scare tactics don’t work. Warnings on cigarette packs and the WHO study that says tobacco makes 5.4 million kills per year are no match to nicotine addiction. Cigarette smoke carries tar, which contains more than 1,000 chemicals, including more than 60 compounds that are known to cause cancer, but for most nicotine addicts, only death or terminal disease can make them stop smoking.
It is notoriously difficult to quit smoking. Smoking cessation usually causes short-term effects, such as cough, rhinorrhea (runny nose), increased susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections, increased irritability, depression, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, difficulty concentrating and increased appetite. Compared to long-term benefits of smoking cessation, however, these side effects are minor.
There is a long list of support tools and techniques that can increase a smoker’s chances of successfully quitting, if he doesn’t have enough will power to quit cold turkey. A smoker can try nicotine patches, gums lozenges, sprays and inhalers. Support groups are a dial away and self-help guides are within reach. He can smoke tobacco-free herbal cigarettes, take kava- or chamomile-based preparations, or try aromatherapy and vaporizers. Others suggest laser therapy, acupuncture, even spirituality. But there’s a popular new kid on the block: hypnotherapy.
According to new research, hypnosis is really a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility, with diminished peripheral awareness. Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Physicians and psychiatrists may use hypnosis to help treat depression, anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, compulsive gaming, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Of course, it also works for people who want to stop smoking.
Whether or not hypnosis quit-smoking sessions are really effective in the long run has been debated by experts. The consensus arrived at after much research, however, is that hypnotic treatments are as effective as other support tools and techniques that help people quit smoking. During a hypnosis session, the therapist may repeat certain phrases discussing the unhealthy nature of smoking, and he or she may give certain cues that help the patient avoid or deal with his or her cravings.
What makes hypnotherapy viable is that it does not use drugs in dealing with nicotine dependence. It’s all in your head, as they say. Conveniently, you don’t have to search the local directory for any hypnotherapist to try it. Certified hypnotherapists Jesse Berg and Steven B. Schneider have created the ‘Quit Smoking Hypnosis MP3.’ They won’t guarantee any miracle but if you listen to the audio, you’ll feel different the next time you take a drag on that cigarette, if you still can.
