Stopping Smoking?? Hypnosis?? good?

I used to do hypnotherapy.   No better than will power   Use a nicotine replacement   

jeffl said:

No better than will power

On one hand, of course. On the other, it can bolster your will power.

Here's what I do know. Had I not gone to hypnosis I would not have quit on that day. I'm fairly certain of that.

And if I had not quit on that day I may not have ever quit. 

It took a lot of will power after the fact, but it was hypnosis that got me to quit on that day. Same could be true for anyone, if they're willing.

I have a lot of faith in the power of hypnosis.  Thirty years ago I had a root canal under hypnosis, with no pain medication, and I didn't feel a thing.  I was astonished but happy.

So I figured hypnosis would make it easy to quit smoking.  But it didn't make it easy.  I tried really hard, with hypnosis, and was able to quit for a month or so.  But then I went back.

I know you don't want to hear this, locowolfy, but it was cold turkey that did it.  I tried about fifteen times at very short intervals -- maybe over the course of three months -- and finally one of those tries worked.  I think I just got tired of being angry with myself for giving in.  It's been fifteen years with no cigarettes since.

Hypnosis is a very strange thing - maybe the ultimate in woo. It totally depends on whether the subject is susceptible to this kind of suggestion. It turns out that I happen to be kind of susceptible to this, and I used hypnosis to quit for a while many years ago (in the 80's, I think). It didn't last and I went on to smoke for another 20 years or so.

I ended up quitting using a combination of the patch and Chantix about 8 years ago. But the most important factor in quitting was having a very strong motivation to do so. At the time a couple of things happened in my life that really made me want to stop. Absent that motivation I doubt I could have stopped.

Stopping smoking is all in the head, and different techniques will work on different people. There are enough reports of hypnosis working that it's worth it to give it a shot.

You have nothing to lose by trying, right? So give it a shot. The results, if it works, are so great I don't see why you wouldn't just run right out to this woman Debra or the Mad Russian (really??? wow!) and do it.

I know Meggie of MOL quit by using Chantix, with a very able assist from a supportive thread on MOL a few years ago. I think it would be worth talking to your doctor about your concerns regarding putting another chemical into your body. A doctor would be able to tell you whether there will be any interactions with the other medications you take, and a doctor could help you figure out whether you might be allergic to any new medication you consider taking.

As I said with respect to the hypnosis, it's so well worth a try. I applaud you for getting serious about it. And I can promise you that if you post on MOL while you are trying to quit, you will get a TON of support and encouragement.

My parents were both heavy smokers until I was in my 20s. Unfortunately, my brother and I both have respiratory issues as a result, and my mother suffered terrible guilt over my asthma for the rest of her life once the link was discovered. Of course, no one knew about the dangers of second- or third-hand smoke when my parents began. It was "cool" back then. They tried to quit over and over, with no success, until one day my mother went to the hospital to visit a friend who was there for something relatively minor. In the next bed in her room, however, was a woman who was dying, quite horribly, from lung cancer. Mom quit on the spot, went home, and made Dad quit the same day. They never went back, although I think both of them were sorely tempted.

Please do try. The down sides of smoking are so numerous and so bad that I hate to think of anyone continuing to deal with them, much less someone I like!

I'm too afraid to try Chantix, as I've heard one can have weird side effects?

Yes, the ads include mention of side effects. That's something to ask your doctor, too.

When I get prescriptions for my asthma medications, it really gives me pause that one of them comes with the warning that it can actually increase the odds of asthma-related death. My allergist of several years ago explained that it was a legal requirement that they put that warning with the drug because of something that had  happened in a deeply flawed study, and now I can't even remember what it was. The bottom line was it was pretty much impossible that it would happen to me. Many side effects happen in minute numbers, or as the result of a fluke, but they have to mention them. It's worth asking about.

I don't mean to downplay the possibility of side effects, just to say you should always ask. Ads are required by law to include those warnings, but the actual side effects are not always as dire as the warnings imply.

That's fascinating. The power of post-hypnotic suggestion can really do the trick, huh?

Hypnotizability is a trait, like height.  You've either got it or you don't.  The percentage of the population who are susceptible enough to use hypnosis for behavior change is probably about 20% (wild a$$ed guess based upon my experiences using it for habit change.)

There are a few things that correlate with susceptibility.

1.  When you read a book, do you become completely immersed in it and forget where you are because your head is in the story?  You might even be startled if someone interrupted you.

2.  When you are at the movies, same question.  

3.  Were you a sleepwalker as a child?

On the other hand, if you are a skeptic about hypnosis, or fearful, it is highly unlikely that you can be hypnotized.

The Spiegel eyeroll test is described below.  Watch the video and then do the test with someone observing you.   If you are able to gaze upward and close your eyes while continuing to gaze upward, you are more likely to be susceptible.  If your eyes drop as your eyelids drop, fuggetaboutit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwaLvSMDBqs

http://www.jeffwarren.org/illustrations/the-spiegel-eye-roll/