Hypnotherapy is fast becoming the therapeutic modality of choice for smoking cessation. A gentle yet powerful approach, hypnosis is gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine as more and more medical practitioners refer their clients to hypnotherapists.
There are many advantages to quitting smoking through the use of hypnosis. For one, hypnosis addresses the emotional and psychological aspects of smoking and quitting. This is striking because common smoking cessation methods (such an anti-smoking pills and nicotine replacement therapy) treat smoking as a physical addiction alone. Hypnosis targets the unconscious mental and emotional associations underlying smoking as a psychosocial habit. For this reason, hypnosis is likely to be a long-term, permanent solution for smoking cessation since it gets at the root of the problem (subconscious motivations and triggers.) At the same time, hypnotherapy also weakens physical cravings by inducing relaxation and reducing stress, and by tapping into the mind’s power to cope with withdrawal symptoms.
Another benefit of hypnosis is that it is an experiential technique that you can apply yourself, wherever you are. Hypnotherapists teach their clients self-hypnosis so that clients can apply and practice the technique outside of therapy. This is important because quitters often relapse in the heat of the moment in response to certain stressors. Relapsing is less likely with individuals who know how to use self-hypnosis to self-soothe and self-regulate. Thus, you do not need to be in a doctor’s office to benefit from hypnosis.
Compared to drug interventions, hypnosis yields no side effects and withdrawal symptoms are rarely reported with this method. It is a drug-free, all-natural therapy that taps into a person’s subconscious, helping you harness your mind’s healing power and your inherent ability to change your life. Withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, insomnia and cigarette cravings can make quitting smoking an ordeal for many people; with hypnosis, the frustrating aspect of quitting is removed and replaced with an empathetic, calming, self-empowering process, so that you can quit without anxiety.
Hypnosis also has the advantage of yielding more immediate results compared to other smoking cessation methods. The average smoker takes five years and makes approximately ten attempts to quit smoking; with hypnotherapy, many smokers find they are able to quit for good within the first three to five sessions. It is true that not everyone will experience immediate results; since hypnosis relies on the power of the mind, you must have a strong desire and willingness to quit smoking for hypnotherapy to work. Are you ready to quit?
Yet another benefit of smoking cessation hypnosis is its cost-effectiveness. You can expect to spend anywhere between $150 and $250 per session for hypnotherapy. Compare this to low-laser therapy (another smoking cessation method), which averages $400 per session and you can see why hypnotherapy is a more affordable choice. The money you spend on a few hypnotherapy sessions is nothing compared to the hundreds of dollars wasted on buying cigarettes each year.
Finally, hypnosis is fast becoming a preferred method for smoking cessation because it is a private approach. Some people may find it embarrassing to use nicotine replacement inhalers or sprays, or are worried about others seeing their nicotine patch. With hypnosis you can quit smoking in the private, judgment-free zone of your hypnotherapist’s office or your own home. Hypnosis is not a cure-all, but it is arguably the most effective means for quitting smoking, according to peer-reviewed studies.
When you consider that hypnosis has enjoyed a high success rate (up to 90 %) amongst quitters, it is little wonder that hypnosis is becoming a standard smoking cessation tool, used both exclusively and to compliment other approaches.
