Quit Smoking Hypnosis Services Near Me

---

---

FAQs:

What is Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis or ‘ hypnotherapy’ names for a technique that induces a trancelike state to achieve increased focus and concentration. Hypnosis is usually done with the help of a therapist who uses verbal repetition and a steady tone of voice to create mental images and bring the mind into a state of relaxation. A person under hypnosis becomes more open to suggestions, which the therapist can use for many beneficial ends.  Hypnosis can be used to help you gain control over your undesired behaviors or help you cope better with any anxiety or pain that you might be experiencing. It’s important to know that although you’re more open to suggestions during hypnosis, you don’t lose control over your own behavior when you’re in that state.

How Does Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy Work?

When under hypnosis, the therapist places your mind and body into a heightened state of learning, making you more susceptible to suggestions for self-improvement or behavior modification, as the American Psychological Association states. The therapist uses their voice to bypass your conscious mind and influence your subconscious directly. Even if you don’t necessarily remember what is said during a session, the therapist’s implanted suggestions can surface in your daily life and move you toward the behavior you want to achieve.

The method behind hypnotherapy takes advantage of distinct states of awareness, transitioning you from one to the other. Specifically, the human brain has two distinct levels of awareness: alpha (relaxed) and beta (alert). When a person is in an alpha state, they become more susceptible to hypnosis, but that's not their state of everyday functioning. To promote hypnosis, a professional guides you through a series of steps designed to relax your body, calm your mind, and focus your attention on specific thoughts or sensations. During each step of hypnotherapy, you might be asked to imagine certain scenes or recall experiences that are conducive to reaching an alpha state.

 As you can see, the method behind hypnosis is ultimately based on relaxation. Once you reach that relaxed alpha state, the therapist's next steps will depend on the outcome you hope to achieve. They might help you recall certain memories you've forgotten or ask you about patterns of behavior that you would like to change. It all depends on your reason for visiting.

What Can Hypnosis Help You With?

Hypnosis can be an effective way to cope with stress and anxiety. In particular, it may ease stress and anxiety before a medical procedure, such as a breast biopsy.

Hypnosis also may be helpful for:

1. Pain control

Hypnosis may help with pain due to burns, cancer, childbirth, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, jaw problems, dental procedures, and headaches.

2. Hot flashes. 

Hypnosis may ease hot flashes caused by menopause.

3. Behavior change. 

Hypnosis has been used with some success to treat sleep problems, bed-wetting, smoking, and overeating.

4. Cancer treatment side effects. 

Hypnosis has been used to ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

5. Mental health conditions. 

Hypnosis may help reduce anxiety associated with fears and phobias.

Is Hypnosis Safe?

Hypnosis is not a dangerous procedure. It is not mind control or brainwashing. A therapist cannot make a person do something embarrassing or that the person doesn't want to do. The greatest risk is that false memories can potentially be created and that it may be less effective than pursuing other, more established, and traditional psychiatric treatments. Hypnosis also may be less effective than pursuing other, more established, and traditional psychiatric treatments. It’s not, for example, a recognized alternative to established treatments for major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.

Why is Quitting Smoking so Hard?

Nicotine is the main addictive drug in tobacco that makes quitting so hard. Cigarettes are designed to rapidly deliver nicotine to your brain. Inside your brain, nicotine triggers the release of chemicals that make you feel good. As nicotine stimulates parts of your brain over and over, your brain gets used to having nicotine around. Over time, nicotine changes how your brain works and makes it seem like you need nicotine just to feel okay.

Does Hypnosis Work to Quit Smoking?

The evidence for hypnosis as a successful smoking cessation method is a mixed bag. Some studies have seen high success rates, whilst others are more modest. A review of 59 different trials found that hypnosis is often better than no support at all. However, researchers did not find hypnosis to be any more effective than the other available addiction treatments.

A study by McNeilly and colleagues found that hypnosis may help quitters to focus on their own resources to curb cigarette cravings. Other researchers have suggested that success rates are caused by the relaxation effects of hypnosis. These might allow people to cope with nicotine addiction and nicotine withdrawal.

How Do You Feel When You Are Hypnotized?

The way people typically describe the feeling of being hypnotized during hypnotherapy is to be in a calm, physically, and mentally relaxed state. In this state, they can focus deeply on what they are thinking about. They usually feel open-minded and willing to think about and experience life differently, often in a more detached way than usual. That said, there is no right way to feel when undergoing hypnosis. If you are curious about trying hypnotherapy as a way of treating addiction, make sure that the person you are working with is qualified to treat you.

How Many Hypnotherapy Sessions Does it Take to Stop Smoking?

Generally, for most light to medium smokers, you should expect a consultation fact-finding session and at least two to three sessions. Some people, particularly the long-term hardened smokers may find they are more resistant to hypnotic suggestions and need more than two or three sessions.

How Long Does it Take to Successfully Quit Smoking?

Once you’ve stopped smoking, it will take nicotine around 72 hours to leave your body- and the withdrawal symptoms you experience will take effect around 2-3 days after you quit. These symptoms usually last for around 1-3 months after you quit; although symptoms like low levels of energy and irritability can take longer to go away than the others.

Any effective smoking cessation program will have to consider this long adjustment period; the period of time it takes your nicotine receptors to go back to normal. For this reason, you’ll find that some doctors recommend weaning off nicotine slowly, with things like nicotine replacement therapy, rather than just going cold turkey.

So to summarise, most people seeking to quit smoking will start to feel better after around a week, and all of the symptoms will have gone within three months. And in terms of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, this average is true across all types of smokers; heavy and light, so you should never be caught in the trap of thinking that it's too late to think about quitting. The average timescale for people overcoming nicotine addiction is around 3 months.

How Much Does Smoking Cessation Hypnotherapy Cost?

Prices vary according to individual practitioners and locations. According to the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists, smoking cessation sessions average between $75 and $125 per session. Some may be higher than that. Not all health insurance policies cover hypnotherapy. Some may cover part of the cost when you use a qualified professional. Be sure to check your policy or contact your insurance company before making an appointment so you’re not caught off guard. If you’re concerned about the cost, it’s worth having this discussion early on. Ask for information about self-hypnosis and other tools you can use on your own.

The Origins of Hypnosis

Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, brought hypnosis into the limelight back in the early twentieth century. He was not the first to come up with the idea. However, he was a figurehead for the role hypnosis has played in modern medicine and psychology.

Freud used hypnosis to help his patients access the desires and fears in their unconscious minds. Patients would enter a trance-like state and allow their deepest feelings to surface while in conversation with the psychoanalyst. Freud theorized that this would allow them to release debilitating emotions and recover from their distress, or hysteria.

Now, Freud was actually a pretty poor hypnotist (and smoked like a chimney). Still, modern health professionals have found Freud’s ideas about hypnosis to be useful. This is because hypnosis provides an altered state of awareness. This can allow access to the subconscious mind. The person can then channel and address underlying desires and fears to help them work towards important goals.

The Science Behind Using Hypnosis to Quit Smoking

Several studies have shown the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating smoking addiction. However, research into hypnosis for smoking cessation is limited, so currently there’s not enough evidence to confirm the benefits of hypnosis for smoking cessation definitively.

That being said, several studies within the last ten years have supported the use of hypnotherapy to help people quit smoking. These include:

A 2014 randomized controlled trial of 160 smokers with serious lung illnesses. This study compared the effectiveness of hypnotherapy, nicotine therapy, or a combination of both treatments and found that those receiving hypnotherapy were more likely to be non-smokers 3 months and 6 months after being hospitalized.

Additionally, a meta-study from 2012 suggested that hypnotherapy may be effective in helping smokers quit. However, the review suggested more evidence is needed to determine if hypnotherapy is more effective than other treatment options.

Finally, a 2019 meta-study of 14 studies on the effectiveness of hypnosis for smoking cessation found that hypnotherapy was equally effective to behavioral interventions.

Symptoms When You Quit Smoking

Common symptoms you may experience during your recovery include:

1. cravings – these may be strong at first, but they usually only last a few minutes. If you resist each one they will get less powerful in time

2. restlessness and trouble concentrating or sleeping – these will pass as your body gets used to not smoking. Relaxation and deep breathing can help.

3. irritability, anger, anxiety, depressed mood – this is all normal: don’t panic. Just accept that you will be emotional for a while and that it will pass

4. an increase in appetite and weight gain – this may last several weeks. Planning ahead can help.

Less common symptoms you may experience – which will also pass – include:

1. cold symptoms such as coughing and sneezing

2. constipation

3. dizziness or light-headedness

4. mouth ulcers.

Types of Hypnosis

There are a few different ways that hypnosis can be delivered:

1. Guided hypnosis: This form of hypnosis involves the use of tools such as recorded instructions and music to induce a hypnotic state. Online sites and mobile apps often utilize this form of hypnosis.

2. Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy and is practiced by licensed physicians and psychologists to treat conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders.

3. Self-hypnosis: Self-hypnosis is a process that occurs when a person self-induces a hypnotic state. It is often used as a self-help tool for controlling pain or managing stress.

Benefits of Trying Hypnotherapy to Quit Smoking 

If you’re interested in addressing your underlying motivations for smoking or want to think about your addiction from a psychological perspective, then hypnotherapy may be a good option.

There are many benefits of using hypnotherapy as a quit aid, such as:

1. Hypnotherapy is exceptionally safe: A large review of 5 studies showed that hypnotherapy is a safe and effective practice for many clinical conditions. While hypnotherapy is very safe, it is not advised for people with psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations.

2. Hypnotherapy is less expensive than alternative therapy sessions: hypnotherapy sessions are generally less expensive than counseling or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Additionally, at-home hypnotherapy sessions, accessed through apps on your phone, are less expensive than in-person hypnotherapy sessions.

3. Hypnotherapy is less than nicotine replacement therapy (NRT): the average cost of a quit attempt with NRT is around $185. Research shows that people make around 30 attempts before giving up, meaning it can cost over $5500 to quit with NRT. Hypnotherapy generally costs between $150 to $250 per in-person session, with some people only needing one or two sessions to feel the effects.

4. Hypnotherapy can be combined with other methods: Hypnotherapy can safely be combined with other methods of quitting, like nicotine replacement therapy (gums, patches, and inhalers) if you want to work on your behavior but wean yourself off the physical nicotine dependence.

What Hypnosis for Smoking Cessation Looks Like

Quitting smoking is difficult and a few hypnotic suggestions won’t change that. Go into hypnotherapy knowing that it takes an open mind, patience, and determination.

On your first visit, you’ll talk about your smoking habits and your desire to change. Also up for discussion should be what you’ve tried so far and what methods you’ll continue to work on along with hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy methods may vary a bit from one practitioner to another, so ask potential therapists how they’ll go about it. Sessions can last from 60 to 90 minutes. How many it will take depends on how well you respond to hypnosis and how much reinforcement you feel you need.

Your hypnotherapist will use verbal cues and mental imagery to guide you to a relaxed, meditative state. Once you’re in this altered state of awareness, you’ll get suggestions like:

- smoking is poisonous

- smoking is unpleasant

- you don’t feel well when you smoke

- you should protect your body from smoke

- you should control smoking and not let smoking control you

- you’ll enjoy many advantages as a non-smoker

- reminders of healthy alternative behaviors when the urge to smoke hits

The goal is to have these thoughts surface when you get the urge to smoke. Remember, you’ll be fully aware of what’s happening. You will not lose control over your behavior during the session or later on.

To reinforce what you’ve taken in, the therapist may also:

- provide audio or video recordings to use at home

- recommend apps you can use on your own

- teach you the basics of self-hypnosis

A 2019 research review suggested that self-hypnosis to quit smoking is associated with a 6-month abstinence rate of 20 to 35 percent.

5 Things Everyone Should Know Before Trying Hypnotherapy

Here are the five most important things you should know before seeing a hypnotherapist:

1. Hypnotherapy sessions are different from what you've seen onstage.

2. Hypnotherapy "miracles" are just a myth.

The good news is that hypnosis is safe, effective, and works very quickly compared to other types of therapy. But, hypnosis is not a magic wand and in most cases, results won’t happen overnight. Remember, it takes 21 days to create a new habit and then a minimum of 3-6 weekly, consecutive sessions to yield the best results.

3. Everyone can be hypnotized.

It’s important to remember hypnosis is a willing state. You cannot be hypnotized against your will, and working with a hypnotherapist is a co-creative process. The most common reason for failure to induce a hypnotic state is a lack of rapport with a hypnotherapist, or working with someone without proper training.

4. Hypnosis is not the same as sleeping.

Hypnosis is a heightened learning state where the body is deeply relaxed and the mind is alert. On occasion, a person may drift into sleep, but this is not the goal of the session. It is the hypnotherapist’s job to make sure the client maintains a relaxed awareness during the session and remains awake. Although the mind may drift, you should still be able to hear everything that is being said to you during the session.

5. Hypnotherapists are not doctors.

Hypnotherapy is not meant to replace medical care; rather, it is a self-improvement tool to enhance the healing process. A hypnotherapist specializes in general self-improvement and behavior modification. They are not licensed by the state as healing arts practitioners, and cannot diagnose or treat medical or psychological conditions.

Impact of Hypnosis

What impact does hypnosis have? The experience of hypnosis can vary dramatically from one person to another. Some hypnotized individuals report feeling a sense of detachment or extreme relaxation during the hypnotic state while others even feel that their actions seem to occur outside of their conscious volition. Other individuals may remain fully aware and able to carry out conversations while under hypnosis. Experiments by researcher Ernest Hilgard demonstrated how hypnosis can be used to dramatically alter perceptions. After instructing a hypnotized individual not to feel pain in their arm, the participant's arm was then placed in ice water. While non-hypnotized individuals had to remove their arms from the water after a few seconds due to the pain, the hypnotized individuals were able to leave their arms in the icy water for several minutes without experiencing pain.

Some Myths about Hypnosis

Myth 1: Hypnosis isn’t real. It’s a form of entertainment.

Hypnosis isn’t a stage act or some magical act. Clinical hypnosis is a type of medical therapy that’s often used as part of a treatment plan that includes traditional medical approaches.

Myth 2: You lose consciousness or have amnesia when you’re hypnotized.

Most people remember everything that happens during hypnosis. You remain aware of who you are, and where you are and remember what happened during a hypnosis session.

Myth 3: You’re under the control of your hypnotherapist when you’re hypnotized.

Your hypnotist or hypnotherapist guides hypnosis, but hypnosis is something you do for yourself. You can’t be made to do anything against your will. You won’t reveal any information that you wished to remain secret. You don’t lose control over your behavior. Hypnosis makes it easier to experience suggestions but doesn’t force you to have certain experiences.

Myth 4: Hypnosis is nothing more than deep sleep.

Hypnosis isn’t sleeping. Some deeper forms of hypnosis could make you appear to be asleep because your body is very still and quiet, but you aren’t asleep.

Where to Find a Hypnotherapist

If you’re interested in hypnotherapy to quit smoking, here are a few ways to start your search for a practitioner:

- ask your doctor

- ask people you know for referrals

- check with your health insurance company

- contact local mental health and human service agencies

- contact professional associations of mental health professionals and hypnotherapists

You can also search these databases:

- American Hypnosis Association

- American Society of Clinical Hypnosis

- National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists

Arrange to speak with the hypnotherapist before committing to an appointment. Since hypnosis involves relaxing and entering a meditative state, it’s important to feel comfortable with the hypnotherapist you work with and find their voice soothing. Things to discuss in advance:

- training and qualifications

- experience in helping people quit smoking

- whether they will provide resources for you to use on your own

- references

Some hypnotists may want you to commit to a set number of sessions. You should probably avoid paying for a complete package until you’ve had a chance to experience a session.

Sources:

Sofia Health

Healthline

WebMD

Quit Genius

Mindset Health

Very Well Mind

MBG Mindfulness

Trevor Wales Hypnotherapy Solutions

CDC

Mayo Clinic

Live Well Dorset

Better Health

Cleveland Clinic

 

The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 (in the United States) immediately.