Story of a former smoker!

As a former smoker, I know how ruff it can be to “kick the habit”! I told myself numerous times that “this time, I’m quitting for good”, only to be drawn back into the clutches of cigarettes & smoking. So how did I quit? I have not always been, mostly due to pure ignorance, a big believer in the mind/body connection, but I am a total believer now. This is why, after I discovered the concept of inner growth, hypnosis was the natural path to take.

Is hypnosis the “cure all” for everything? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that, at least until I learn more. I do know though, that for me, self hypnosis is an excellent weapon to have in my arsenal when it comes to giving up smoking, overeating, or alcohol, as well as dealing with a many of the other problems & pitfalls we commonly face in our lives today.

So what was it about hypnosis that worked for me when other common “stop smoking” methods failed? I’m sure that you know that there’s a long standing debate as to whether smoking is a nicotine addiction or a habit. There are valid arguments for each side, but I always thought of it as more of a habit and I’m not sure whether it really matters at this point. For instance, I didn’t like to smoke while I worked, but I thought it was a great reason to take lots of breaks. One reason was because I worked with my hands and usually need both of them to do my job. The other reason is because I knew that the smell from smoking was disturbing to others, even when it was just on my clothes. I typically smoked lightly from the time I got up in the morning, and all through the day at work. But then I would leave work and as soon as I got in my truck, I smoked like a freight train until I went to bed that night, especially if I hit the bars before going home. There were times when I smoked and times when I didn’t smoke. I could almost turn it off and turn it on again when needed.

When I started analyzing this, I wondered why I could go for many hours and never think about smoking, then when triggered by certain events, (like getting in my truck after work), I’d think that I would die if I wasn’t smoking one cigarette after another? In my mind, smoking was possibly just a really bad habit that I should be able to change if I knew how.

What I have learned is that habits are where you can truly feel the power of hypnosis. Hypnosis works by altering habits at a subconscious level. Someone can tell you to quit smoking at a conscious level and you would probably just laugh at them. When you’re experiencing hypnosis, you can visualize and experience being a non-smoker, and that is really cool and extremely powerful! You will learn that you can be calm, relaxed and stress free without cigarettes.

With hypnosis, I didn’t quit smoking because the hypnosis program has some special power over me. I quit smoking because I “wanted” to quit. Hypnosis is simply a tool that helps people to see their goals as obtainable and to achieve their goals. There are no gums to chew, no prescription pills to take. It’s just you….you and your self hypnosis program. You quit smoking because your body and mind are taught to realize that smoking isn’t natural. Healthy breathing and a life without stress because of cigarettes “is” natural and it is within everyone’s reach.

If you’ve heard that hypnosis could help you quit smoking, but were never comfortable giving it a try, I would encourage you to check into it yourself. Hypnosis is totally safe and you can practice self hypnosis in the comfort of your own home. There is no need to go to a so called “stop smoking hypnotist”. There is a wealth of hypnosis information available, but it can be kind of overwhelming, so I have done a lot of the work for you. If you justtour the other posts, and check out some of our resources throughout the site, you will find several related items that you can try totally free.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 am and is filed under My Journey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.