When smokers seek information about hypnosis, often the first question they ask me is, “Can you make me quit?” They’re always taken aback when I say, “No. I can’t!”
However, I go on to explain that if you freely choose and commit to becoming a non-smoker, then hypnosis can be used to reinforce your decision, making it easier to quit and much more likely that you will remain a non-smoker for life.
Smoking is a habit and, like other habits, the urge to smoke resides in the subconscious mind. Many people, though, try quitting through the use of willpower, which resides in the conscious mind. Willpower can be a valuable tool, but it’s not always the right tool for the task at hand.
Willpower may help you drive past the convenience store where you used to purchase your cigarettes. It doesn’t do anything to stop you from gazing longingly in the rearview mirror as you pass by and debate with yourself about whether you should turn around and go back. It doesn’t prevent the nagging feelings and the desire to bum “just one” cigarette from a friend. Willpower doesn’t calm and relax you. By its very nature, willpower keeps you on constant guard, alert, and ready for battle. Is it any wonder that smokers feel so distracted, edgy, and irritated when they try quitting that way?
Which do you prefer: Using willpower to white-knuckle your way to success? Or, calmly achieving your goal by working with (rather than against) your subconscious mind?
Would you rather: Have someone “make you” quit smoking? Or, no longer have the desire to smoke at all?
Hypnosis works with the subconscious mind. It reinforces all of the positive reasons you have for deciding to quit. It establishes new healthier habits to replace the old smoking habit. And it can decrease or even eliminate your desire to smoke. Hypnosis can’t make you quit, but it can assist you with your free choice to quit.
Michele P. Rousseau is a practicing hypnotist in Middletown, CT. Her website is www.micheleprousseau.com