[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak||no_popup[/img]A new client contacted me recently because she wanted to quit smoking. After canceling four different appointments, when she did show up, I had a feeling she did not want to quit.
So I asked if she really did and why.
Naturally, her first answer was an emphatic yes. She was tired of having to make excuses or other to go smoke a cigarette. When traveling, she was fed up worrying whether she had enough cigarettes.
Smoking a pack a day had been her only excuse to get away from her husband who is a little possessive about to her whereabouts. He also is loud. By going out to smoke, she gained a little peace.
It turned out she was motivated, and she had the mindset to permanently quit.
Her Background
Earlier she had been an alcohol and drug addict. She went through successful rehab for both, and she was proud of four years of sobriety.
Having undergone prior rehab, she was familiar with the need to focus clearly on her goal of quitting. She was prepared for the occasional side effects quitting might create, such as sweating, irritability, constipation, nervousness, tiredness, inability to concentrate, dizziness and an increased desire for sugar.
Nicotine is out of your system within 72 hours of quitting, which brings many benefits. You won’t smell like an ashtray. Your energy increases. Your teeth will be brighter, your hair healthier hair, your skin, too. Your lung function will improve, which leads to increased energy, a happier disposition and more stable blood pressure.
Unfortunately for some, when they begin to feel the negative effects of quitting smoking they go back to smoking, not realizing these are signs the body is making the adjustments necessary to be the ex-smoker they want to be.
Breaking Habit Can Take Awhile
Some clients are such good hypnotic subjects they will undergo just one session and never smoke again. Others who are not as good hypnotic subjects may require two to six sessions. to achieve their goal. It depends on how many cigarettes they smoke daily and for how long they have been smoking.
Generally, clients who are not candidates to stop smoking at their first session will need to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke, trimming back on a weekly basis until they do not smoke anymore.
The reason for proceeding gradually is to have the client become used to smoking less so that when he does quit the withdrawal will be less of a concern. His nicotine levels will already have been significantly reduced. All that is left will be dealing with the urge to smoke during certain situations.
It becomes important for the hypnotherapist to familiarize himself with when, where and why the client smoked.
That way when visualization is offered, a client will see himself doing what he did before but without a cigarette. It is important for a client to be able to be around smokers without making a judgment.
For many, smoking has been a crutch for a long time, an excuse needed to go outside and to meet up with colleagues and friends. Losing this social time is difficult but it is important to be able to continue to socialize from a different standpoint, as an ex-smoker.
Hypnosis provides strong visualizations of these new social situations for clients. Once this is accomplished, the client is able to look forward to a lifetime of improved health as well as the new strength that comes from having broken a habit.
For anyone out there wanting to quit, do it now. Yes now. Just throw your pack away. For anyone wanting to quit with the help of hypnosis (which has been proven to be most effective method of quitting) please contact me at 310.204.3321 or email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net.
