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Hypnosis & Self-Hypnosis

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So, you're considering hypnosis, huh? Hypnosis tends to be for those smokers who think that they can find an easy fix to smoking; smokers hope that hypnosis will be their magic bullet. Does it work? You've probably heard a lot of tales about the success of hypnosis on smokers, and sure ... it might work. But there is one thing you'll always here about the effectiveness of hypnosis: You have to want to quit for it to work. Well, actually, if you want to quit enough, that's probably the reason that hypnosis works, and it probably has less to do with some trance a so-called professional put you in. Hypnosis, in that way, is a powerful placebo; if you really want to quit and you succeed, then you attribute your success to the hypnosis, when chances are, it was just your own will and determination. A lot of folks use hypnosis in conjunction with Nicotine Replacement or Zyban, and then attribute the success to the hypnosis, but medical studies haven't really supported the effectiveness of hypnosis. But, if it helps you quit, or at least helps you believe you can quit, then there's little harm in trying.

Of course, if you'd like to save a lot of money and get equal or better results, then self-hypnosis, or meditation, may be the answer for you. You don't have to engage in formal meditation, but to help calm yourself and relieve the stress of nicotine withdrawal, put yourself in a trance, listen to yourself breathe, and all that jazz. Meditation/hypnosis, obviously, is not my thing - there are plenty of other websites/books on it, and if that's your bag, you should definitely check them out. Obviously, when it comes to dropping cigarettes from my life, I'm old school. From what I understand, however, you can achieve a similar state of mind through meditation that you can achieve by lighting up and staring forlornly into space while you take a drag on a cigarette.

Hmmm ... maybe I should look into meditation.

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