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Hypnotherapy
to help you stop smoking - one to one sessions in the
Bristol & Bath area. |
The New
Scientist reports, "Hypnosis is the most effective way of
giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific
comparison of ways of breaking the habit. Willpower, it
turns out, counts for very little."
Recent
studies show that over 70% of smokers would like to give up
smoking altogether and 50% of smokers would like to do so
within the next year. A proportion of that figure will achieve
their goal. People do successfully quit smoking. Actually
about 2% per year in the
UK
are quitting. However, these figures show quite clearly that
although there is a conscious desire to quit in a large
percentage of smokers, and over half are actually fairly
focused on doing so (aiming to quit within the next year)
there is still an X factor which stops a large proportion of
well intended people from doing so…..
Smoking is
irrational. We know it’s dangerous. We know it’s
expensive. We know that we are gambling our health and quality
of life against slipping odds. One part of us understands the
costs of smoking but another part just never seems to get the
message and continues to promote smoking day in and day out;
often to our great frustration. So WHY?! Well….there are a
number of reasons that people continue to smoke despite their
better judgment, but the primary driver of any behaviour is
the subconscious mind. One way or another, your subconscious
mind has accepted the message that you need to smoke, that you
like to smoke, and that smoking is advantageous for you. Now
you know differently, but if you can’t quit then the new
message is not getting through!
There is a
way though. It is possible to create a clear channel of
communication between these two minds using hypnosis and tip
the balance. This is the great strength of hypnotherapy as a
treatment for smoking. Using hypnosis, it’s possible to
communicate new highly positive instructions for quitting to
the subconscious mind. When the two minds are in agreement and
working together then success is surprisingly easy to achieve.
Some
Considerations.
More people
die from tobacco use than from road accidents, AIDS, drug
abuse, suicides, and alcohol put together! If you were an
alcoholic, you might consider yourself to have a pretty bad
problem. If you were a drug abuser you might really think you
had a problem, but these statistics show that as a smoker,
your chances of survival are statistically worse than either
of these groups! According to the British Medical Association
one in two full time smokers aged thirty, will die as a result
of smoking by the age of 65. These days that’s middle age.
The BMA also asserts categorically that if you do make it to
65 as a smoker, you will be suffering from some form of
degenerative disease as a result of your habit. So, however
you pitch it to yourself, the facts show that the odds are
extremely poor if you’re banking on having a happy healthy
extended life as a smoker. A 20 a day smoker will spend in
excess of £1800 in one year on cigarettes!
If you'd like
to work out exactly how much you personally spend on smoking click
here to try using this quick calculator!
Reason
suggests that to continue smoking is logically unacceptable.
Just allow for a moment though, a different consideration….
A New Perspective
There is an alternative future for you. Just imagine for a
moment. Six weeks from now, you are free.
You no longer
crave cigarettes. Whole weeks pass without you even sparing a
thought to cigarettes. The desire to smoke is absent! You
breathe freely. You have taken up exercise. Your children (if
you have them) are happier. Your house is fresh. You notice
that you don’t get ill nearly so much. You have £1800 this
year that you didn’t have last year. And…you feel good!
You’re in control. This is a reality for many ex-smokers.
Feelings change. Perspectives change. Quitting may sound like
deprivation today, but that is just one way of seeing things.
A few smoke-free weeks later and things look very different
indeed. Isn’t that worth considering? And…it doesn’t
take as long as you think! Experts tell us it takes about 3
weeks to change a habit. Nicotine leaves your system in about
48-72 hours. The rest is just a state of mind……
You may
already have started to feel a twinge of anticipation as you
begin to see the possibility of a different future. Harnessing
this feeling is the key to success and hypnosis is uniquely
suited to doing just this! Hypnotherapy makes it possible to
fix this motivation and positivity firmly into the
subconscious mind. When the focus is positive then the
experience of quitting can be quite different from the
terrible ordeal you may have been imagining! Rather than
finding you are focused on a loss, you can find instead that
the feeling you get from quitting is a feeling of control, and
satisfaction, because you're taking control and doing
something truly loving for yourself, and that translates back
to yourself as true self respect, which IS self esteem.
The feel good factor comes from actually DOING something good
for yourself rather than just HOPING something nice will
happen! Quitting smoking is an enormously positive thing to do
and this anti-smoking therapy is positively focused. Whilst
addressing your worries and concerns about quitting we will
also concentrate on what you are gaining rather than what you
may perceive you are losing. Often, successfully breaking the
smoking habit can lead to huge steps forwards in other areas
of your life as it is hugely empowering to take back control
in this way.
The
anti-smoking hypnosis programme I use is award winning, proven
as highly effective, and enjoys an excellent success rate. It
is a compassionate, understanding, and highly informative
programme designed to motivate you, and to provide you with
all the tools and knowledge you need to quit, including of
course, the special ingredient…..having your subconscious on
your side!
The Big
Question- How does it work?
The question
everybody asks is “ How?!” How will hypnotherapy help me
to quit smoking? What exactly do you do?” Understandably,
you’d like to know what’s involved before you commit to
quitting and certainly before you commit to using hypnotherapy
to quit smoking so it’s my pleasure therefore, to do my best
to fill in the blanks for you prior to your seriously
considering this hypnosis based therapy.
The anti
smoking session lasts approximately two hours. About one hour
fifteen minutes is spent in consultation and the hypnosis part
of the session takes about 40 minutes.
The
consultation part of the session begins with me asking you
some non-invasive questions just to get a very general
overview of how things are for you in your life right now.
This is simply to assess any possible sticking points/major
stressors for you, in order that you can be forearmed with the
necessary knowledge to overcome any potential difficulties
should they arise. Everybody’s life situation is different
so I make sure you have what YOU need to quit.
It would be
easy for you to assume that smoking ”counselling” means
somebody wagging their finger at you and telling you how bad
it will be for you if you don’t quit! And there may be
anti-smoking clinics around that do just that, but I want you
to rest assured that mine isn’t one of them! Neither do I
practice aversion therapy. With that said however, I will use
a tiny segment of the session to present just a necessary few
of the shocking facts and statistics which are usually so
easily avoided. After all, part of what we have to achieve
here is getting your subconscious mind to recognise that
smoking is dangerous, so I wouldn’t be doing my job properly
if I didn’t include some reference to this fact. We're never
judging! Smoking is not a moral issue...it's ultimately a
choice issue!
This therapy
is positively focused. It is also hugely informative. The
topics which we will cover in the consultation include:
·
Current smoking statistics
·
The links between Stress, Anxiety, Control, and Smoking (Why
SOME people find it hard to quit and how to gain more control
if you’re one of them).
·
Undermining Modern (disempowering) Myths about Smoking.
·
Explaining the formation of subconscious programmes…..why
the pro-smoking programme continues to operate despite the
fact that we know intellectually that smoking is dangerous,
and how we can use hypnotherapy to assist in the overwriting
of that programme.
·
Willpower and why using willpower alone can exhaust us.
·
The psychology of taking control. How to deal with your whims
and urges!
·
Habits and thought patterns. New Models of understanding. How
we can change them…and what to expect.
·
How NOT to come unstuck!
·
What to do in an emergency.
·
The chemistry of smoking. Why our brain chemistry will promote
the urge to smoke under certain circumstances and how to
avoid/minimise this response.
· A
few of the hard knock facts.
·
The importance of positivity as a strategy for success and how
to create that positivity!
The
counselling part of the quit smoking programme is very
comprehensive, and you can be sure that you will leave this
session with an understanding that you didn’t have before
you came in; including a better understanding of your own
patterns generally...not only about smoking. Moreover, your
motivation to quit should be at an all time high since you
will be able to see HOW to quit once you have all the
understanding in place. Knowledge is power, they say, and that
was never truer than it is here!
The hypnosis
part of the session involves you lying comfortably on the
couch (covered with a blanket if you choose), being lulled by
quiet soothing music, whilst I speak to you. Essentially, I
will be using words to guide you into a very pleasant state of
focus, concentration, and relaxation. Once the hypnotic state
has been attained, I will use suggestion and metaphor to bring
about a change at the subconscious level which will support
you enormously in the coming days, weeks and months of your
new life as a non-smoker.
The great
strength of this treatment is that you leave the therapy
feeling empowered at EVERY level….both consciously and
subconsciously. When these two minds are in agreement then
success is always much easier. I like to think that even the
counselling alone would be enough, but couple this with the
focus and intent we can create through hypnosis and you have a
very powerful dose of change power! As with all of these
therapies we promote healing and success from every possible
angle in order to be assured of achieving what we want to
achieve. You will be given a comprehensive information pack to
take away with you which covers all of the most important
points raised in the consultation as well as my addiction
busting e-manual. This is extremely helpful, since the
consultation does cover a lot of ground and it can be a lot to
remember, so you are assured that you won’t forget the
important points! You will also be given a relaxation/hypnosis
CD which you can use generally to reduce stress in your
everyday life and keep yourself positively focused as you move
through the transition to becoming a natural non-smoker.
Success
rates - the truth about claims and guarantees.
I value
transparency! I too am skeptical of wild claims and need to
understand the science of something before I invest time,
money or energy into it. Some people like the hype. I don't. I
do sincerely believe that hypnotherapy is a phenomenally
useful tool when it comes to quitting smoking or overcoming
any addiction indeed. I also fear that over-inflated claims of
90% success rates do sadly rather undermine our credibility,
and thus the baby goes out with the bathwater! I'm going out
on a limb here by being so frank, because I stand the risk of
scaring away those people who are excited by the hype, the
success claims, and the guarantees! On the other hand, I may
well invite a more discerning client by addressing these
matters honestly. I'm quite sure everyone is pleasantly
surprised by the authenticity and genuine "makes
sense" power of the work that we do in my anti smoking
clinics, but you don't know that yet, so this is an effort to
allay your fears somewhat.
Okay. First
of all, it's written into every good professional hypnotherapy
organisations' code of conduct that practitioners must not
guarantee a "cure" of any condition. There is a good
reason for this. When working with any difficulty there is no
"one size fits all" treatment. That's not a failing
on our part as therapists. That's just the way the world and
people are built. Can any medical establishment guarantee to
"cure" people? No. Clearly not....or there would be
no suffering! Like the NHS, or any other quit smoking service,
we increase your chance of success. Of that I AM sure!
When it comes to whether you will or won't quit smoking
though, it's a simpler matter. It boils down to this: Nobody
but YOU can guarantee that you'll quit smoking. People who
"guarantee" that they'll "make you quit
smoking" come in different shapes and sizes but they are
clever marketers. These guarantees usually state that you can
come back as many times as you need to for "top
ups". Some will offer your money back (with time limited
conditions of course!) knowing that many wouldn't claim it
even if they didn't quit, and that the premium loading from
the guarantee will more than cover any people who do claim
refunds anyway. Of course they will expect a good level of
success too so their "risk" is minimised from the
start. Nobody offers you a deal where they lose money. If it
sounds too good to be true then it probably is!
We know
statistically from experience that if you offer a free
"top up" on anti smoking hypnotherapy you'll expect
on average 1 in 10 people to return for the top up session (I
don't offer a free top up for reasons I'll clarify in a
moment). So when you see therapists claiming a 90% success
figure this is born from the flawed assumption that everyone
who didn't come back must have successfully quit. Clearly we
know that's not the case. We know that for whatever reason
(often the person actually wasn't really fully committed to
quitting) some people go back to smoking and don't come back
for a top up session even when it's freely available.
So, when a
therapist offers this "guaranteed" service, there is
usually a price for it. It is basically insurance, and as we
all know those that don't claim on their insurance pay for
those that do. Guaranteed anti smoking therapy will usually
cost anywhere from £200-£500. If 9 out of 10 don't go back
for their top up, then the guarantee has served the therapist
very well indeed. He or she has effectively been paid nine
lots of "insurance premium" that were never claimed
on, and the one lot that was claimed on paid for itself! Even
if one or two clients use a couple of top up sessions the
therapist has still done very well. If you were to use your
guarantee, have you considered how you'd feel about returning
more than once? How many times would you be comfortable
returning? Would you claim your money back after the therapist
has repeatedly stressed that ultimately it's YOUR decision to
quit or not? So, I'm not saying guarantees are unethical. They
are just therapy where you pay extra for an extended warranty
that you may or may not use. In most cases you will never use
it. Ethical practitioners belonging to good hypnotherapy
associations (APHP, HS, NCP, NCH etc) will not offer
guarantees, "cures", or testimonials, as these are
all contrary to the professional code of conduct, and are
specifically disallowed because they have the potential for
misuse. Testimonials for instance could easily be forged.
So to
summarise. No, I don't offer a guarantee......but then I don't
charge you for one that you probably won't use either! I
EXPECT to be able to help you to quit in our two hour
session...I really do. We DO enjoy a great deal of success in
this regard. I know this as a result of the many referrals I
receive from satisfied ex- smoking clients! Some therapists
suggest that a single two hour session is not enough and
doesn't honour fully the "process" of quitting. I
have quite a few years experience now. I've given this a lot
of thought, and have to go along with my mentor on this one.
If we want to get on with quitting smoking then we need to get
on with it! It has been said that it takes 0.0025 of a second
to quit smoking. Essentially, it's a stand we take. It's a
decision. If we make too much of a meal of it we are giving it
more energy than it deserves or needs and actually fuelling
the fire. If there are any difficulties which follow quitting
(you are given tools in our session to deal with any you might
encounter), then we can deal with them separately. So I don't
offer a free "top up" session because it sends a
message to you that says "It's okay to fail"
(because you can come back for free). This is dis-empowering
when quitting smoking because frankly any excuse will do. We
cover this in our anti smoking session and talk about how NOT
to buy into such propaganda. So we have to get really clear
right in that moment that today is the day, and that we're
doing it! Not next session, not next week, but now! Of course
the hypnosis part of our session STRONGLY reinforces this
feeling. You will thank me for taking that position! There is
nothing in the rulebook however that says that you are
strictly limited to that one session. If you wanted any help
further to the initial anti smoking session you would be
welcome to come in for any single sessions required for a
booster or to address any difficulties. You would simply pay
for and use a normal one hour session. This seems fair to me.
Again, some therapists charge you extra because it's a
"one off" anti smoking session. I don't. I charge
you the standard cost for my therapeutic services which is £55
per hour x 2 = £110. If you needed any further sessions
then you would pay £55 each for them, but what I'm not doing
is assuming that you will need them (because you probably
won't!) or taking money to "insure" you against
future slippages (which incidentally would weaken your
resolve, because you believe you'd have someone to bail you
out!). I hope you will value this transparency. It's an honest
exchange of expertise for payment...nothing more...nothing
less! I will be sincerely happy to help you quit smoking.
I trust this
explains all you need to know. If you have any other questions
or concerns, please do contact
me and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Anti Smoking
therapy takes two hours and costs £110. An
initial consultation is not necessary. Book
now.
A few
facts:-
The bad news:
•
Tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which
kills people when it is used entirely as intended.
• Every year, around 120,000 smokers
in the
UK
die as a result of their habit. This is the equivalent of a
plane crashing every day.
• More peope die from tobacco use
than road accidents, AIDS, drug abuse, suicides, and alcohol
put together!
•
UK
government earned £9,510 million in revenue from tobacco duty
and VAT in the financial year 2000-01. The Government
currently spends around £17m on anti-smoking education
campaigns. A further £20m is spent on measures to help
people stop smoking.
The good news:
After you
stubb out that last cigarette......
Within 20 min:
Blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate will drop to
normal.
Within 8 hours:
Smoker's breath disappears. Carbon monoxide level in blood
drops and oxygen level rises to normal.
Within 24 hours:
Chance of a heart attack decreases.
Within 48 hours:
Nerve endings start to regroup. Ability to taste and smell
improves.
Within 3 days:
Breathing is easier.
Within 2 to 3 months:
Circulation improves. Walking becomes easier. Lung capacity
increases up to 30%
Within 1 to 9 months:
Sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia that
sweep debris from your lungs grow back. Energy increases.
Within 1 year:
Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a person
who smokes.
Within 2 years:
Heart attack risk drops to near-normal.
Within 5 years:
Lung cancer death rate for the average former pack-a-day
smoker decreases by almost half. Stroke risk is reduced. Risk
of mouth, throat, and esophageal cancer is half that of a
smoker.
Within 10 years:
Lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a person who does
not smoke. The pre-cancerous cells are replaced.
Within 15 years:
Risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person who has
never smoked.
With a
practice near you in Bath or Bristol -
It's never too
late!
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