Did you make grand plans to kick the habit on New Year’s Day only to find that here you are, months later still smoking? If you’ve tried to quit smoking before, then you’ll know just how hard it can be.
It doesn’t make any difference if you’re a 3 ciggies in the evening kind of smoker or if you’re a 20 a day smoker. As a hypnotherapist regularly treating smokers I find it is the same beliefs that underpin the reason why you do it. It’s those beliefs that I uncover during my stop smoking sessions at my Gloucester practice. This revealing and relabelling of your beliefs is just one of the reasons behind the success of my stop smoking session.
Before you get started –
Choose the right day
Whether you are choosing to go it alone or use stop smoking hypnosis – choose a day that’s right for you. Try to avoid National No Smoking days! Strange though that may sound, you actually put more pressure on yourself to stop. You may find yourself thinking about smoking all day or focussing on what you believe you’re missing out on – this will make you want to smoke even more. When you are ready you can calmly put your plan to quit into action.
Cold turkey
Coming up to your chosen day, contrary to common advice, don’t cut down. By cutting down you make the few cigarettes you allow yourself to have even more precious. We always get what we focus on and what you find yourself focussing on is the next cigarette. So puff away until the chosen day. Then look forward with excitement to being free and in control.
Prepare to celebrate
Remember you are not physically addicted. If you were addicted you wouldn’t be able to function without nicotine in your system. Get excited about the freedom you are creating for yourself. Remind yourself of the reasons why you want to stop smoking. Grab your free copy of my top tips to get you off to a positive start http://www.mrsmindset.co.uk/15-sos-mind-programming-tools/
5 tips to help you quit smoking and control any urges
Now let’s look at 5 tips that you can start to put into action immediately to help you control any urges to smoke.
- Ditch excuses
Ok so you think you love smoking and enjoy it? If you had a lovely car, which every time you drove it, emitted poisonous gases into the car, would you still want to drive that lovely car? Do you love and enjoy that car so much that you will continue to drive it every day for the rest of your (short) life? No you would get rid and find a different car. Challenge yourself about why you smoked. Remind yourself that you are now clearing all those toxic fumes from your body.
2. Break the links
Think about when and where you would normally smoke. Think of these times and places as links in a chain of an old habit. If you normally have a puff with your cuppa in the morning, have a glass of juice instead. Sit in a different chair than you usually do. Just for a few days, change your routine slightly. If you usually smoke with a group of colleagues after lunch, go and find someone else to talk to. If you normally have a cigarette after your evening meal, go and put the TV on or clear the dishes away as soon as you’ve finished eating.
3. Distract yourself
Distract yourself if you feel an urge for a cigarette. Go for a walk or get out into the garden, sort out your DVDs, watch a film or have a relaxing bath. In the evenings make a cup of herbal tea and prepare snacks such as carrot sticks. When you are engrossed in doing something else you will find yourself thinking less and less about smoking.
4. Train your inner voice
You know that voice that says ‘go on its only one and you’ve had a really hard day’. Tell it that you’re in charge now and you are deciding what to do with your health. Remind yourself of all of the reasons why you wanted to stop in the first place.
Now think about how proud you are having stopped something you thought would be difficult. Think of how easy and smooth your breathing has become. Imagine your body cleansing itself – not withdrawing as that is creating a belief that you are missing something – cleansing itself every minute of every day.
5. Breath Deep & Chemical Free
Take deep breaths mimicking the smoking action. I call this my 4-6-8 technique. Take a nice deep breath in for the count of 4, hold it for a count of 6 and release very slowly for the count of 8. Three to five of these in a row will start to induce relaxation, the same relaxation you think you get when you smoke – without all the chemicals of course! Click here to see what happens to your body in the first year of stopping smoking.
Some extra tips
- If you start to feel frustrated or irritated remember it’s simply your body’s reaction to the rapidly disappearing chemicals. Distract yourself, they will soon disappear.
- If you’re worried about gaining weight then a good way to start is to ensure you have regular meals and eat them in the same place each day. Chew each mouthful slowly and consciously with no distractions such as TV or reading. Many of my clients worry about weight gain if they stop smoking – if that is a concern I simply add these suggestions into the hypnotherapy part of the session.
- Reward yourself – treat yourself to a magazine subscription, spa day or lunch with friends.
- If you need help – then don’t be ashamed to pick up the phone and call someone. Call a friend who knows how much this means to you. Find a stop smoking hypnotherapist to help you get you off to a quick start. Hypnotherapy is one of the most popular and best ways to stop smoking. Hundreds of people have already consulted me in my Gloucester practice for help with quitting smoking – and they stop smoking in just one session. Choosing a hypnosis session to help you become a non-smoker will get you off to a great start and make this life changing decision easy, painless and enjoyable!
For free advice give me a call for a chat. I look forward to helping you.
To help you get into a stop smoking mindset get your copy of 15 SOS Mind Programming Tools today and create a mindset for success & health http://www.mrsmindset.co.uk/15-sos-mind-programming-tools/
I look forward to helping you quit using stop smoking hypnosis
Stop smoking hypnosis
Claire McGrath is a stop smoking hypnotherapist based in Gloucester