There are many smokers looking for assistance to quit smoking. Ever increasingly, smokers become more aware of the negative aspects of smoking cigarettes. They recognize that it does affect their health, both in the medium term and certainly in the long term. Among younger people, the awareness of longer term smoking-induced health problems is less prevalent. Most young people smoke regularly, without ever considering the consequences. Lately, smoking has also become more socially unacceptable. In large parts of the western world, smoking in public places is prohibited. You also cannot just light a cigarette in somebody’s house anymore. Governments and health organizations are working hard to make especially young people aware of the dangers of smoking.
In principle, every smoker should be made fully aware of the dangers of smoking and also should be given help, information and support on how to stop smoking.
Among smokers there is always the great conundrum: “I don’t like smoking, but I don’t know how to give up” Every year hundreds of thousands of smokers make a New Year’s resolution, unfortunately only a small percentage manages to get through the first 2 days. Very few actually end up being non-smokers as a result of their new year’s quest to become a non-smoker.
There are a number of ways to stop smoking. At the end of the last millennium, the Pharmaceutical Industry became aware of a market for medication to assist people in giving up smoking. There are various choices and options for nicotine replacement products, all under the banner of “Nicotine Replacement Therapy”. The most common ones are: nicotine patches and nicotine chewing gum. Statistically, those remedies are unfortunately not as effective as most people hope. Critics of nicotine patches and gums claim that it is a folly to continue to feed the body nicotine when the smoker has already given up smoking. Other options are anti-depressants. The problem with prescribing anti-depressants is that giving up smoking is not a mental disorder. It is the absence of and subsequent craving for nicotine that causes mood swings and mild depression. Some scientist believe that giving up smoking is more difficult than giving up heroine and there have been severe cases of depression and mood swings leading to violence and even murder.
If people suffer severe depressive turns as a result of giving up smoking, it may be advisable to see a psychologist. Other options for people trying to become non-smokers include: homeopathic medication, acupuncture, so called “stop-smoking cigarettes” and “quit meters” (specialized software applications).
One of the more promising and essentially more effective methods of giving up smoking is: Clinical Hypnotherapy which includes using hypnosis to plant suggestions in the smokers mind that help him or her to give up, without cravings, withdrawal symptoms or mood swings. “Quit Smoking Hypnosis” is rapidly becoming the preferred method of giving up when all other methods have failed
Free “quit smoking advice” can be obtained from the Internet. A substantial number of websites offer stop smoking aids, tips & suggestions as well as “quit smoking strategies” for future non-smokers. There are a great number of self-help guides and books on the subject of “Giving Up Smoking”, written by specialists and/or professional authors. Perhaps the best examples of this genre are the books by Allen Carr.
The late Allen Carr, who had been a heavy smoker for 30 years, authored several popular books describing: “The Easy Way To Give Up Smoking”. After finally giving up himself, Carr started to analyze what caused his addiction and how he could counteract the common difficulties associated with giving up. He then created his method, which he describes in his books. Carr claimed to have assisted over 10 million smokers to quit.
When he was still smoking, Allen Carr attempted numerous times to quit smoking but did not succeed. It was not until he tried hypnosis to stop smoking that he finally managed to abandon his loathsome smoking habit. Despite resorting to “Quit Smoking Hypnotherapy”, Allen Carr claimed that this was not the determining factor in him becoming a non-smoker. According to Carr’s theory, there were a number of other factors involved, which are all exhaustively explained in his books.
In his books Carr repeatedly asks: “What is the main pleasure of smoking?” Scientists believe that the answer lies in the brain. We must get some pleasure out of smoking; why else would we do it? The physiological process of smoking involves nicotine entering the bloodstream and binding itself to specific receptors in the brain, thus inducing a state of relaxation and a feeling of well-being.
Carr claims that this is not the case. His theory is that, about one hour after every cigarette, the body gets into a state of nervous distress as the brain craves for a new “hit” of nicotine. When the body gives in to the need for another cigarette, in order to administer the nicotine to the bloodstream, the distress disappears, which creates a pseudo relaxed feeling of well-being. This pseudo relaxed feeling, however, is only the body’s turning from its earlier craving distressed state to its normal state.
Allen Carr theorizes in his books, that instead of smoking, you can be in a continuous state of “normal”, without having to give in to cigarette/nicotine craving. In addition, you could save money and maintain your health. According to Carr, the best way to give up smoking starts by first analyzing and subsequently removing all feelings and expectations of fear and dread that are associated with becoming a non-smoker. The Tobacco industry have somehow managed to induce the fear into aspiring ex-smokers that giving up is very difficult, if not impossible to do. Carr explains: “Once a person feels comfortable with the idea of giving up, and once he or she sets clear goals, quitting smoking becomes infinitely more manageable.
The Internet offers extensive information about Allen Carr’s “Quit Smoking” theories, methods and techniques. Equally there are other sources where support for giving up smoking can be found. When considering giving it up, it is advisable to find out what exactly happens to you, your body and your mind, after you have physically smoked your last cigarette. Is a good idea to read and absorb as much information that is available about “Quit Smoking Hypnosis” and “stop smoking tablets”, “stop smoking pills” and other “stop smoking medication”. It is important to remember that you should always want to quit smoking primarily for your own benefit, instead of the benefit of others.
Irrespective if you are using “stop smoking patches” or “stop smoking chewing gum”, it is important to choose your personal stop smoking method or give up smoking with the help of behavioural support, the end result should the same: you are far more likely to live a longer and healthier life. After giving up, you should normally an improvement in capacity of your respiratory organs and your immune system should be back in tact, preventing disease. “Help to quit smoking” is always available on-line and varies from stop smoking campaigns, articles and publications, to “stop smoking tips” and “stop smoking suggestions”. The sources are health professionals or specialists in the field of psychology or Clinical Hypnotherapy, as well as individuals who have successfully “kicked the habit”. All that on-line stop smoking information can be beneficial when you want to give up. Why not take your time and discover how you can do it best!
If you want to give up in the same way Allen Carr himself did and apply hypnosis, there is a free online hypnotherapy service by a British non-profit organization called www.nosmokingagain.org
ohn Wesdorp is a UK Academy of Therapeutic Arts & Sciences Graduate practices Clinical Advanced Hypnotherapy and Neural Linguistic Programming. He is the creator of NoSmokingAgain.Org and runs a successful hypnotherapy clinic in Cheshire in the United Kingdom. John has years of experience in the field of Smoking Cessation through Hypnotherapy.
John is a former smoker who therefore, better than anybody, understands the entire “stop smoking” process. Based on his knowledge and understanding of Smoking Cessation, he has specialised in “stop smoking hypnotherapy” and has created this innovative “WORLD-FIRST” On-line Hypnotherapy Clinic, which combines Clinical Advanced Hypnosis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Reversed Conditioning. This combination makes it not only very powerful, but also extremely targeted, with a high degree of success.
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