7 Tips to Help Kick Your Smoking Habit to the Curb!

I work with a lot of smokers who want – badly – to quit. As desperate as they are for help, many of them just have trouble believing that hypnosis can actually be effective. It can.

Here are 7 tips to help you, or someone you love, get over the smoking habit for good – along with how hypnosis can help make that happen.

1 – Tell yourself you’re going to quit. Dysfunction and bad habits start in our minds – with the messages we give ourselves. Changing those messages is key to giving up tobacco/nicotine (in all forms). Hypnosis helps get those messages deep into your subconscious mind where they become strong and powerful – and they encourage change.

2 – Get support. Some people can quit all by themselves and good for them! Most people, however, need some help. What I provide for my clients is a roadmap for them to follow, concrete tools to use if cravings hit, and a proven method that makes quitting easier and doable.

3 – Manage your stress. Stress exacerbates all bad habits – especially smoking. I use hypnosis to teach clients relaxation techniques that work to help them calm down, think clearly, and make good choices – and that support their new non-smoking habit.

4 – Find substitutes for smoking. Smokers are used to having things in their hands and mouth and it can feel odd to have those empty. I help them come up with a list of other things they can use (gum, suckers, toothpicks, straws, pencils, etc.) and use hypnosis to reinforce their new habits. Those habits quickly become their, “new normal”.

5 – Identify and eliminate triggers. Most smokers have certain situations that they associate with smoking or dipping. Things like – the first cup of coffee in the morning, riding in their car, taking a break at work, or finishing a meal. Once we have a list of their triggers, hypnosis helps establish and reinforce different responses to those situations. For example – taking a walk at work during a break rather than joining the smokers. Double bonus – you get some exercise in!

6 – Change your thoughts. Smokers give themselves the message, “I need a cigarette (or a dip)” many times throughout their day. I use hypnosis to help them come up with new messages and to substitute them for their old, unhelpful ones.

7 – Believe that change is possible. Many of my stop-smoking clients come in from a disbelieving standpoint. They’ve tried multiple times to quit and have used lots of different methods – and they’re still smoking. So they really don’t believe that they can quit. With hypnosis I take those tiny seeds of belief they still have and make them grow strong and powerful. I help my clients believe in themselves again – and they’re unstoppable!

If you or someone you care about needs to give up tobacco/nicotine in any form, let them know that it can happen. I’ve helped many clients become non-tobacco users. You can do it too!