Can Hypnotherapy Be Considered to Quit Smoking?

One of the biggest challenges faced by today’s youth is how to stop smoking. Always remember that once you take to smoking, it isn’t that simple to quit it. It’s an addiction which ruins our entire health without giving a clue.  Therefore, some people are on a continuous quest to search for different options to quit smoking.
In this article, I am going to talk about one such option or technique that is hypnotherapy. Although medical research doesn’t consider it as an effective solution, however, some people have tried it and availed benefits.  Quit smoking through hypnotherapy can be one of the viable options.

Use of Hypnotherapy In Treatment

The use of hypnotherapy in treatment dates back to 1950.  In an article published in 1970, Dr. Herbert Spiegel mentioned for the first time that hypnotherapy can be used to prevent smoking. Spiegel’s theory is one of the most discussed hypnosis theories which explain the three ideas:
  • Our body is poisoned through smoking.
  • We love our body and we don’t want it to suffer. Deteriorating our body will make us live shorter.
  • We should try to protect our body from possible threats and respect it too.
In order to quit smoking by hypnotherapy, a smoker needs to visit a hypnotherapist who can give him the best results. When you visit your hypnotherapist for the first time, you might have to narrate the following:
  • Your Past Medical History if Any
  • Your smoking history and how long have you been smoking.
  • The incessant urge or cravings for cigarettes that you find difficult to quit.
Based on the conversation, he will give you an overall idea of hypnosis and also provide adequate guidance. Additionally, he will teach you some techniques of self-hypnosis so that you can enforce the techniques on your own to quit smoking through hypnotherapy.  It is basically a treatment when you are put in a trance and the hypnotherapist will give you suggestions. The hypnotherapist will educate you about Spiegel’s theory and whenever you have the desire to smoke, reiterating the theory might be of great help. You will be required to pay a visit to the hypnotherapist multiple times as it generally starts to show progress from the fourth session onwards.
Quit Smoking Hypnotherapy
When tried as a combination with other treatments to combat problems like stress, pain, depression, this technique works the best.  Some people feel comfortable to use hypnotherapy techniques as hypnotherapy does not involve the use of any drug or medicine. People who are opposed to using drugs support the technique quit smoking by hypnotherapy.
However, hypnotherapy is quite an expensive treatment and that is the reason why it remains out of reach for most of the people. For people who are into drugs or alcohol, hypnotherapy is not considered a valid treatment for them.

Selecting Your Hypnotherapist

This is vital as only a mental health expert can help you quit smoking by hypnotherapy.  So, you should get in touch with professionals who have medical degrees and own a license in the same field with a special interest or training in the field of hypnosis. You can get in touch with your family physician, who can refer a trusted hypnotherapist.  So be careful and cautious while selecting your hypnotherapist and go for the best one.
You might feel puzzled when it comes to selecting a technique to stop smoking as you are sure to get spoilt for choices. But, if you don’t like the idea of taking drugs and quitting, you can use hypnotherapy. Many people have been able to quit smoking by hypnotherapy and now it’s your turn.