People smoke for different reasons.

Some people consider it their coping mechanism, others rely on it for stress relief, many people do it because they become addicted to nicotine, whereas for others it’s nothing more than a bad habit.

However, whatever the reasons behind it, smoking has been proven – time and time again – to be extremely harmful for you.

Even after fully understanding the risks involved, smokers can have a difficult time quitting cigarettes and moving on.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of solutions that can help them kick the habit. This ranges from the physical (nicotine patches, chewing gum, and lozenges) to the psychological (counseling, psychotherapy, and hypnosis).

Below, we discuss hypnosis and its effectiveness:

What is Hypnosis, Anyway?

To understand hypnosis, you first need to expunge all the depictions of hypnosis that you’ve seen in TV shows and movies.

In reality, hypnosis is simply a heightened state of awareness. In this hyper-aware state, you remain fully in control of your faculties, but your suggestibility is increased.

Once you’re hypnotized, a trained hypnotist offers you suggestions to help you with feeling identification, reinforcing good behaviors, or eliminating undesirable habits.

Brain tests performed on hypnotized people show that hypnosis sessions promote increased neurological activity.

This is why as long as you want to bring about positive changes through the suggestions presented by the hypnotist, you’re able to accept & integrate them faster and much more easily.

Hypnosis and Your Smoking Habit

When you start working with a certified hypnotist to quit your smoking habit, they’ll first answer your questions, address any concerns, and ensure that you’re relaxed and ready to be hypnotized.

Once you’re hypnotized, you might be asked to imagine the undesirable consequences of smoking.

The hypnotist will likely explore some of the reasons why smoking is important to you, and teach you how to identify feelings related to smoking, to help break the power it has over you.

They also teach you the safe use of self-hypnosis, so you can encourage yourself towards good behavior when you’re out of the hypnotist’s office.

One of the most popular hypnosis techniques that makes use of self-hypnosis is known as Spiegel’s method.

What is The Spiegel Method?

Dr. Herbert Spiegel, an American psychiatrist, is responsible for bringing therapeutic hypnosis into the mainstream as a cure for addictions, anxiety, and pain.

He developed an unconventional, positive approach to self-hypnosis.

Rather than asking hypnotized patients to focus on not smoking, or thinking of its harmful effects, he instead directed them towards respecting & protecting their bodies.

This motivated them to ‘ignore the urge to smoke’ and the urge, in turn, eventually went away for good in most of them.

The Spiegel Method is widely used, and helps smokers even today.

At Blossom Hypnosis, the well-known certified hypnotist Rekha Shrivastava effectively uses hypnosis in Rochester, NY to help her clients with their issues.

Along with hypnosis for ADHD and anxiety, she also helps people with various phobias and smoking. Her services include in-person Rochester, NY hypnosis sessions, as well as online sessions conducted through Skype and other platforms.

To book a free consultation or your very first Rochester hypnosis session, contact us today.

Not ready to schedule an appointment? Learn how self-hypnosis can start your recovery from PTSD and depression.