Stop Smoking: Employing Self Hypnosis and Visualization Techniques

As a smoker, you have probably tried a number of methods to get you to quit this bad habit. Some of you would have even tried to quit using your own will power, only to fail miserably. In truth, while these methods may be helpful to many, there will still be a percentage wherein these options will fail. When this happens, it may be necessary to employ self hypnosis techniques to help you stop smoking once and for all. By getting your subconscious mind to accept your desire to stop smoking, self hypnosis has proven to be one of the most effective treatments by which you can quit this nasty habit.



The three basic components of self hypnosis are relaxation, scripts and visualization. By attaining total relaxation through meditation techniques, you will be able to hypnotize yourself and open your subconscious mind to "suggestions" or self hypnosis scripts. Through the formulation of positive phrases and suggestions you gradually lull your subconscious into cooperating with your will to stop smoking. These self hypnosis scripts are strengthened by visualization techniques.



Through visualization, you are able to imagine yourself doing certain activities that you could not do while stuck with the habit of smoking. Regular practice of visualization techniques like "dissociated visualization" will soon have you imagining concrete images of yourself doing a lot of fun things as though you are watching yourself on a TV screen. The power of visualization lies in the fact that you are able to see yourself as you would be if you stopped smoking. By imagining yourself doing this activity, the more it becomes real to you, and it greatly increases the inevitability of your quitting the habit.



There are a few important factors to consider when using visualization. First, you should be completely decided that you are going to quit smoking. The decision to stop smoking is your intended outcome. By using your imagination and creativity, you can come up with ideas and images that strongly appeal to your emotions. To make these images more powerful, incorporate emotionally charged adjectives into your self hypnosis scripts that would describe these images. For example, if you are visualizing yourself going rock climbing, you can say "I am going to quit smoking so that I will be able to enjoy an exciting rock climbing adventure." If you visualize yourself on the beach, you can say "I am going to stop smoking so that I can go on a thrilling windsurfing holiday."



Another means by which you can effectively utilize visualization is by creating dramatic images of the bad aspects of smoking. You can start by visualizing the tobacco smoke, particularly how it looks, smells and tastes. Use negative associations so that you will begin to see tobacco smoke in a different light. You can associate cigarette or cigar smoke with the smell of garbage, a smelly shoe, or bad breath.

Using Self-Hypnosis and Visualization to Stop Smoking

The market is flooded with different aids to help you quit smoking. You may have tried the nicotine patch, maybe some medications, or simply relied on your own willpower and tried it cold turkey. Some people have succeeded with these methods, but unfortunately the vast majority have failed. If this sounds like you, this may be the perfect time to try self-hypnosis, as not only does it help you quit, but also keep you there. You see, how many people have quit once, twice, maybe ten times, only to pick it up again a few weeks or months down the track? Quitting smoking for one week is one thing, quitting for a life-time is something completely different. By using self-hypnosis you will be able to change your views about smoking within your sub-conscious mind, which is the most effective way to end the addiction once and for all.



There are a few main concepts in self-hypnosis, some of which include relaxing, scripts, and visualizing. Being able to relax is imperative to be able to self-hypnotize. The very first thing you will be taught is how best to relax and open your mind to new suggestions. You will learn certain key phrases or suggestions that are created to stop you from smoking that you will have to tell yourself several times per day. You will also learn how to visualize, which is very important in the process of quitting.



It is very beneficial to master the art of visualization if you want to learn self-hypnosis. By creating mental images in your mind of you performing a certain activity, you will be more able to perform the actual thing. When starting out, it might be wise to create a picture of yourself as if you are watching yourself on TV. This is what is referred to as dissociated visualization. This is a technique which can be a very effective tool as it allows you to see yourself smoke-free. Once you have seen yourself in this image, and imagined it as being a real event, it will make the outcome of quitting smoking an inevitability rather than a possibility.



First of all, when visualizing, you have to become clear in your mind that you are going to quit, no matter what. The outcome is that from this day on, you will no longer smoke, period. We are all different emotionally, so you will have to create images that appeal to you. The key is, it has to make you feel something. If it doesn't, try a different image. These emotions that make you feel something are your keys to success, simply because the more emotions are involved in your suggestions, the quicker and better you will respond to it. You have to find your own words, but here are some suggestions. "Exciting", "caring", "loving", "beautiful", "radiant". The more dramatic and vivid the image you create is, the greater an effect it will have because ultimately these visualizations are your suggestions. Think of tobacco smoke. Imagine in your mind that it smells and tastes awful and the look of it makes you sick. Use other associations to depict how bad it is. Imagine the smell of cigarette smoke as week-old socks or even worse, week-old prawn shells.



Like many other before you, using self-hypnosis and visualization to end the habit once and for all may be the solution. Those who have done it before you found that through the use of their own imagination they can simply create the desired change, powerfully and effectively. With the use of visualisations you can see yourself after the change has happened and therefore meet your goals of being a non-smoker more easily.

Stop Smoking With Hypnosis and Visualization

People use different techniques to get rid of the smoking habit. Many use nicotine patches, some other rely on medication while few others try to stop smoking using their willpower. The success rate in any of these techniques has been very low with most people failing in their efforts.



As a last resort people then select self-hypnosis to stop the smoking habit. Self hypnosis is used to influence a person's views regarding smoking habit inside his subconscious mind and is considered to be the most effective way of quitting this addiction.



Components of Self Hypnosis



There are different components of self hypnosis such as visualization, relaxation and scripts. The first of these components is relaxation which helps to make the mind accept new suggestions. Next component is scripts which are small phrases that are to be repeated inside the mind and help you quit smoking. Last but most important component of self hypnosis is visualization.



Visualization provides several benefits to people practicing self hypnosis. By visualizing doing any particular thing it becomes easy for you to actual do it. Many people go through dissociated visualization while performing self-hypnosis. In dissociated visualization a person starts forming pictures of his own self which feel like watching himself on T.V.



This is an effective method as using it you are able to increase your imagination power and visualize how things would look like after you stop smoking. If we start visualizing any particular work as if it is really happening then actually performing it becomes relatively easy.



Optimize Visualization Process



The 1st step involves clearing visualizing that you are really quitting the habit. This will help you in believing that getting rid of the addiction is easy. As a 2nd step, try to use imagination and creativity to create images in your mind that have emotional influence on you. Emotional influence is important in self-hypnosis as the more any hypnotic suggestion is emotionally charged the better effect it has on our subconscious mind and thus results in faster response.



There are many words that are used to visualize emotions like "pulsating", "dazzling", "breathtaking", "magnificent", "dominant", "joyful", "adoring", "bighearted", "thrilling", "charming" and "gorgeous". By making such images vivid as well as dramatic we make the visualization process more effective since basically visualization is suggestions that we give to our subconscious mind.



As an example try and visualize tobacco smoke. Develop an image in your mind that tells you that the smoke smells, tastes and looks disgusting. You will also have to create associations which show how bad tobacco smoke is. Many people use negative things such as smelly shoe or garbage dump as associations for tobacco smoke so that our subconscious mind starts to consider cigarette smoke as a bad thing.



It is generally found that visualization and self hypnosis work quite effectively for people with respect to goal of stopping the smoking habit. People also find that visualization and imagination when used together for changing our thinking or our habits is a very simple but effective technique.

Add Visualization To Self Hypnosis And Stop Smoking

A number of programs have been developed to help people stop smoking. A few individuals have tried the nicotine patch. There are various medications that are said to help quit. And yet different group of people have tried to rely on their own self-control and to quit cold turkey.



While some folks have succeeded adopting these methods, many individuals have failed. For those people self-hypnosis is often a better option. Adopting self-hypnosis to alter your views about smoking inside your subconscious mind is the most convincing treatment to stop smoking addictions.



Self-hypnosis is made up of some key components, a few of which include scripts, relaxation, and visualization. The use of relaxation to hypnotize yourself is essential. Making your mind open to suggestion while in a relaxed state is among the first things you learn when starting out with self-hypnosis.



Moreover, you will be taught key phrases or suggestions that are geared toward stopping you from smoking that you ought to tell yourself frequently. Learning to visualize during hypnosis sessions is crucial to successfully stopping smoking.



The advantages of self-hypnosis can be boosted with the addition of visualization. By thoughtfully projecting that you are performing an endeavor, you are more ready to easily perform the actual thing. Some individuals will imagine observing themselves as if they are on TV; others will imagine an endeavor as if they are really experiencing it. The term "dissociated visualization" is a name given to visualization wherein you are watching yourself. This means is an effective instrument on the way to helping you cease smoking since you are imagining how you would like to be smoke-free. After you begin imagining yourself in that activity as if it is an actual event is achieved, it can make the desired activity more of a certainty.



Before beginning self-hypnosis you must make a firm and clear commitment to quit smoking. The intended effect is that you will not be a smoker. You can use your instinctive creativity and originality to conceive of images and ideas that would appeal to you emotionally.



You will respond more readily to your own emotionally charged suggestions during hypnosis sessions. The effectiveness of visualization and hypnotic suggestion is increased when using the most clear and pronounced images you can come up with. Start with the image of tobacco. Next picture how bad it taste and smells to someone that does not smoke, perhaps even yourself after you have stopped for some time. Now you can employ associations with that smoke to picture how terrible it is.



Using visualization along with self-hypnosis to help you quit smoking truly works for many people. They discover that using their imagination to produce desired change is elementary, powerful and effective. By using visualizations you are now equipped to realize yourself after the change has taken place and can more simply meet your intention of becoming an ex-smoker.