A number of years ago I wondered the same thing. I said to myself “I do not want to pay a lot of money just to waste it” and “What if I have cravings after?” and “what if I am not in control in the session or fall asleep and leave myself vulnerable”.
Despite my reservations and of course running slight anxiety I took a chance, booked in with a Hypnotherapist and Master NLP practitioner.
It was a 1 hour drive to his clinic and I took a nice and slow drive smoking 2 cigarettes on the way, after all what if it does work, this will be my last 2 cigarettes then right? And then for the “what if it doesn’t work” scenario I still have about 10 cigarettes in my packet for the drive back and the rest of the day. Right, I am sorted and ready, “let’s do this” I told myself!
I killed my second cigarette as I stopped in front of the clinic. Chew my mint and there I go, no idea what to expect, this was also my very first hypnosis experience ever so all jokes aside I was kind of nervous, excited, scared and everything in between.
I walked in and was greeted by a friendly middle aged man. He asked me to complete a form and then he started asking me questions about why I want to stop smoking and about my life, what type of work I do etc.
He then showed me to this really big and comfy chair and started the hypnosis session which he started by saying I could close my eyes, at that point I thought thank goodness I have good hearing so I feel relatively safe still lol.
I remember hearing someone outside mowing the lawn, I heard some birds as well cars driving by. Not what I imagined, I thought I would be like sort of unconscious and not be so aware of sounds around me. I remember my mind floating away sometimes and then I would focus back at what he was saying. It felt like 30 mins but in fact over an hour later he said to come back to the room and be fully aware or something of the sort. Not that I went somewhere besides far into deep thought.
We then spoke about my experience and I did not tell him but I felt really disappointed because I did not feel any different at all and was convinced this was a total waste of time and money. I remained polite and then had to pay him too which was an awful feeling departing with my hard-earned cash for something that clearly did not work. On my way back to the car I was quite delighted to remember I still had cigarettes in the car.
On my way home I just did not feel like a cigarette but knew I would later and I just felt really relaxed, the drive back was even slower than my drive to him. I then stopped off at the shop and oh my how difficult was that? I found myself on several occasions glaring at the shelf not remembering what I wanted to buy again, I was in a total daze, so relaxed and felt as if I was injected by some tranquilizer of sort. Oh my garden what an experience!
That evening my partner came over for a barbecue and of course he brought some lovely red wine. Now cigarettes go wonderfully with a glass of wine in the other hand – not so much looks wise lol – but it is definitely a good pair. I kid you not we finished the bottle, had a lovely dinner and I did not even feel like a cigarette once, not even after dinner which is a typical trigger for my next cigarette. Weird, I just did not feel like it. The very thing I was so worried about that I would want to have a cigarette.
24 hours later after my next test, my first coffee of the day, which by the way is a total pairing with my first cigarette of the day and nope I did not feel like a cigarette. That is when I decided I can now throw the remainder of my cigarettes in the bin!
Days later I was walking past other people who was smoking and weird I did not mind other people smoking around me, I just did not want smoke inside my body.
So I can say from experience, Hypnotherapy is the most effective solution to stop smoking for good and without the terrible side effects of anti-tobacco or smoking cessation medicines like Champix or Zyban!
Fast forward to 2021 and I am a certified Clinical hypnotherapist and Master NLP practitioner myself and the founder of EcoMindz where we provide bespoke solutions for challenges like quit smoking. I know what you are going through!
If you want to book your smoking cessation Hypnotherapy click here
Genine Raats
Founder | Clinical Hypnotherapist
EcoMindz
Genine, a passionate Clinical Hypnotherapist, specialising in anxiety and stress therapy. Her personal journey overcoming anxiety, combined with her corporate and leadership background, drives her to use techniques like NLP and Coaching to empower others in their mental health journey. With a highly effective anxiety program, Genine offers a supportive space for individuals seeking help.
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