Have you tried to go down that path of finally stopping smoking? Have you found it very difficult, incredibly stressful and in the end futile as you slide back into regularly smoking again? Don’t worry, you are not alone in this as millions of others every year attempt to kick their smoking habit with no success. There is however a technique that may be able to help you overcome the impulsive urges and cravings to smoking cigarettes and that is self hypnosis to quit smoking.

Many of you may be skeptical about this method and though there have been incredible amounts of success stories for hypnotherapy and self hypnosis it is understandable to be wary. Often this comes from stereotypical views on what hypnosis is and other times it may be from pharmaceutical companies who only want you to buy nicotine patches and other paraphernalia from them without addressing the key psychological aspects of addiction which self hypnosis can help with.

At its foundations hypnosis is a method of extremely focused relaxation which means you are in a relaxed state of mind but also able to concentrate on doing certain things so you are not THAT relaxed.

It is a way that you can turn off the conscious mind which is always monitoring the input and output to and from your senses. It logically analyses everything you do and in our complex modern lives is incredibly busy filtering so much information it can be a hindrance when trying to change behaviors.

The purpose of this is to gain access to the unconscious mind which is almost dreamlike and has a lot more connection to our emotions, habits and impulses. When you are in that state you can basically rework or reprogram your thinking to go from a smoker struggling to quit to an ex-smoker at a deeper level.

Professional hypnotherapists can help you enter this state and can enable you to change your behavior patterns but you can also do this by yourself with self hypnosis which is not much different and is just as effective

Knowing the methods of self hypnosis will allow you to enter the hypnotized state which then allows, through repetition of suggestions, phrases and thoughts, an implanting of various behavioral changes that will help you overcome cravings and the impulsive desire to smoke when stressed or tempted.

This is not a one shot cure though and may take weeks of self hypnosis every day to gain the best benefits of this technique.

Since self hypnosis is mostly about focused relaxation you need to have the right place and the right tools to achieve this.

First you need a quiet spot that is private and has no interruptions and no distractions. This can be one of the hardest things to find when you think about it! Make sure that no spouses, children, work or anything else disturbs you in this place.

Next you need to start relaxing and emptying your mind of the worries and cares of day to day life. Letting each pieces of the complex puzzle of life fade away as you try to get past the conscious mind into the uncurious mind.

To do this some people choose to use a few tools such as:

• A lit candle – This can be a very good tool to use as a focus for your eyes. Concentrating on staring at a candle can help you avoid all other distractions even in a sparse environment.
• A Metronome – others prefer or include a metronome. The regular ticking can be annoying for some and soothing and helpful to others as it matches their heart rate or breathing.
• Self Hypnosis Audio CDs or MP3s – There are some excellent products that can help you not only reach a self hypnotized state but can then aid you in your reprogramming phase.

If you can recognize that hypnotism is not a scam but a mental tool that allows a change in perception and thinking then you may be half convinced that it can be used to actually change behaviors. It is understandable to wonder if the changes actually stick and work or if this is some elaborate placebo.

Some recent clinical studies suggest self hypnosis does have a definite impact:

To investigate the most effective method of stopping smoking, the University of Iowa’s Frank Schmidt along with research student Chockalingham Viswesvaran carried out a meta-analysis, using the results of more than 600 studies, with a total of nearly 72,000 people. The results included 48 studies of hypnosis covering 6000 smokers, and were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. They clearly showed that hypnosis was three times more effective than nicotine replacement therapy.

There are many ways you can get help to quit smoking cigarettes, some that treat the physical addiction to nicotine, others that offer support to you when you are feeling tempted and low. Self hypnosis requires only yourself, your will to beat this addiction and a few simple tools that will allow you to stop smoking forever.

If you have had troubles quitting before self hypnosis may be the answer you are looking for, the final piece of the puzzle that will allow you to fulfill your promise to yourself and live a healthier life.

One such tool as has been mentioned is a good audio guide on how to hypnotize yourself and that tells you exactly what to do along the way and when hypnotized to gain the most effectiveness.

An excellent resource for this is “Better Living with Hypnosis” which has multiple downloadable MP3s or orderable CDs that will coach you through the whole thing.

Download stop smoking self hypnosis guides here