Letting the last cigarette go!

As a smoker, you’ll know how hard it is to stop smoking and I’m right there with you as I was once a smoker, I even became a secret smoker at one point. I would smoke about 5 a day and then reached 20 a day in a short period of time even though I couldn’t afford it.

I felt dreadful about what I was doing to myself, I couldn’t breathe properly, I would be out of breath just walking up stairs, I absolutely stank of smoke which wasn’t very appealing to others, especially when dating! So, I know first hand how you feel now and about what you will be going through when you stop smoking.

It got to the point where I was just fed up with the way I felt and found myself becoming lazy because I’d rather smoke a ‘fag’ than do something else, however, I managed to stop and with the same techniques I now use with my clients.

It is an absolute must that you deal with the 3 areas of smoking addiction;

• Nicotine addiction
• Obsessive behaviours
• Psychological addiction

This is akin to making a cake, just by leaving out one ingredient then the cake just won't be a success!

In order to be successful non-smoking then you need to be 100% committed to the therapy, do not expect your therapist to “make me stop smoking”, because, in reality, only you can make yourself stop, your therapist is there to help you and give you the tools to stop. Hypnosis and the use of suggestion will really help strengthen your success to becoming a non-smoker as long as you’re willing to accept them.

It’s very important that you eradicate nicotine from your life in every way; it is this that is the addictive substance. Smoking E-cigarettes & vapes that don’t contain nicotine is not considered stopping either as the basic smoking habit is still there and is likely turn you back to smoking at some point.

When looking for your therapist make sure they design a bespoke treatment plan for you, no two cases are the same – there is no point in your therapist giving you a suggestion to stop for financial reasons if you want to stop because of your health.

Top tips to help you stop smoking

• Set your date for as soon as possible – as the old saying goes, “tomorrow never comes”.
• The night before your stop date is your last cigarette.
• After your last cigarette throw EVERYTHING smoking-related away, whatever is in your car or home – ashtrays, lighters, matches, destroy any cigarettes/tobacco you may have left over, E-cigarettes/vapes, and anything containing nicotine, just because your vape doesn’t contain nicotine doesn’t mean you can keep it – throw it away, It’s all or nothing!
• Change your habits – if you smoke in the car, distract yourself by taking another route, play different music or turn the radio off/on. After a meal take a light walk in the garden, it doesn’t matter what you do just change your habits and routines.
• Find techniques to help you relax and move away from smoking-related thoughts when cravings may kick in – NLP, mindfulness, self-hypnosis and other relaxation techniques are all very good for this. The cravings will soon pass, just focus on something else.

You can stop! You were not born a smoker and you are, by nature a non-smoker. You can stop!