Hypnosis to quit smoking is a very popular method for people trying to cure their cigarette addiction.
But does it really work? Find out more in this article.
Cigarette smoking kills millions of people around the world each year with a whole third of the global adult population hooked on these cancer sticks.
So can hypnosis help smokers because it appears to help so many other people? Why Turn To Hypnosis? A lot of people turn to hypnosis because they have tried the other methods and they have failed.
First of all, you might try to quit just using willpower alone.
This must surely be the most difficult way to quit smoking.
It's akin to starving yourself and trying as much as possible not to eat any food - almost impossible! The next thing that people turn to is nicotine replacement products like patches.
You stop smoking, slap on the patches and over 12 weeks cut down on them before stopping the patches too.
It's barely any different to cutting down cigarettes and we all know how successful cutting down is, right? No wonder then that after trying the most convenient and accessible "cures", they turn to hypnosis.
How Does Hypnosis Work? During hypnosis to quit smoking, the therapist will put you into a trance where you are highly suggestible.
He or she will then suggest to you that you have super strong willpower and can barely feel any cravings at all.
And you'll believe it! It usually takes at least 3 sessions but most people who see a hypnotist will stop smoking and it will be much easier than willpower too.
So this is where the story ends and everyone lives happily ever after, right? Hypnosis Doesn't Work? Hypnosis simply doesn't work! It might work for a week but fast forward 6 months and nearly everyone will be hooked again.
If you don't believe me, you can do the research yourself.
For instance, The Cochrane Collaboration, an independent body, wrote a research paper called "Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation".
They concluded that "We have not shown that hypnotherapy has a greater effect on six month quit rates than other interventions or no treatment".
You can do a search for the paper on Google Scholar and find it yourself if you wish.
Why Doesn't Hypnosis Work? All the traditional methods, including hypnosis, work by trying to stop the symptoms of addiction, the cravings.
Surely you've heard the phrase "prevention is better than cure"? Then have you noticed how hypnosis and these other so-called cures only address the cravings? What happens is that straight after your last session, you believe you are cured and you truly don't feel the cravings.
But over the course of weeks and months, your experience of cigarettes starts to conflict with what was suggested to you.
Eventually, your experience wins, your desire for cigarettes returns and you start to smoke again.
Hypnosis, like all the other methods, is just a temporary fix for the symptoms.
It does not work and it is not even a medical science overseen by the FDA.
Is There Another Way? The good news is that there is another way.
I got lucky 8 years ago and stumbled across this method of quitting smoking.
I suppose you could call it a secret because even though thousands of people quit each year using this method, you hardly ever hear about it.
The only way to quit smoking for good is to address the addiction.
Despite what people may have told you, addiction is purely a state of mind.
You might think I'm talking a load of trash but remember, I'm the one who quit cigarettes 8 years ago without needing any willpower or getting any cravings.
It is possible and many people around the world quit using this addiction-focussed method rather than the traditional symptoms-focussed approach.
But does it really work? Find out more in this article.
Cigarette smoking kills millions of people around the world each year with a whole third of the global adult population hooked on these cancer sticks.
So can hypnosis help smokers because it appears to help so many other people? Why Turn To Hypnosis? A lot of people turn to hypnosis because they have tried the other methods and they have failed.
First of all, you might try to quit just using willpower alone.
This must surely be the most difficult way to quit smoking.
It's akin to starving yourself and trying as much as possible not to eat any food - almost impossible! The next thing that people turn to is nicotine replacement products like patches.
You stop smoking, slap on the patches and over 12 weeks cut down on them before stopping the patches too.
It's barely any different to cutting down cigarettes and we all know how successful cutting down is, right? No wonder then that after trying the most convenient and accessible "cures", they turn to hypnosis.
How Does Hypnosis Work? During hypnosis to quit smoking, the therapist will put you into a trance where you are highly suggestible.
He or she will then suggest to you that you have super strong willpower and can barely feel any cravings at all.
And you'll believe it! It usually takes at least 3 sessions but most people who see a hypnotist will stop smoking and it will be much easier than willpower too.
So this is where the story ends and everyone lives happily ever after, right? Hypnosis Doesn't Work? Hypnosis simply doesn't work! It might work for a week but fast forward 6 months and nearly everyone will be hooked again.
If you don't believe me, you can do the research yourself.
For instance, The Cochrane Collaboration, an independent body, wrote a research paper called "Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation".
They concluded that "We have not shown that hypnotherapy has a greater effect on six month quit rates than other interventions or no treatment".
You can do a search for the paper on Google Scholar and find it yourself if you wish.
Why Doesn't Hypnosis Work? All the traditional methods, including hypnosis, work by trying to stop the symptoms of addiction, the cravings.
Surely you've heard the phrase "prevention is better than cure"? Then have you noticed how hypnosis and these other so-called cures only address the cravings? What happens is that straight after your last session, you believe you are cured and you truly don't feel the cravings.
But over the course of weeks and months, your experience of cigarettes starts to conflict with what was suggested to you.
Eventually, your experience wins, your desire for cigarettes returns and you start to smoke again.
Hypnosis, like all the other methods, is just a temporary fix for the symptoms.
It does not work and it is not even a medical science overseen by the FDA.
Is There Another Way? The good news is that there is another way.
I got lucky 8 years ago and stumbled across this method of quitting smoking.
I suppose you could call it a secret because even though thousands of people quit each year using this method, you hardly ever hear about it.
The only way to quit smoking for good is to address the addiction.
Despite what people may have told you, addiction is purely a state of mind.
You might think I'm talking a load of trash but remember, I'm the one who quit cigarettes 8 years ago without needing any willpower or getting any cravings.
It is possible and many people around the world quit using this addiction-focussed method rather than the traditional symptoms-focussed approach.
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