“ NO THANKS, I DON’ T SMOKE” BY SCOTT DALY, FORWARD HYPNOSIS
W L FEATURE
“ NO THANKS, I DON’ T SMOKE” BY SCOTT DALY, FORWARD HYPNOSIS
From mass media campaigns, concerned family members and doctors to the gruesome pictures on cigarette packets themselves, smokers these days are constantly bombarded with endless facts, figures and statistics about how damaging smoking is to their health. It’ s also no secret, with the rising cost of tobacco products, that the average smoker will spend up to £ 30,000 over the course of ten years on something they know is extremely harmful. Despite this, in my experience it is extremely rare that a smoker will quit smoking just because they have read about the dangers, seen a picture of a tar covered lung or thought about all of the things an extra thirty thousand pounds could buy. So why do so many people find it so difficult to quit for good?
Even knowing the risks, smokers can feel like they have little choice. They will light up ten or twenty times a day whether they really want to or not. When people find out that I’ m a hypnotist they will ask“ can you make me stop smoking” or they might expect me to make the cigarettes taste disgusting( which isn’ t difficult to do!) but this still leaves you with no choice. It would be me making you do it. My approach is different, and my aim when using hypnosis is always to give you more choice, not less. Imagine this scenario for a moment. There is a knock at your door one night. You answer the door and there is a slick looking salesman stood there, with a case in his hand and a grin on his face. He says …
“ It must be your lucky day because I’ ve got the deal of the century for you! I’ ve got something here that will destroy your health, perhaps even kill you and it will cost you thirty thousand pounds over the next ten years. It’ s an absolute bargain! How many do you want?”
Now I know that sounds ridiculous, but I have a feeling that you would choose to tell him immediately with no hesitation and without any doubt in your mind, perhaps even using some choice language exactly what he can do with his offer. It would be a fantastic decision and it is that same choice hypnosis can provide you with. When people feel like they have this choice back and providing they really want to quit they will make that same decision and walk away from it for good. The best thing of all is, because I am not making you do it and because it comes from you, it will last.
So how does hypnosis help?
Like any other pattern of behaviour such as walking, talking, reading and writing people learn to smoke. It sounds strange to say it in this way, but it’ s true. Nobody is a perfect smoker straight away. After inhaling a big lungful of smoke for the first time, people don’ t calmly exhale, let out a sigh and say mmm delicious, so tasty! Instead they cough, splutter and struggle to catch their breath. They might torch the end of a few before they get the hang of lighting them or make the ends all soggy. More often than not people learn to smoke at a young age and if there is a good reason to persist, like fitting in with friends or looking and feeling older, they will overcome all this unpleasantness and sooner or later they will be puffing away without giving it a second thought. When a behaviour is learnt so well that we no longer have to think about it, it becomes an unconscious ability. It would take too much effort for your conscious mind to remind you to smoke a cigarette twenty times a day so your unconscious mind provides you with triggers or reminders. Flick the kettle on, light a cigarette. Get in the car, light a cigarette. Finish a meal …. and so on. This is why smokers often smoke at the same times and in the same places each day, automatically. Because these reminders or cravings are happening below the level of conscious awareness it is very difficult to change or ignore them consciously. Hypnosis is a powerful way of communicating with the unconscious mind and eliminating these automatic reminders to smoke.
When I help someone to stop smoking, the first thing I want them to know is that if they truly have the desire to quit, they can absolutely expect to walk out of my door a non-smoker. There is no quitting, giving up, cutting down, packing in, knocking it on the head or any other‘ ing’ that to my mind just suggests smoking. If somebody offers you a cigarette the only thing I want, is for you to answer‘ no thanks, I don’ t smoke’, no more, no less. It’ s the only thing a non-smoker would say.
Forward Hypnosis is based in Ness, Cheshire. Scott works with people every day to help them overcome their limitations, unlock more of their potential, and achieve their goals. Home visits are also available. To find out more visit www. forwardhypnosis. com wirrallife. com 75