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Category: Smoking Cessation

Smoking cessation can be hard. Get the right kind of help for your addiction when you call clinical hypnotist Joseph Giove at 925-215-4017.

Why Do I Have Heart Palpitations When I Quit Smoking?
When someone quits smoking they go through what is called nicotine withdrawals. This means that the body and brain are trying to get back to the state they were in before smoking cigarettes introduced many toxic chemicals into the mix. These symptoms can range from dizziness to coughing and also range in severity. Some people only have mild discomfort and some people have more severe pain. However, these withdrawal symptoms usually only last 2 to 4 weeks as the body is flushing itself of toxins and rebalancing itself.

One symptom that can be a little more terrifying than the others: heart palpitations. This is usually because anything going wrong with the heart is dangerous. Many people often relate palpitations to a heart attack. This article will discuss what heart palpitations are, causes of heart palpitations, how to ease them, and how Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy can help calm you after quitting smoking.

What Are Heart Palpitations?

Heart palpitations are basically the feeling that your heart is beating too fast, too hard, or fluttering. Sometimes it can feel like your heart is skipping a beat which is called an ectopic beat but these are very common and in most cases are not dangerous. Heart palpitations can also be felt in the throat, neck or other areas of the chest. They are usually mild and only last for a few seconds or minutes.

Causes of Heart Palpitations

While smoking is one of the major causes of heart palpitations, it is not the only one. Many people have heart palpitations after they quit smoking because their body is trying to clean itself of harmful toxins caused by years of smoking. Quitting smoking is a great way to avoid heart palpitations in the future but since your body still has chemicals in it from smoking, you may feel some of their after effects, such as heart palpitations. However, smoking and quitting smoking are not the only causes of heart palpitations. There is a chance that quitting smoking is not the only cause of them and it is best to rule out other possibilities, just in case.

Some other causes of heart palpitations include:
- Panic attacks – Feelings of stress and anxiety combined with heart palpitations could mean a panic attack. They can be frightening but usually only last a short time.
- Lifestyle choices – This includes smoking but also other factors such as excessive alcohol or caffeine, eating rich or spicy foods, or using recreational drugs.
- Medical Conditions – Conditions such as anaemia, low blood-sugar, fever, dehydration, or an overactive thyroid
- Physical Activity – Pushing your body past its limits
- Hormonal Changes – Periods, pregnancy, and menopause are the most common
- Medications – Some medications cause heart palpitations, but this side effect should always be listed on the bottle
- Heart Condition – Sometimes there can be a more serious problem and you should consult a doctor
How To Ease Heart Palpitations

When you quit smoking you could experience some heart palpitations that occur from the nicotine withdrawal. This is a normal symptom of nicotine withdrawals and should subside in a few weeks. There are a few things that you can do to ease the heart palpitations in the meantime. Some of these are:
- Reducing stress and anxiety – Stress can aggravate heart palpitations. There are many ways to reduce stress such as yoga, breathing exercises, or meditation.
- Avoiding stimulants – This can be anything that makes your heart beat faster. Stressful environments and situations, products like caffeine, alcohol, sugar, energy drinks, and especially nicotine can all contribute to heart palpitations.
- Abstain from illegal drugs – Amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs will get your heart racing and most likely cause heart palpitations.
- Avoid stimulant medications – Some medications for colds, coughs, and nutritional supplements contain stimulant ingredients.
Heart palpitations can be indicative of a more serious heart condition. If you suspect your heart palpitations are more than just a symptom of quitting smoking, consult a doctor immediately.

Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

Heart palpitations are can often occur after a person quits smoking. There are many withdrawal side effects after you quit smoking and heart palpitations are one of them. They are generally not painful and should last a very short time, but they can be scary because they involve the heart.

One way to decrease stress, lessen your chances for heart palpitations, and quit smoking successfully is to try Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. Joseph R. Giove is a certified Clinical Hypnotist with over 30 years of experience helping people quit smoking and handling the withdrawal symptoms that come afterward. He uses no chemicals that could cause heart palpitations, only the power of the mind. By gently altering brain patterns, he can help you to get over your cigarette addiction for life!

If you are having trouble quitting smoking or difficulties with withdrawal symptoms like heart palpitations, then consider Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy to help you lead a healthier life!
August 18, 2016
The Easy Way to Quit Smoking
Quitting smoking is not an easy task, no matter how strong-willed a person might be. Nicotine is one of the most highly addictive substances in the world, and is comparable to being addicted to heroin. There are many different ways to try to quit smoking. Nicotine patches, gums, lozenges, or even the cold turkey method can work. Statistically, however, using Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy has the best odds for people to quit smoking for life. This article will discuss the different ways of quitting smoking, how effective they can be, and which method is best for each individual.

The Nicotine Patch

The nicotine patch is one of the most commonly used methods to try to quit smoking. It is a small adhesive patch that sticks to the skin and releases an amount of nicotine into the body that helps with nicotine cravings. The idea behind the nicotine patch is to give the body a regulated amount of nicotine to suppress the need to smoke cigarettes, and then gradually decrease the amount until it is no longer needed. These patches are available in different quantities of released nicotine, depending on how much and how long a person has smoked.

Gums and Lozenges

Gums and Lozenges offer the same type of nicotine replacement as patches, only they are used when the person feels a craving for nicotine, rather than having a consistent supply. Chewing gum or having a lozenge also has the benefit of giving the mouth something to do, other than smoking a cigarette. This method helps with both the physical addiction as well as the psychological need the brain develops after years of repetitive smoking actions.

Effectiveness

These methods of gradually weaning off of nicotine are the most popular, so it could be argued that they are the most effective. They don’t allow for the smoking of cigarettes, but nicotine and other chemicals are still being transferred into the body. This means that these methods are not necessarily the safest way to quit smoking, but can be the easiest.

Fentanyl Patch

The fentanyl patch is a prescription pain reliever that is narcotic based and can be extremely habit forming and even dangerous if not used in the proper doses. They have many dangerous side effects to your health including overdose, fatal breathing problems, and is fatal to children and adults if ingested or not placed on the skin properly. Only a medical professional can tell you if this is the right method of quitting smoking due to the potentially dangerous side effects.

Cold Turkey

The method of quitting cold turkey means to simply pick a day to stop smoking and then cease smoking all cigarettes and nicotine products, hopefully permanently, after that day. This is a popular method of quitting smoking in that there are no other chemicals or potentially expensive products needed, making it very cost effective.

The downside of the cold turkey method is that the withdrawal symptoms can be quite intense, which will be discussed later in this article. With other methods there is a gradual withdrawal of nicotine from the system. This is not the case with the cold turkey method, and the shock of a lack of nicotine and other chemicals to the brain can cause some discomfort. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 80{cb12661b2b7fd86e618703ac3a1bf5df9897d897450d7668a57e7745cc225577} of people who successfully quit smoking have done so using the cold turkey method. However, most experts do not recommend this method as it is quite a shock to the system. In order to achieve this high effectiveness rate the smoker will require a tremendous amount of support from friends, family, and others in their lives.

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

Nicotine is smoked or absorbed into the body in many ways. It provides a small stimulant in the brain and increases dopamine levels, giving pleasure. When you quit smoking and the brain no longer receives the nicotine and other chemicals, withdrawal symptoms can occur.
These symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Cravings
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Drowsiness
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Lack of concentration
- Increased hunger
These symptoms can have varying degrees of intensity and length. Some symptoms are decreased using some of the quitting smoking methods seen in this article.

Smoking While Pregnant

Smoking in general is hazardous to a person’s health, but at least for the most part smokers are only affecting themselves. Smoking while pregnant is particularly harmful and can have serious side effects, not only to the mother, but for the baby as well.

So what happens when a mother is smoking and is pregnant with a child? Nicotine, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic and many other harmful chemicals are released into the bloodstream of the mother when smoking. These chemicals are then transferred to the baby through the placenta and blood.
There are many risks to both the mother and baby:
- Increased chance of miscarriage
- Premature birth
- Stillbirth
- Increased heart rate
- Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Respiratory problems
- Birth Defects
The best way for a mother to protect her child before, during, and after pregnancy is to quit smoking immediately. This will greatly reduce the chances of many problems and illness that can have an impact on the baby’s life forever.
Using one or more of these methods to quit smoking is extremely useful in ensuring the mother and child’s health.

Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

One of the most successful ways to quit smoking is by using Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. This technique is more successful than other methods because it harnesses the power of the mind by gently changing brain patterns to allow the smoker to no longer crave cigarettes, or even to despise them.

Joseph R. Giove is a certified Clinical Hypnotist with over 30 years of experience in this field. He uses no chemicals or carcinogens in the cessation of smoking. Only the power of the mind. Nicotine withdrawals can be quite harsh to some people and one way to calm these symptoms is to use Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. It helps ease the overall intensity of the symptoms and relaxes the mind and body as to be as stress-free as possible when going through this difficult time.
June 16, 2016
Quit Smoking and Live Your Life!
It should go without saying that quitting smoking has immense benefits for improving your overall health. Whether you have been smoking for 20 days or 20 years, as soon as you can break your smoking habit, your life expectancy will lengthen and your health will improve. No matter what age you are now or how long you’ve been smoking, the health benefits of quitting smoking increase every day that you do not smoke.

In this article we will discuss the act of quitting smoking, health benefits and other immediate improvements that come with it such as:
- Non-Life-Threatening Conditions: Smoking can cause serious issues with fertility as well as bone and optical health.
- Life-Threatening Conditions: There are many serious conditions that can be minimized by quitting smoking.
- The Immediate Improvement of Your Outward Appearance: There will be substantial positive changes to your appearance as soon as you quit smoking.
- Smoking By the Numbers: Statistics on quitting smoking.
- Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy: We speak with qualified clinical hypnotist, Joseph R. Giove, who talks about how hypnotherapy has helped thousands successfully quit smoking.
Non-Life-Threatening Conditions

There are numerous health risks that go along with smoking. The conditions that are most talked about are the more serious problems related to smoking, such as terminal cancers. However, there are also many, many non-life-threatening conditions that can be caused or accelerated due to smoking. The following are just some of the health problems that can occur from smoking:
- Impotence and fertility problems
- Cataracts and optic neuropathy
- Tooth loss and gum disease
- Osteoporosis
While these conditions are not life-threatening, contracting any or all of these can become a major problem in your life and could worsen over time, becoming serious health issues. These conditions, while not immediately life-threatening, can lead to a shorter lifespan and a more distressing lifestyle with hefty medical bills. Quitting smoking can drastically reduce your chances of contracting or exacerbating these conditions.

Life-Threatening Conditions

Aside from the aforementioned ‘side-effects’ that can develop from smoking, there are far more serious conditions that you can contract. Smoking is extremely dangerous to a person’s health. The previously listed non-life-threatening effects pale in comparison to what can happen to the vital organs of the human body. The heart, lungs, and other internal organs all are damaged with every cigarette that is smoked. Here are some of the conditions that can affect both quality and length of life:
- Most Cancers
- Heart Disease
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema
You will notice that ‘cancers’ is pluralized. Smoking causes cancer in the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach, liver, colon, cervix, and rectum. It can also cause acute myeloid leukemia, which affects the blood. In addition to heart disease and COPD, smoking greatly increases your chances of a stroke or aortic aneurysm, which is a balloon-like bulge in an artery near your heart.

Quitting smoking has immense benefits to your overall health. Chemicals and toxins will cease building up in your heart, lungs, stomach, and other vital organs, allowing you to breathe easier, exercise longer, and eat healthier. By quitting smoking you are greatly improving your quality of life, health, appearance, and longevity.

The Immediate Improvement of Your Outward Appearance

As we can see, quitting smoking will greatly improve your overall health. These improvements happen not only internally (heart, lungs, etc.), but outwardly as well. There are several immediate improvements to a person’s physical features, which continue to improve the longer they go without smoking. Some of these items are:
- Improvements around the mouth and teeth
- Sense of smell and taste return
- Everyday activities become less taxing
As soon you quit smoking, even only after a few days, your physical features will begin return to normal. Smoking causes the teeth, fingertips and fingernails to turn to a yellow-brownish color, but soon after you quit smoking your teeth will be white again and your fingers will return to their normal color. Along with staining, smoking causes bad breath, which will also subside the longer you refrain from smoking.

Most smokers are imperceptive to their own bad breath because they have a diminished sense of taste and smell. These senses gradually begin to regenerate when someone quits smoking. They often find that food tastes better and everything smells better than they can even remember.

Simple activities like exercising, walking or even doing simple chores will be much easier after quitting smoking. Everyday things that would normally have smokers out of breath can now be completed with ease. People who have been smoking for a long time have had to go outside for a cigarette break since most buildings and facilities are now smoke-free. After quitting smoking, people will no longer have to go outside every hour.

Smoking by the Numbers

These are obviously very serious and life-threatening conditions that smokers risk contracting at a much, much higher rate than non-smokers. Not only will these conditions drastically reduce your life expectancy, Here are some of the statistics about quitting smoking:
- If you quit smoking before the age 35, your life expectancy will return to that of a non-smoker
- If you quit smoking before age 50, your risk of acquiring cancer or disease decreases by 50{cb12661b2b7fd86e618703ac3a1bf5df9897d897450d7668a57e7745cc225577}.
Every day that you continue to smoke, your risk of getting one or more of these cancers or diseases increases dramatically.

Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

Quitting smoking is extremely beneficial to a person’s health. There are physical factors that can be reversed, such as yellow teeth; and then there are the internal factors that may not be so reversible, but can certainly be lessened by eliminating cigarettes. Heart disease, cancer and respiratory issues are just some of the harrowing risks that accompany a smoking habit.

Many people who have been smoking for some time want to quit. If you are a smoker you have many reasons not to quit, but you only need one reason to stop smoking. Perhaps you have started to see some of these symptoms; maybe it is for a loved one. No matter what the reasons are, quitting smoking can be very difficult. We spoke with Joseph R. Giove is a certified Clinical Hypnosis specialist, who said that hypnotherapy is one of the easiest and most effective methods available to help quit smoking. In his 25 years of experience in the smoking cessation industry, he has seen first-hand how effective this treatment has been with his patients, and the low recidivism rate. If you are thinking about leaving cigarettes behind, it is time to consider hypnotherapy.
April 14, 2016
How Long Does Nicotine Stay In Your Blood?
Smoking is one of the most serious health issues in the country today, and has been for years. It’s something that was once incredibly popular and tobacco was actually a crop that the nation’s early economy was built upon, but for decades research has consistently shown that smoking is detrimental to one’s health in very serious ways.

It’s also something that’s hard to stop. Tobacco is incredibly addictive and for most the physical and mental dependence that they build up is hard to break free of. Here at Joseph R. Giove Clinical Hypnosis, I understand that difficulty and can help you break free of your addiction through the power of mental suggestion.

However, knowledge is power and it’s worth taking the time to learn more about smoking, nicotine, and how long it stays in your blood.

What Is Nicotine?

Nicotine is the compound in tobacco that lends it the addictive properties that hook users for years. Chemically speaking, it’s an alkaloid that serves as a stimulant on the human body. It comes from the nightshade family of plants, and only makes up about 0.6 to 3.0 percent of the plants composition when dry – but that small percentage is incredibly potent.

The drug – and it is a drug – works as a kind of stimulant that also triggers some mild psychoactive effects on the user. The drug has a number of impacts on the human body that also help increase the addictive nature, such as:
- Increase intestinal activity
- Stimulated memory and alertness
- Decreased appetite
- Could alleviate minor depression
- Boosts overall mood
In other words, it works just like other drugs and directly changes the way the body is working, as a result leading to addiction.

Why Is It Dangerous?

While most will point out that the majority of carcinogens and other hazardous materials in a cigarette come from other compounds and chemicals within the smoke, nicotine itself is dangerous as well. There are many different negative health effects of nicotine, including:
- Increased blood pressure and heart rate just after a single cigarette
- Increased chance of birth defects in unborn children
- Higher risk of cardiovascular disease
- Too much can lead to poisoning
Thus far, no links have been made between cancer and nicotine other than the fact that the addiction to nicotine leads to continued smoking, and smoking itself exposes the body to more than 4,000 cancer causing agents.

What Happens When Nicotine Enters The Body?

Just ten seconds after you inhale a puff off a cigarette, nicotine begins being absorbed through the mouth, lungs, and nose. From there it travels through the bloodstream and into the brain and begins stimulating the adrenal glands, producing adrenaline. The nicotine also increases the production of dopamine, generating higher feelings of pleasure.

The end result of this is that you feel enhanced feelings of happiness and pleasure, reduced stress, and more. In short, it works just like a drug – including the negative impacts that can come with drug use.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay In The Blood?

Now to the title of this post. There are a couple of reasons that one may want to completely remove nicotine from their bloodstream. The first is that an insurance urine or blood test used to qualify for lower rates might be required from your insurance provider. The presence of nicotine will eliminate those healthy lifestyle benefits completely.

The other reason is simple – quitting smoking means getting rid of nicotine. After all, when you’re addicted to a drug you have to detoxify your body as part of the process. This means that your bloodstream needs to be free of nicotine in order to completely break free of the drug’s hold on you. Of course, it’s not just that simple but the fact remains that eliminating nicotine is an important first step.

The hard answer is that nicotine will stay in your body for a length of time directly related to how much and how often you smoke as well as other factors like age or overall health. For a basic blood test, nicotine can be detected for about 3 to 4 days after smoking the last cigarette. In heavier smokers, it can remain for as long as 20 days.

Eliminating Nicotine From The Body

The simplest way to get nicotine out of the body is to stop smoking, though it can be cleared from the body quicker by drinking lots of water and exercise. However, anyone who has tried to stop smoking can attest to the fact that it’s really not as easy as just putting down the smokes for good.

In fact, many of the leading methods of smoking cessation actually rely on the continued use of nicotine to do so. Things like patches, gum, and even those e-cigarette systems all continue to deliver nicotine to the body while avoiding cigarette smoking. This means that even though you’re not smoking, you’re still exposing your body to nicotine. It’s a valid option, but not the best one when you want to make a real change and completely escape from nicotine addiction. After all, nicotine itself does continue to have an impact on your health. Cutting it out completely is a better option – and there are ways to stop smoking that don’t rely on constant nicotine use without the cigarettes.

A Better Way

There is a better way, however – one that’s helped millions of people throughout the country successfully stop smoking. I’m talking of course about hypnosis, and I’ve personally helped countless clients stop smoking through the use of hypnosis.

One of the biggest challenges of breaking free of any addiction is understanding that a part of your brain could be hijacking your efforts. Studies have shown that hypnosis is one of the most effective ways to stop smoking, and by using the power of mental suggestion it’s possible to stop smoking and free yourself from nicotine for good. If you’re serious about getting nicotine out of your body and living a healthier life, hypnosis could be worth looking into.
February 17, 2016
Using Hypnosis to Quit Smoking

With a stronger focus on preventive health trending in our society, it is no wonder that more people are taking the time to examine their lifestyles and make healthier choices. The decision to quit smoking can be a major one, not just because of the health benefits that it represents, but also due to the emotional factors that are also involved. What is unfortunate is that when a person does not reach first time success in quitting, the individuals around that person will often take it as a sign that there is no real commitment to health or change.

Of course, this could not be further from the truth, but the problem is that while the intent to quit may be fully present, the actual motivation is being internally sabotaged. What outside observers fail to see is that the struggle in quitting has a basis in the initial trigger to pick up the habit. This is also where hypnosis to quit smoking can become a powerful tool to success.

Understanding The Human Condition

Although it is appropriate to state that smoking is both a physical and an emotional addiction, it is also important to understand the basis of any addiction. From a holistic perspective, every being gravitates towards that which brings comfort, and shuns that which causes pain. When pain does occur, that which brings comfort can become a crutch that is used to the point of reliance. Once a person has established this reliance, they have also given power to whatever that substance or behavior is.

This is very similar to the way that children learn as they develop, in that reinforcements of certain behaviors will lead to the continuation of that behavior. If a person has a cigarette every time they take a break, they will also begin to crave a cigarette every time they need a break. In a person’s mind, the relationship is both reciprocal and interchangeable. In this manner, the emotional dependence is initially established.

The second important point relates back to reactions to pain, as at its core all addictions are a facsimile to fill whatever wound or lack exists as a result of the pain. Of course, while the intent to quit can still be present, the fear of how to manage pain without the crutch can also generate a means of mental sabotage. This concern over the unknown can then create further pain, which simply restarts the cycle of smoking addiction.

This is also why many people may succeed at quitting for a while, but find that the full severing of ties with cigarettes is not a possibility yet. However, people should also know that the use of hypnosis in quitting smoking works at the heart of these issues and with self perception in order to generate change. Smokers who have the intent to quit can start the journey of healthy transformation by taking the Quit Smoking Vulnerability Quiz.

Tapping Into Deeper Causality

Using hypnosis to quit smoking addresses these deeper emotional causes that can generate blockages to change within the personality. Although there can certainly be an attached therapeutic effect that is also positive for other healthy lifestyle choices, hypnosis for quitting smoking is not actual psychotherapy. However, the impact is still that it facilitates the ability to move beyond these internally generated challenges and achieve the success that is desired. This is particularly important in breaking the cycle of addiction, because it helps to break the attachment that a person has to smoking, and this can allow inherent motivation to have a stronger impact.

This can also be highly applicable since one aspect of attachment is the manner in which people see behaviors and habits as an innate part of the personality. As previously mentioned, individuals will develop perspectives of the self which are based on external feedback or reinforcement. As habits become more deeply ingrained, it is also the result that the person begins to simply accept the habit as who they are.

Unfortunately, this can also be a part of the challenge to quitting smoking in general, as the “smoker” personality facet becomes more ingrained. This also results in part of the fear of change that can be an obstacle, as people become concerned that they will lose a part of themselves in making this wellness transition.

Becoming More Of The Self

By starting the healthy transformation, smokers can find that they will be able to make this transition, while also discovering that they can be more complete individuals as a result. This is also important to realize, as one of the common mis-conceptions about hypnosis is that it can make people do things against their will. However, the truly powerful aspect of hypnosis in quitting smoking is that it simply supports people in doing something for which they already have the intent.

What hypnosis can do is to tap into that part of self which is ready to change and desires to quit smoking. By subtly reinforcing this intent, the sessions also help to quiet the obstacles that arise from inner feelings of doubt, fear, and uncertainty of the unknown. By providing the positive reinforcement for beneficial change while also lessening the impact of internal blockages, the person will gain the emotional tools and resources to stay true to their work towards personal change.

In this manner, it is also important for candidates who are interested in quitting smoking through hypnosis to also understand that the process is collaborative. Both the willingness of the smoker to quit, and the support provided through hypnosis become the basis for actions which are change. This concept also further reinforces the fact that clients are never out of control of themselves, but rather, they are actually learning how to stand more firmly in their own personal power. This makes the use of hypnosis for quitting smoking a powerful resource that makes use of individual motivation and acceptance for change as the foundation for success.

November 28, 2015
Best Way to Quit Smoking

One of the truly impressive and beneficial outcomes of new health care trends is the raising of health literacy for the nation. Several decades prior, an initial shift in the health care system moved people into what had been the prevalent trend of personal disempowerment in wellness based on deference to medical professionals. Unfortunately, the reason that so many people have given away their own say in health is because less questions are asked about care protocols and preventive measures, which can also lessen the understanding of the actual impact of risk factors on health.

However, the current shift is not only back to education and raising awareness, but also to regaining personal power over health matters. An understandable result of this is also a greater focus on smoking cessation in communities and organizations, which also means that individuals are beginning to adopt this focus more strongly. Another result is that there are many resources a person can consider when choosing to take control of health and quit smoking.

As a result of both the better wellness awareness and the intent to make positive health changes, people will often further research options to find the best way to quit smoking. Accessing Joseph R. Giove’s Quit Smoking Online Virtual Clinic can provide a very strong option for success, and many individuals do find that using hypnosis to quit smoking can achieve goals, even when other methods have failed.

This does also bring up a pertinent point regarding perspectives on the best way to quit smoking, and the truth is that there is not necessarily a definitive answer. Just as every individual has their own reasons for initially starting to smoke and wanting to quit, every person will also have a different response to a variety of interventions. This can also make it important to look at several methods to quit smoking and compare benefits and response in order to achieve the best fit.

Quitting Cold Turkey

Although this is possibly the most difficult manner of quitting, it does not mean that it is not effective. This is partially due to the simplicity of the method, which is simply to no longer smoke. The reason that this can be a more difficult method for success is because there is no transition time, especially on a psychological level, to adjust to the change in behavior. Unfortunately, for many people who try to quit cold turkey, positive results may only last as long as a few days to a week.

However, it should be noted that there are a fair number of former smokers who have permanently quit simply by getting up one morning and making the choice to not have a cigarette. For certain personalities, this determination is sufficient to quit, but the majority of people feel extreme pressure with the cold turkey method, since it is a distinct all or nothing approach.

The Reduction Method

This approach to quitting smoking has fair success, and a number of former smokers find that it is effective, so long as individuals stay regimented in their process. With this form of quitting smoking, the person basically reduces the number of cigarettes that they smoke each day by a set amount, until they are no longer smoking. What is positive about this method is that it does give a span of time for physical and emotional detoxing, which can make the final transition into not smoking easier.

The negative points to this approach are usually regarding motivation and will power, which can also represent emotional blockages that are interfering with success. Further, it can be easier to “cheat” on the reduction method, as many people can begin to rationalize that they need a longer transition, especially as actual quitting draws nearer. Just as with the cold turkey method, this can be smoking cessation approach that may only be ideal for certain personalities.

Medications to Quit smoking

The use of drugs to quit smoking has become quite popular, and just like other methods, there are positives and negatives that are associated with this. First, it is important to note that smoking cessation drugs can be either nicotine or non-nicotine based. Nicotine based drugs are often just acting as cigarettes that are not being inhaled, and there can be some concern that the addiction is still present, just in a different form. Some nicotine drugs will use a step-down system to actually wean the person physically, but these drugs can become dangerous if the person decides to still have a cigarette, and they do not really address actual behaviors.

Non-nicotine drugs reduce the urge to smoke by interfering with the receptors in the brain that crave the nicotine. This can be more positive for breaking the actual addiction, but there can be unpleasant side effects for these drugs, including mood changes and dissociative events. However, there is success with these medications, although many people who are choosing to quit may not wish to add further chemicals to their body. These medications do at least take transitioning into consideration, and that can be a vital point for many people trying to enact behavioral change.

Hypnosis to Quit smoking

For some smokers, this choice is a last resort, while others may find that it is an ideal fit from the start. One of the big draws for many individuals is that hypnosis is non-invasive and non-medication, as this already supports lifestyle choices for wellness, which helps to further generate inherent motivation. With hypnosis for quitting smoking, the practitioner works with the client in order to release the mental and emotional constructs that lead to the continuation of smoking. The result is that the aspect of addiction becomes more fully addressed, but also that the individual gains better self-knowledge and empowerment in the process.

Taking the Quit Smoking Vulnerability Quiz will not only give smokers who want to quit a better picture of what hypnosis can do for them, but it can also be the first step towards a smoke-free life of wellness.

November 10, 2015

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