One of the most common issues that people go to hypnotherapy for is to give up smoking. Like with any issue that you go and see a Hypnotherapist about if you are not 100% on board to quit a habit then it doesn’t matter what happens in the session, it won’t work long term.
I regularly turn smoking clients away based on a simple question which is asking them to scale 1-10 where they are on their desire to quit. 1 loving smoking cigarettes with no intention of ever giving up and 10 never wanting to even see one again. If you are not a 10 (or even an 11) then I will honestly tell you not to waste your money or my time with the sessions.
What I will do is change your relationship with cigarettes, because that’s what it is. There will be a trigger for you to light up and I will change that as well, I can even help you to feel completely disgusted at the thought of cigarettes. However if your desire for change isn’t there then you can easily fall back into your old habits because actually your reason for change isn’t strong enough.
Here are a few facts for you to think about:
1. There are 1.3 Billion people who smoke in the world today
2. In this century more than a Billion people will die from smoking related diseases (World Health Organisation)
3. In England alone cigarette companies have to recruit 352 new smokers every day to make up for the 352 that died that day who were smoking. These are all 10, 11, 12 & 13 year old children.
There is nothing else on this planet that you could legally sell to a child in the full knowledge that it will destroy their health, cost them a fortune and kill it prematurely than cigarettes.
If you smoke and you have children, and you know full well what it is doing to your health, that is to say it will shorten your life to the point that you won’t get to spend as much time with your family as you would have wished, that your internal organs may eventually fail due to the poison you are putting into your body, then just imagine for a second watching your child lighting up a cigarette from behind a screen where you can’t say anything and imagine that feeling, knowing they are starting on that same path of self-destruction.
Now you may say to me I won’t let my child start smoking because I know it’s bad for them and I tell them all the time, I also never smoke around my child, and that may very well be true, but consider this, what age did you start smoking? Does your child ever see you smoking? Can they smell it on you? Do you ever say things like “this cigarette calms me down”.
From the age of 9yrs old I used to go to the south of France for my summer holidays and I would see my mum (she and my father divorced and she moved back to France when I was 4yrs old). In the evenings with our family around me, outside, after a meal my mum would want a cigarette and asked me if I wanted to light it for her. This seemed an incredible opportunity to do something that only adults did. I did it and hated it, but I felt big, like a grown up. I did this for at least 2 or 3 summers, but fortunately I never continued to smoke and in fact told my mum I didn’t want to do it any longer. It was never for me, but I can see now how easy it is to start at such an early age, especially through peer pressure.
In many cases a habit, be it smoking or other habits can be the result of either a traumatic experience or something you believe gave you status or pleasure of some kind. Maybe you first thought it looked cool because the grown-ups were doing it, maybe you did it because all your friends were and you didn’t want to be the odd one out (i.e. the healthy one?).
When I see clients I will ask questions to help us find the trigger or the pattern that has been created. This can also be because of a lack of basic needs and so they use their habit to make up for that deficit.
When talking about quitting cigarettes, I will help you to dispel 3 main myths
1. I can’t quit
2. I am addicted to nicotine
3. It’s doing something for me
I will talk to you about that part of you that wants to smoke and the relationship that your unconscious mind has with that part.
Once you have completely reframed cigarettes and what they are doing for you, that’s where the change happens, maybe one or two of you when reading this today will find it’s enough for you to completely stop simply because you’ve had a shift.
After the session you will have a completely different view of cigarettes and your desire to smoke will be gone completely from your body.
Read below a testimonial from a satisfied client:
"I have been a smoker for most of my life. Having tried every “tool” to stop with little or no success I decided to try hypnotherapy. As I have known Phil for many years I trusted him & felt comfortable asking him to help. His gentle, non-judgemental manner put me at ease immediately and I believe contributed to the success of the session. I am now 7 weeks nicotine free and determined to keep going!"
KS.
Sources: World Health Organisation, Freddie Jacquin
My journey into mindset really began when I suffered from anxiety and depression in 2012 after I had single-handedly organised at that time the biggest Taekwon-Do competition in history at the Brighton Centre. I had some helpers, however I tried to micro manage everything and my health took an enormous plunge after the event when I was handed more invoices than had been budgeted for and I risked losing my house as there wasn’t enough money left after everyone had been paid.
At one stage even my wife said that part of me died at that competition and she above anyone else could see what had happened to me and the journey I had been on. I literally could not see a way out, the days leading up to the championships and the week within which it took place were without doubt some of the most stressful times of my life. The months afterwards were a complete blur.
We had over 1500 competitors from over 50 countries take part where I had organised their hotels, airport transfers, transport to the venue and lunches for over 3000 people across 5 days. I lost a lot of money from countries who booked for competitors to take part and I had to pay for the hotel up front as they said they would pay me when they arrived. On arrival I was told either the people hadn’t travelled or they had found other accommodation.
I had organised a demonstration at the Amex stadium during half time of a Brighton football match the day before the start of the competition where I was interviewed pitch side. At the Brighton Centre I organised for TV cameras to record everything, a giant screen with the scoreboard and instant slow motion playback for the audience to see. I had written, recorded and edited clips on the rules for spectators to watch on the big screen, wrote the opening ceremony and organised for an opera singer and town crier to be there, booked celebrities and local dignitaries to come for the finals night, organised a seminar with the famous Rhee brothers (from the film “Best of the Best”), an after party for the competitors and banquet for the Grandmasters/Masters.
You get the idea… these are still just a few of the things.
The competition was an enormous success for the competitors, umpires, coaches and dignitaries, however for me afterwards I was drained. I had missed 7 days of seeing my new born daughter and all for nothing as I returned home with more invoices, no money left over and the threat of losing what I had built up over many years.
I began to become an introvert, I struggled to communicate with people and when I did I snapped at them (which is unlike me). I stayed awake most nights as I continued to ruminate about everything, this in turn stopped me from having any deep recuperative sleep and resulted in me having waking exhaustion each morning, then the cycle would continue each day. I didn’t want to get up in the morning, I didn’t want to teach the martial art that I loved so much. I literally had to force myself to go. I also distanced myself from my family.
I had considered going to the doctor for anti-depressants, however I chose not to as I’ve never taken prescription drugs and I had it in my head that I didn’t want to become reliant on them. Maybe I should have taken them though because I know that I made poor decisions and upset quite a few people during that time because of my mental state.
I struggled to go to Brighton for family days and couldn’t go anywhere near the Brighton Centre (even after my accountant helped me to resolve the financial issues a few months later so I was clear of any debt), the attachment I had created with that place was completely debilitating and I found even driving towards Brighton would give me heart palpitations.
As a hypnotherapist I now know this as a faulty pattern match, a connection to a time that was traumatic for me that led me down a spiral of anger, disappointment, feelings of failure, frustration and fear.
Learning to understand how the brain works has completely changed my life. 3 years of suffering later, in 2015 I learnt about mindset and was introduced to meditation, I started to look logically at how I had arrived at that point in my life and the automatic attachments my brain had created for survival whilst in the “fight or flight mode”. Because when you feel threatened your brain will find a way to protect you even if it means creating a reaction that can be detrimental to your well-being.
Now 7 years on I am able to help people through this debilitating issue and help them to find a preferred way of feeling and thinking. A new way to react to the triggers that are there for many who have either been suffering for years or maybe an old memory that was buried away years ago that has now created a deep negative state that affects them every day. I realise now that without having gone through that amazing experience and it was amazing in many ways (both negative and positive) that it has brought me to this point, because only through suffering can we really appreciate everything that we actually have. When you have someone who points you in the right direction then everything suddenly falls into place.
Please consider this:
1. This is far more common than we all think
2. You are not abnormal in anyway
3. There is a way through this
Read some testimonials below of people I have helped then when you’re ready to change your life to a preferred way of feeling and being then get in touch by email info@jplearhypnosis.co.uk. We’ll have a chat to discuss what I can do to help you then we’ll get you booked in.
“I arranged to see Phil for a hypnotherapy session at a time when I was experiencing extremely high levels of anxiety on a daily basis, which was impeding my ability to function normally. I was very often panicked and edgy, tearful, extremely short tempered, needy, paranoid and defensive. I didn’t know what to expect from the session and went with a completely open mind, I just knew that I wanted to feel better. Phil helped me to feel completely at ease, explaining the process at each step and sensitively getting to the heart of what was causing the anxiety. I found the whole session to be extremely cathartic, in relaxing and comfortable surroundings and the results have been nothing short of incredible! At the end of just one session, I felt lighter and more at ease. In fact I couldn’t stop smiling! I started sleeping better, and noticed myself reacting differently to things that would have previously triggered anxiety. Day after day I felt stronger and more confident and now, almost a month later, I’ve not had a single anxiety attack, I feel in control of my emotional responses and I’m more relaxed and positive in general because I find myself living more ‘presently’ and noticing the little things in my day that make me happy. All of this with no actual effort on my part, it was just as though a shift occurred during the session which re-wired the negative thought patterns I was trapped in. Working with Phil has made such a huge positive difference to my day to day life and I would highly recommend him to anyone.”
IK.
"I was going through a very difficult time in my life, I was depressed, incredibly low, had no self-esteem , confidence, I felt very lost….. I was introduced to Phil Lear through a work colleague, Phil felt very confident that he could help me get through these times through hypnosis and learning several techniques to combat my anxiety. Even after the first session with Phil , I felt a difference, more perspective, clarity and self-worth. After further sections, Phil’s confidence in helping me became very apparent, a massive improvement, back to being me again. A massive thanks to Phil, I cannot recommend his treatment enough…"
GPC
Before seeing Phil a few weeks ago I was struggling with anxiety. Phil took time to talk to me about my issues and explain a bit about anxiety to me, without delving too deeply into old wounds. Since seeing Phil, I have noticed a big improvement , I was able to attend a recent work do without the usual need to find a reason why I couldn't attend (after paying for tickets!) and more importantly, he unexpectedly helped me with being able to get back on my horse again. After completely loosing my confidence. The next day (after my treatment) I was back up and riding again. He also remained in contact to see how I was getting on. I can't thank Phil enough and would definitely recommend him to anyone considering hypnotherapy.
AF.
"I had my first ever hypnotherapy session with Phil over Christmas 2018. I’ve had an issue with eating certain foods after an incident at primary school and I’ve hidden this for as long as I can almost remember. At it’s very worst this was involuntary gagging from particular food textures and even strong food smells. Over the years this has had a huge negative impact on my life as well as to my family and friends and even at work. I’ve always been embarrassed and slightly ashamed of the problem and so finally I decided to talk to Phil about it and he assured me he could help. I’ll admit I was a little sceptical whether hypnosis would work for me but I was determined to go in with an open mind.
During the session, Phil was professional, patient & understanding. We discussed the history of my issue and what I hoped to get from my hypnotherapy session. The whole time I felt relaxed and comfortable as Phil led me through the visualisations. The two-hour session flew by and I left feeling energised and full of hope.
From just that single session the involuntary gagging has gone, disappeared entirely. I can now try foods that I know were an issue for me, foods that previously I couldn’t physically bear to even put in my mouth for fear of what would happen.
I’ve also found that I’m now calmer around foods in general, I’m more relaxed about eating out and with others and have been trying out foods that previously I’ve never experienced before or been too afraid to try. I find myself eating something new and marvelling at the positive change in me all from just two-hours of hypnotherapy.
From my experience, I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending hypnotherapy to anyone with issues that impact negatively on their lives. Most importantly for me, I couldn’t have chosen someone better or more understanding than Phil to help me and cannot express how thankful I am for his help and support."
T