Hypnotherapy to stop smoking - anyone have experience?

Sonofa

Hi,

I'm the world's worst at trying to stop smoking but want to.

I've heard a couple good experiences with this option in the past but would be grateful for a few others' experiences, views on it.

Successes or otherwise, how many sessions? How much does it typically cost?

Thanks

Tiglath

A work colleague had one session a few years ago and has never smoked again; he'd been on between 20 and 30 a day. Another friend found it didn't help at all; she later stopped after attending an Allan Carr seminar. Don't know how much the various options cost.

fizzypotter

my friend also had 1 session, and not only has she never touched a cigarette since, she has also never felt like she wanted to.
that was 6 years ago and she was quite a heavy smoker.
good luck x

Errata

It's £135 in West Yorkshire for one session and a follow up session plus support materials and CD's. It seems to work for some but not for others so it doesn't come with a cast iron guarantee.
If you do some research for hypnotherapists in your locality check that their qualifications and membership of professional bodies; here's an example http://www.debbiewaller.com/

EssexGirl

I used Susan Hepburn's Stop Smoking in One Hour. Listened to it once, just as I was going to bed, in fact I fell asleep listening to it. That was around 7 years ago and haven't smoked since & I'd tried everything before that, patches, cold turkey etc.
Borrow it from your local library and it won't even cost you anything.

I also did a lot of reading during my quit time, and found the "whyquit" website REALLY helpful & informative. It goes into the psychology of smoking and how you stay hooked.

Good luck!

WolfSong2000

D your research....hypnosis *can* be incredibly effective with regards to helping people stop smoking, but it all depends on the hypnotist.

Errata mentioned qualifications and membership of professional bodies....this is a good place to start, but bear in mind there are no official/universally recognised hypnotherapy qualifications and at last count there were almost 100 different "professional bodies", so take it all with a pinch of salt.

See how many years experience the hypnotherapist has...if they have testimonials from previous clients which they can share. They should be happy to give you a consultation beforehand where they answer any questions you have and put you at ease, dispelling misconceptions, etc.

If you want, there's a brilliant site called hypnothoughts.com it's primarily aimed at hypnotherapists, but if you sign up and ask for recommendations/any questions you have, I am sure people there will be happy to help

flissh

I had it years ago. It was 'group hypnotherapy' in a large hall with a hypnotist on a stage talking to us (and there was a lot of us!)
At the time I thought what a con. An audience full of people that had paid £50 to sit and watch a guy on the stage talking at us for about two hours on why we should stop smoking, then at the end doing a sort of group hypnosis. I felt like giggling through the last bit as we all sat with our heads bowed as he told us all to relax, etc.
I had the last fag I had on me just before I went in to the hall. When I came out a couple of hours later I was sure it wouldn't work, but thought I would give it a go and try not to buy any... Ten years on I still haven't bought any!