Breaking addictions and beating unwanted habits like smoking is not easy on your own which is why an event like ‘Stoptober’ is good as there is support out there to help smokers overcome their nicotine addiction and end that nasty habit.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) supports campaigns like Stoptober and its clinical hypnotherapists across the UK are experienced in helping people stop smoking – one of hypnotherapy’s better success stories.
Stoptober 2017 is to support the use of e-cigarettes for the first time, despite warnings from health experts and new television adverts launched by Public Health England (PHE) encourage smokers to use e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, to overcome their addiction, the Evening Standard reports.
Speaking for the NCH, Richard Lepper said: “While the NCH supports anyone who finds a way to stop smoking, it seems as if swapping one device for another does not address the long-term health implications. Hypnosis from a trained and qualified practitioner with experience and success in this field would address both the desire to stop smoking (cigarettes and vapes) and provide a solution that meets the needs of the individual.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidance expressing caution about the risks and benefits of vaping. Nice said: “The draft guideline does not list e-cigarettes as recommended aids to stop smoking however it does say that advice should be offered on their use.” Nice advised that patients should be told that ‘there is currently little evidence on their long term benefits or harms’.
According to the NHS, 1.5 million people have taken part in Stoptober since it launched in 2011, many of them receiving free one-on-one support from a medical professional via the NHS. It adds that vaping has since become the most popular method of stopping smoking, with 53% of people using e-cigarettes to try and quit.
The campaign says that by not smoking for the 28 days the campaign runs, smokers are more likely to quit for good and that there are three benefits – being healthy, saving money and protecting one’s family.
However, hypnotherapy can be even quicker and more effective. The NCH says that it might only take a one-session treatment of around 90 minutes as smoking is a habit that you can give up for good, so the therapist may use what is known as aversion techniques which will put you off having another cigarette.
Smoking, says the NCH, is a problem behaviour or an unwanted habit or addiction, ‘something you feel you have no control over which affects your life and the lives of those you care about’.
But, adds the NCH, the good news is that you are in control and you can change how you react to certain situations, and protect yourself in ways that are healthy and which allow you succeed and grow stronger in body and mind.
“You just need to know how to change it, and to believe you can. The reason why hypnotherapy works so rapidly with bad habits and behaviours is because it works directly with your subconscious, bypassing the critical mind and getting to the root of the issue so that changes can be made that support your goals quickly and efficiently.”
Lepper added: “As much as 90% of smoking is mental as nicotine leaves the body in days yet the subconscious mind holds onto the desire to smoke for longer. Hypnotherapy is an effective method for ceasing smoking and if this what you really want to do that it is incredibly successful.”
If you wish to stop smoking, contact one of the more than 1,800 qualified NCH therapists across the UK by clicking here and entering your postcode where applicable. It will be life-changing experience.