Smoking cessation with hypnosis works!
Beth (not her real name) was in for her first reinforcement session for smoking cessation. She had previously mentioned that being in her car was a big trigger for smoking cigarettes. She even said that’s where she smokes the most!
I knew that she had just returned from a 3 ½ hour road trip, alone in her car and I was prepared for an answer I didn’t want to hear, but I had to ask anyway… “Beth, how did you do on your road trip?”
Her reply, “It was a good ride, there wasn’t any traffic. I did eat too much though at my friend’s house!”
I was happy with that answer but I really wanted to know how she did on her road trip because I knew the car was a big trigger to smoke a lot.
In hypnosis sessions, I often will reframe what I say to dig a little deeper into the thought process, so I asked, “The car wasn’t a trigger?”
I almost laughed as she looked at me as if I had 3 eyes. In that moment, she had forgotten that she used to smoke. Yes! Hypnosis works!
I paused for what felt like a long time to me as I watched her going through the file cabinet in her mind. “Now that I think about it, I didn’t think about smoking. I’m just realizing now since you asked me, I didn’t think about smoking the whole time I was away from home.”
That’s the evidence of a hypnotic suggestion having gone straight into the subconscious creating the new program which I had suggested in the session!
You may be wondering what that hypnotic suggestion was?
That she would forget to remember to smoke. That’s right! I learned that suggestion years ago from a very seasoned hypnotist. She forgot to remember to smoke in her car and the whole time she was gone from home!
BUT she began to share that since she came home she’s been having what she called “mental cravings”. She went on to explain that she’s being triggered at her “normal times” like after dinner.
I asked, “So you want a cigarette like after dinner?”
“No. I don’t want cigarettes. I don’t feel like having cigarettes. It’s like the thought would just be there and I’m annoyed with that because I don’t want cigarettes and I don’t want the thought of cigarettes. You know, it’s a habit. It’s something I’ve thought about after a meal for many years.”
I understand.
So in that session, I suggested the thoughts that she would now have would be cravings for water and natural foods because she was choosing to enjoy better health and a well-hydrated body and mind function optimally and food is fuel for the body so she’s choosing food that fuels her body for healthful living.
At the end of that session, we set up her second reinforcement session for the following week.
She came in today and flat out said, “I don’t feel like smoking. I don’t want to smoke. Two people close to me smoke and I don’t have any issues with them smoking. I don’t even think about smoking in the car. I hardly ever cough anymore. I’m eating better. I’m drinking more water.”
Most clients will give me that type of report as if they just won the lottery. Not Beth. She wasn’t talking like a winner.
I sat quietly waiting for her to speak again.
“I’m sad. I miss it at the in-between times. The times when I would have finished something and I was in between starting the next thing. It’s like I’m grieving.”
“Yes, that is correct, Beth, you are grieving.” I got the 3 eye look again.
There was a part of her that was grieving the loss of something that was familiar. As if she really was missing something. There’s a part of our brain that is designed to keep us in the familiar. It’s also known as our comfort zone, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. This is why we keep doing the same unwanted habit over and over because our brain wants us to do that which is familiar.
Beth was perplexed, “Why would I miss it when I don’t feel like having one, and I don’t even want one?”
“Sometimes old habits die hard.” It wasn’t the habit of smoking that she was missing. It was the habit of doing something that was familiar, routine, and habitual. She habitually would have a cigarette during the in-between times.
Now, with the understanding of what she referred to as sadness and grief, she could move through the emotions or simply allow the emotions to pass through her. The way out is through.
Moving forward to what she really needed during those in-between times. She really needed to take a breather!
As Beth now chooses to consciously remember to breathe in deeply and release her breath deeply, during those in-between times, she is developing a new habit of bringing herself the gift of taking a breather to rejuvenate herself for the next thing she wants to do.
Did I mention, Beth is a retired woman in her early 70’s? That’s right! She now has more time to enjoy her retirement!
Would you like to forget to remember to smoke? You can do that with remote hypnotherapy or an in-office session.
You don’t have to go it alone…
Call me (Joann Dunsing) @ 203-907-7710 for your complimentary phone consultation. Or click the button below and I’ll get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
