Self hypnosis to stop smoking is a simple, practical way to support yourself as you give up smoking. Using guided hypnosis sessions regularly can help to strengthen your motivation, build determination and gradually break the habit patterns around smoking. Self hypnosis can also help you develop a non-smoker mindset as you develop healthier responses, and overcome cravings.
This guide explains exactly how self hypnosis to stop smoking works, helping you to know what to expect and how it can help as you become smoke free.
In This Guide
Why Use Self Hypnosis to Stop Smoking?
If you’ve decided to stop smoking, or are seriously thinking about it, you will already know that smoking is bad for your health. The challenge is not so much about knowing you should quit, it is more about changing such a deeply ingrained habit that feels woven into your everyday life. For many people, it can be hard to visualize yourself being a non-smoker.
When I was thinking about quitting smoking myself over twenty years ago, I remember feeling that becoming a non-smoker seemed somehow ‘boring’ and not something that motivated me. I’ve been smoke free ever since and I believe now, that this feeling was just the addiction and our natural tendency to resist change. The combination of nicotine withdrawal and established smoking habits can make it feel that smoking is part of who you are, and this can make you doubt your decision to quit. This is where hypnosis can help you. Self hypnosis reinforces a positive identity as a non-smoker, strengthens your commitment, helps you stick to the decision to be a non-smoker, and quietens self-doubt.
Why is it So Hard to Stop Smoking?
Stopping smoking is difficult because nicotine is highly addictive. However, addiction to nicotine is only part of the challenge. As a smoker you were used to cigarettes being paired with everyday activities, routines and emotions and that can make it feel like a natural part of your life. Initially, giving up smoking is about resisting the temptation to smoke. After a while it goes beyond that and you may wonder, “what can I do when all the smoking triggers are there but there’s no cigarette?”
The key is to change your thinking and gradually take on a mindset of a non-smoker. If you work at it until it becomes automatic, you will simply forget about the missing cigarette with your coffee or other routines. Your mind will begin to accept that smoking is not part of your life. Making this mental shift in your thinking is one of the reasons people choose hypnosis to help them quit smoking.
How Can Self Hypnosis Help You Stop Smoking?
Self hypnosis to stop smoking can help you reduce stress, strengthen your motivation and willpower and help you stay committed to your decision to quit. Regular listening can help reinforce the positive changes as you let go of the old smoking habits and begin to identify as a non-smoker.
As a smoker, you may believe that having a cigarette will help you when you feel stressed or anxious. In reality that expectation is often created by the nicotine addiction and all the years of repeating the smoking habits. Self hypnosis can help you relax, reduce tension, respond differently to triggers and even sleep better.
You may feel that being a smoker has become part of your identity. Perhaps you feel that you will lose something if you gave up smoking or fear that life would be less enjoyable. One of the aims of self hypnosis is to help you replace those fears with a positive and more developed mental image of yourself as a non-smoker. With practice, you can gradually identify with that version of yourself until it begins to feel natural and you simply think of yourself as a non-smoker or an ex-smoker.
How Does Self Hypnosis Work?
Self hypnosis is a focused, absorbed state of mind, the same natural state as hypnotherapy. Using a guided self hypnosis recording allows you to experience hypnosis in the familiarity and comfort of your own home, rather than visiting a therapist. Most people experience a similar mental state to hypnosis from time to time in ordinary life. Have you ever been so absorbed in a book, film or even a daydream that you lost track of time and barely noticed what was happening around you? Hypnosis is very similar, when you enter a light hypnotic trance.
During self hypnosis to stop smoking your attention is focused and you may be more open and receptive to positive suggestions and new ways of thinking. The aim is to help change the habits, feelings, and automatic responses that you associate with smoking.
If you listen regularly to your self hypnosis audio the positive suggestions are reinforced each time you listen. This helps to strengthen your determination to stop smoking and replace old smoking habits and triggers with healthier responses and build a stronger identity as a non-smoker.
When Should You Listen to Self Hypnosis?
The best times to listen is when you are relaxed and unlikely to be interrupted. Many people find it helpful to listen around the same time each day, especially in the first 2 weeks as you are establishing new habits after quitting smoking. You can also use the mini session when you experience a craving or feel tempted to smoke, using it many times a day if needed. Some people prefer to listen when they go to bed, and some listen twice or even 3 times in a day. Regular listening is important, as repeated practice helps reinforce the new responses you are developing.
Nicotine Withdrawal
At first, when you stop smoking, you will experience the effects of nicotine withdrawal, which is unpleasant and creates a strong craving to smoke. The good news is, this stage of withdrawal is short-lived with the withdrawal symptoms strongest in the first few days after quitting. These feelings get less intense with time as your body adjusts to no longer getting nicotine. The psychological elements of stopping smoking can continue even after this physical withdrawal and this is where self hypnosis can become particularly valuable. Self hypnosis to stop smoking can help you stay committed to your goal and help you develop healthy responses to triggers and cravings.
Nicotine withdrawal can feel unpleasant and you may experience strong cravings to smoke. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are often at their strongest in the first few days after stopping smoking. They do gradually become less intense as your body adjusts to being without nicotine. If you need more guidance on this, you can find more information about nicotine withdrawal and stopping smoking on the NHS website.
The Psychological Element of Stopping Smoking
Smoking is a physical addiction and a deeply rooted habit, so even after physical cravings ease, you may still find there are times you want to smoke. Self hypnosis can help you develop healthy responses to triggers and cravings and stay committed to your goal of being a non-smoker.
Self hypnosis to stop smoking can support you through the quitting process by helping you relax, reduce stress and strengthen determination.. With regular listening self hypnosis for quitting smoking can help you stay focused and persevere by reminding you of why you are doing this. Using self-hypnosis can help you build a positive self-image as a non-smoker, as you go one day at a time staying strong, sticking to your decision and succeeding.
When you stop smoking, you may experience:
- Strong cravings for nicotine
- Headaches
- Nausea
- General aches and pains
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Difficulty concentrating
- Crying or feeling emotional
- Insomnia
How to Use Self Hypnosis to Stop Smoking
1. Choose a quit date
2. Listen to one or more tracks each day
3. Use the mini session whenever you get a craving
4. Keep using the hypnosis for 3 weeks
5. Focus on being a non-smoker
Conclusion
Stopping smoking is challenging because it is complex, including both a physical addiction and a deeply ingrained habit. Self hypnosis can help you through the process by helping you relax deeply, ease stress, tension, and irritability, manage triggers and develop a positive self image as a non-smoker. Listening regularly can help support you as you succeed in quitting smoking and becoming a healthier, happier non-smoker.
Continue Your Stop Smoking Journey
- Explore the Stop Smoking Hypnosis Hub to compare all of our smoking hypnosis downloads and programs plus helpful articles.
- Learn more about the Smoking Hypnosis download or CD. and discover how the 3 track program can support you as you quit smoking.
- Explore the self hypnosis to Stop Smoking Program if you are looking for more comprehensive support.