Have you tried these three practical ways to stop smoking?

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you want to stop smoking and you’re considering giving hypnotherapy a go. Hypnotherapy can help you towards quitting smoking – so let’s explore how.

When you stop smoking, the physical discomfort disappears relatively quickly. The NHS states that symptoms, including restlessness and irritability, may last 3-4 weeks on average. The mental addiction is where the real knot needs to be untied, and where the real freedom can begin.

The power of your mindset

Everything starts with our thoughts, and our thinking can influence our behaviours and actions. Let’s take a look at two mental paths your mind can take when you decide to become a non-smoker.

Path one

You decide to stop smoking. You list all the physical, psychological, and emotional advantages of being a non-smoker. You repeat a strong positive affirmation every morning: "I’m a happy, healthy, free, non-smoker today" and take a few moments to experience how good that feels.

When self-doubting thoughts creep in, you breathe, move into action, and shift your mindset. You put the money you save into an account, and you have already decided how you'll treat yourself.

Path two

You stop smoking but believe it’s probably not going to work. You replay in your mind the last time you tried and how it didn’t work. You’ve given up on the idea of giving up before you start.

In the former example, you’ve used your mind to encourage, support, and get you moving. Your mind lifts you. In the latter, you’ve let your negative thinking take over and hold you back. Your mind holds you down.

The words you speak and the thoughts you entertain are like spells. You weave your spell, good or bad, with every thought. Your thoughts can either invigorate you with fierce optimism, or diminish and weaken you.

When people come to hypnotherapy and say, "I can’t stop smoking; I’ve never been able to stop", the spell they’re weaving is one of submission to cigarettes, and their power has been taken away from them.

3 practices you can put in place today

You can start putting these into practice even before trying hypnotherapy, taking back control of your mindset from today.

Never say "I can’t give up"

Why reinforce the negative? Instead, say, "I have decided to be a non-smoker." This is forward-looking and positive.

Write down the advantages of being a non-smoker

How will it change you physically, emotionally, psychologically? What will be different? How will it feel? How will it change how you feel about yourself? What will other people say? How will you spend the money you no longer waste on cigarettes? Keep this paper where you can see it.

Plan how to manage restlessness

Think about what you can do when your hands and body feel restless. Hatch a plan, and write it down.

If I think I need a cigarette, I will:

• spend five minutes practising conscious breathing;
• take a walk outside and notice everything I see, smell, and hear;
• have a glass of refreshing water;
• do five minutes of exercise;
• text or speak with a friend;
• cuddle my pet.

Those are just a few examples – add your own and try them out!

These three practices can start you on your active, positive path towards becoming a non-smoker

How can cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy help?

Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy uses the practical tools and easy-to-understand explanations of cognitive behavioural therapy together with hypnosis. This combines the logical, rational-thinking mind with the intuitive, imaginative, deep, dreamy hypnotic mind.

During smoking cessation hypnotherapy, we begin by exploring your relationship with cigarettes. Often it’s a strong love-hate relationship; it’s your best ‘frenemy’.

Do any of these dichotomies ring true to you?

• You hate the smell, the taste, and how it controls you, but at the same time you love the relief it brings.
• You hate how you think about when you can have your next cigarette, yet at the same time you love the guilty pleasure it brings you.
• You hate everything about it, yet deep down inside, you love the rebellious signal it gives off when you smoke.
• You know it is bad for your health, but you feel protected because you're very active and haven’t had any health problems yet.

When you ‘own up’ to what you love about it, which might seem socially unacceptable, and so you keep it hidden, and you own these dichotomies, you have laid down a burden.

We can then lay down cigarette ‘traps’ and strategise how you can make your habit difficult, unattractive, and unsatisfying. James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, explains how to make any habit you no longer want invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying.

These behavioural and environmental strategies are an important part of your plan and will indeed make smoking difficult. However, you must then work on the cigarette addiction in your mind and invert the "I can’t stop smoking" thought to the strong "I’m a healthy, happy, free, non-smoker today".

This is where hypnosis comes in, with its ability to reset your mind. Positive, empowering, confidence-building hypnosis helps you feel mentally stronger and fierce, able to overcome any cravings and already experiencing your clear, smoke-free future.

One beautiful aspect of hypnosis is that it lets you move from past to future; there is no timeline like in real life. You can absolutely feel yourself and see yourself in a smoke-free future. And once you’ve experienced and completely felt yourself there, it is already your future.

Instead of staying stuck in the "I can’t give up" present, you fast-forward to a positive future and tune into that beneficial energy now. You move beyond the agitation of the first few days without nicotine to who you already are, because your mind is already there.

Never ever believe that you can’t stop. You can! Maybe this article is your first step toward the right path for you. Which practice are you going to put in place today?