Because hypnosis has become known for its ability to
change behaviors quickly, it’s a natural starting point for many smokers trying
to quit. Hypnosis relaxes your mind enough to identify unconscious triggers.
"Hypnosis is nothing more than the alpha state—a state of mind that we
pass through as we fall asleep at night, go deep into a memory, or as we watch
television," explains Alan B. Densky, a certified hypnotherapist based in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who specializes in smoking cessation.
What Is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is
concentrated relaxation. In other words, hypnotism allows a person to relax,
while focusing on a particular problem or desired result. It's not just
relaxing or falling asleep. During hypnotherapy, you relax your mind and body,
moving past the guard of your conscious mind, to the subconscious mind. Your
conscious mind constantly edits and grades and judges your thoughts and inputs.
Your subconscious mind is a sponge waiting to absorb whatever you give it. Your
subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between reality and imagination.
Therefore, if you can get past the locked gates of your conscious mind to your
subconscious mind, you can feed the subconscious "imagined reality."
So if you can imagine yourself as a non-smoker, your subconscious mind will
accept that as reality.
By reprogramming
your subconscious mind you can change your actual behavior. Hypnosis is the key
to removing the barrier your conscious mind places in front of you, and
reaching the subconscious.
How
it Works?
Hypnotism isn't
some magical, mystical trance that someone places on you by swinging a watch
back and forth. Instead, it is a natural state of your most amazing brain. When
you access your subconscious, you are basically using self-hypnosis. Probably
the most obvious example of this is when you are driving a car and begin to
relax your mind and think about something other than the road in front of you.
Five, maybe ten minutes later, you arrive at your destination and suddenly
realize you are there, but you don't consciously remember driving yourself
there! You entered your subconscious mind. This is very similar to
self-hypnosis.
When you go to the professional hypnotherapist, a typical session starts with a case history so that the therapist has an idea of the patient’s past experience with smoking. Then the therapist induces a state of relaxation in the client through one method or another—often guided meditation or visualization. Next comes a series of suggestions or a conversation to explore what might motivate the patient to quit. For example, with someone who always smokes in front of the television, a hypnotherapist might try to break that connection and replace it with a healthier habit.
During hypnosis for
smoking cessation, a patient is also may be asked to imagine unpleasant
outcomes from smoking. For example, the hypnotherapist might suggest that
cigarette smoke smells like truck exhaust, or that smoking will leave the
patient's mouth feeling extremely parched.
Spiegel's method is
one popular smoking cessation hypnosis technique that focuses on three main
ideas:
- Smoking poisons the body.
- You need your body to live.
- You should respect your body and protect it (to the
extent you'd like to live).
The hypnotherapist
teaches the smoker self-hypnosis, and then asks him or her to repeat these
affirmations anytime the desire to smoke occurs.
Approaches
There are a couple
of ways that you can use hypnosis to stop smoking:
- Self-hypnosis
- Hypnotherapy by a certified hypnotherapist
Self-hypnosis
involves using techniques to relax yourself, and guide yourself through the
images that can make quitting smoking work. This technique can take practice
and time to master.
A hypnotherapist is
typically certified (or should be) and has specific training and expertise to
help you relax and guide you using specific images and words that work to help
a person quit smoking. Some hypnotherapists will offer a one-session program, while
some may suggest multiple sessions to make sure you succeed.
A third alternative
is really a combination of these first two methods: a recorded program produced
by a professional, that you listen to in the comfort of your own home or
office. This option is far less costly than visiting a hypnotist in person, and
it gives you flexibility and repeatability in your program.
When you use self-hypnosis to stop smoking, the recorded
CD will initially focus on getting you to relax as fully as possible. The
general premise is that when you reach this highly relaxed state, referred to
as a trance, powerful suggestions can be made to your unconscious mind. The
types of suggestive statements which are used to help you quit smoking may
include various affirmations. For example, “My lungs are cleaner each day I am
smoke free” and “I value my health and enjoy a smoke-free life”. Another
statement used during the trance may be, “My family and friends enjoy being
around me more now that I am smoke free”.
As you may notice, all of these statements are both
present tense and positive.
It is believed that positive statements based on what you do want (to be smoke free) are far more effective than negative statements focusing on what you don’t want (e.g. “I no longer desire cigarettes”). The belief is that the unconscious will interpret that as “I desire cigarettes”. Also, statements made in the here and now tell the unconscious that the desired change has already occurred, rather than keeping it in the future.
It is believed that positive statements based on what you do want (to be smoke free) are far more effective than negative statements focusing on what you don’t want (e.g. “I no longer desire cigarettes”). The belief is that the unconscious will interpret that as “I desire cigarettes”. Also, statements made in the here and now tell the unconscious that the desired change has already occurred, rather than keeping it in the future.
Many people find that repeated sessions will result
in more lasting effects. Some therapists will recommend listening at least once
a day or even twice a day for the first several days, and at least daily for a
month. Also, using self-hypnosis techniques regularly to reinforce the new
behavior can be very effective.
Does it Work?
Hypnosis, in
general, does not work for everyone. About one in four people are not able to
be hypnotized. When successful, the intensity of hypnosis can vary from person
to person.
How well hypnosis
works to help people stop smoking depends on who you ask. Study results have been
mixed. In 2001, a study published in the Journal of Dental Education
concluded that it "seems justified to classify it as a "possibly
[effective]" treatment for smoking cessation." And a handful of
studies looking at Spiegel's method found that almost half of patients had
stopped smoking by 11 months. However, the American Cancer Society and National
Cancer Institute web sites clearly state that "reviews that looked at
studies of hypnosis to help people quit smoking have not supported it as a quitting
method that works."
Despite some web
sites and promotional materials that say otherwise, hypnosis is not an approved
therapy by the American Medical Association (AMA). The organization does not
have an official position on the use of hypnosis. A position statement
regarding the use of the technique for medical and psychological purposes was
rescinded by the AMA in 1987.
Researchers who
have studied hypnosis say more, well-conducted studies are needed to determine
if hypnosis really helps smokers kick the habit for good, but add that hypnosis
remains a hopeful approach and has many other benefits. However, the best way
to quit may be to combine several techniques. Patients often require several
different strategies along the way.
Sources
and Additional Information:
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