What It Takes to Quit Smoking

As a clinical hypnotherapist I’ve heard many stories & seen my share of sad dramas. One of the saddest by far was watching people kill themselves with addictions & lifestyles that got the best of them. I’ve changed the names of the following people & a few minor details to protect the privacy of the ones involved, but this is a true story.

Anna was a 67 year old woman who had smoked for most of her adult life. And so… She presented as a n over-weight lady who did not exactly appear to be the picture of health. She was still wheezing from the exertion of walking from my waiting room into my office & her skin had a grayish tinge to it.

In contrast to Anna’s unhealthy look, her daughter, Stephanie was the picture of health. At 40 years old she was trim & lively, quick in her movements & with a gleam of vitality in her eyes that were filled with tears. So… She had brought her mother, Anna, into my office for a smoking cessation session. Stephanie was a nurse & had watched many people struggle & eventually die from the effects of smoking & in particular emphysema. Now her own mother had developed emphysema from smoking & Stephanie was determined to save her.

While hypnotherapy is a wonderful adjunctive therapy that is approved by the American Medical Association & has helped many people to change their unwanted behavior, it is not magic. If hypnotherapy was magic then every hypnotherapist would be rich & as a group we would rule the world. The truth is, we’re just ordinary people who have a desire to help others & we have learned some secrets & keys to the subconscious mind so we can assist anyone who is determined to change to make that change a reality. Hypnotherapy is better than magic because it’s real, powerful, & accessible to anyone who wants to use it.

‘She is killing herself,’ Stephanie told me. ‘I want you to make her stop smoking.’

I wanted Anna to stop smoking, too, but the problem is, no matter who wanted Anna to quit smoking, the only person that really mattered in that equation was Anna herself. I knew I had to ask & I suspected the answer would be disappointing, but virtually everyone I ever treated or will treat gets the same level of service, I give them my best & let them have as much chance of success as they will allow themselves. So… So I asked the question.

‘Anna, do you want to quit smoking?’

There was a hesitation & silence filled the room. I believe Stephanie actually held her breath waiting for the answer, though I suspect that she knew what it would be.

Finally, Anna answered, ‘No.’

‘But why, Mom?’ Stephanie pleaded. ‘You know you’re killing yourself!’

‘I like smoking. Some times it’s the only friend I have,’ Anna answered. ‘I’m not ready to quit. I guess I will attempt for you.’

Stephanie looked at me with tears & desperation in her eyes. ‘Can you make her quit smoking? She is killing herself & I’m going to lose my mother?’ she choked on the words & broke down.

I turned to Anna, looked into her eyes & asked, ‘You’re not ready to quit & you are not going to quit, are you, Anna?’

She looked down at her hands in her lap & softly said, ‘No.’

Her words were punctuated with Stephanie’s sobs.

I explained to Stephanie that I could go through with the hypnosis session, but the outlook was not good. It would really be a waste of money… I had learned from hundreds of clients that anyone can quit smoking but no one quits unless he or she wants to quit. Desire is the only thing you have to bring to a hypnosis session, but without it, you may as well no show up.

That is what it takes to quit smoking, whether you use hypnosis, patches, gum, willpower or something else or even a combination of these things. Right. Whenever I heard some one tell me they were ready to quit & wanted to quit, I knew her or his chances were good. Of course, there’re other factors that come into play as well & each person is an individual with her or his own needs & that is why I only served one client at a time, so I could custom tailor each session for the individual so he or she had the best chances of success.

To take a free quiz to see what your chances of quitting smoking are just go straight to Free Quit Smoking Quiz (see below) & answer the simple questions. You’ll receive a free evaluation that will often help you to determine your chances & what you really need to know to make the decision to be non-smoker.

Wil Langford, R. Hy., is a 54 yr. old. Clinical Hypnotherapist, Integrated Energy Therapist, & teacher. He is the author of, “Your Loved Ones, Your Self; Finding & Raising the Family Within.”

With hundreds of hours of clinical work with smokers Wil is an expert on finding the keys to quitting smoking, no longer how long you may have smoked or how impossible the task may seem. Hypnosis, the method I use to help smokers, was approved as an effective method by the American Medical Association.

Take the free quiz to see how close you’re to successfully quitting smoking & getting some free advice from an expert at… Take the Free Quit Smoking Quiz & find out how close you’re to being a non-smoker. Ther results may surprise you!

Free Hypnosis Facts at… Free Hypnosis Facts