There’s a short video below at the end of this blog. I’m going to address a few questions like ‘does hypnosis work?’, ‘Whats your success rate?’, ‘Why can’t I succeed at quitting vapes or cigarettes?’ and others. Read on to hear the answers.
In all my years as a stop smoking expert I’ve heard many smokers beat themselves up saying that they can’t seem to quit. So many people I see have quit for a period of time but then fell back into it and they see themselves as a complete failure in quitting because they’re back on the vapes or cigarettes. Every smoker attempting to stop smoking wants to be a success at quitting, but here’s the million dollar question; what does it mean to successfully quit? Or to ask the same question in another way, how long do you think you would have to be smoke free for before you would say that you’ve successfully quit?
Pretty important questions worth clarifying i’m sure you’d agree. But first we have to be clear on the cause of your vaping or cigarette problem. Is it a drug addiction or a habit? Most stop smoking aids out there assume that smoking is a drug addiction, especially the nicotine replacement therapies (NRT’s). The drug companies (who want to sell you more drugs), have spent a LOT of time, money and energy pushing a story which has one purpose; to convince you that you’re a drug addict. Their solution to help you get off the nicotine drug is to give you that same drug in another way. Does that make sense to you? Look, some people have quit using NRT’s and thats great! At the end of the day, whatever has worked for you has saved your life and well done for that. However in my experience having helped over 4,500 smokers since 2008, id say 95% of my clients have tried NRT’s and they didn’t quit for long, if at all, not to mention the crazy, horrible, uncomfortable side effects.
I submit to you that the real problem you have, is a powerful HABIT rather than a drug addiction. I’ll go one step further to say that I absolutely believe that smoking is a dependency, no doubt about that, but it’s a dependency of the mind first, with its reflection in the body, not the other way around. An urge to smoke is triggered by where you are in the moment and a time and place you mentally associate with a smoke. For example, the moment you jump in the car, take a break from work, finish a meal or make that morning coffee or have an alcoholic drink or around your smoking buddies. But if you’re in a different moment where smoking isn’t an option, like on a long haul flight, all of a sudden you feel fine with no urges. Explain that to me Mr Drug Company? A true drug addiction doesn’t work that way. I would know, i’ve worked in drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic’s. It’s not pretty.
So, if smoking is more of a habit than a drug addiction, the next logical question to determine a successful quit attempt is, ‘how long does it take to break a habit?’. I’m sure you’ve heard that it takes 21 days to break a habit. So guess what? If you’ve ever gone 21 days or more without a cigarette or a vape, then YOU SUCCESSFULLY QUIT THE SMOKING HABIT. Furthermore, whatever aid you used to help you get to the 21 day mark worked! You and the stop smoking aid were in fact a success and that is worth celebrating. Where you failed was not in the quitting, but the maintenance of a nonsmoker which is a completely different challenge all together. Ending an addiction is very different to staying free of the addiction. Ask any ex drug addict or alcoholic or gambler. This is why in order to successfully reaming smoke free, there has to be certain lifestyle changes and a mindset that has to go with it. Otherwise your chances of long term success go down significantly.
It is for this reason that when you’re doing your research to decide which stop smoking aid, program or hypnotherapist is going to help you be a permanent success, its so crucially important to ask about any support tools offered to help you make sure you don’t fall into the ONLY THREE reasons you would EVER relapse after 21 days smoke free: stress, alcohol and complacency. They are literally the only three reasons for relapse after 21 days. Can you relate? The fact is that even if NRT’s do help you successfully quit, they do absolutely nothing to help you REMAIN a nonsmoker for good, thats all up to you. If you’ve ever quit for longer than 21 days, think about at what got you started, i’ll be you a free lunch it was one of those three things. It’s for this reason why i give all my clients so many post session supports tools to help reduce the likelihood of these three things getting you. And if all that fails, everyone gets a free second session thats valid for your entire lifetime in case of relapse. So you really have nothing to lose right?
Please leave any questions or comments below. Show you care and please share. Feel free to call me directly any time on 1300 883 272 so we can have a free no obligation chat about your specific smoking situation.