QUIT SMOKING PACKAGE - Positive Thinking Clinic

24 Aug QUIT SMOKING PACKAGE

Posted at 20:00h in Blog by Amanda Dounis

QUIT SMOKING PROGRAM

Welcome to the quit smoking information pack.

This read is intended for the reader to become absorbed in the “hot” topics that surround smoking.

The QUIT SMOKING PROGRAM

Two sessions:

Session 1: I get to know your individual smoking behaviours and triggers, while helping you reframe and build a powerful mindset with hypnosis and NLP exercises.

Session 2: I use your personal situation with powerful hypnotherapy techniques and advanced NLP exercises, in a unique enjoyable experience so that you leave as a calm and confident non-smoker.

After the session you will be invited to return to listen to an e-book relevant to smoking cessation. *Free of charge.

You may also be invited to listen to other audios on habit change, and another ebook on weight control. *Free of charge.

*Individual needs will be discussed with each client.

TOTAL COST OF STOP SMOKING PACKAGE = $500

This includes 2 sessions plus *2 free optional extra sessions.

If you are interested in becoming a non-smoker,

please call me on 0458 850 850

Or email me on amanda@positivethinkingclinic.com.au

P.S. I usually ask that you have your last cigarette 2 days before our first session.

This proves your commitment and also when you arrive for your session on your third day of being a non-smoker….this seems to be a very important day as your cravings may challenge you.

YOU MAY AS WELL READ ON TO HELP WITH YOUR DECISION….

Smoking and Quitting:

Each year around 15,000 smokers die in Australia.

The addiction is chemical, habit, emotional/ psychological.

Quitting is about learning new skills and wanting to change.

People succeed in quitting when they:

Make the decision to stop for their own reasons.

Understand their smoking behaviour.

Train themselves to cope in different ways.

Develop their own quitting strategies.

Know what to expect when they quit.

See themselves as a non-smoker.

Develop alternative behaviours.

Build a positive image.

See themselves more in control instead of : ‘I cannot make it without a cigarette’.

To help with cravings after you quit:

Delay: Delay at least five minutes, it will pass

Deep breathe: Breathe slowly and deeply

Do something else: Keep your hands busy

Drink water: Use time out and sip slowly

Strategies to use:

Substitutions: Water, snack healthy, deep breathing

Distractions: Walk, chat to friends

Break the association: Change your thinking, change your routine of behaviour

Positive self talk: Motivation

Nicotine is not a habit. It is an addiction.

There is a mistaken belief: smoking gives pleasure.

Non-smokers feel good after a meal too (Not just a smokers)

Cutting down does not help. Stop altogether.

Casual smokers are already trapped.

Smokers wish they were non smokers. And when they stop smoking, they wish they smoked. Seriously!

Smoking is relief. Smoking is not pleasure.

The little monster inside you is called nicotine.

The big monster inside you is called being brainwashed.

It is the brain that craves nicotine: not the body.

1% of pain comes from the physical side of things. People who quit may feel something in their stomach. They just want nicotine. To say that one has an addictive personality is not true. This does not exist. It is an excuse. It is nicotine.

99% is emotional/ habit.

The next cigarette is relief from the last cigarette.

Do not confuse it with relaxation.

Will-power does not always work.

Hypnosis deals with removing the desire.

There is no reason to feel deprived.

Smoking does not keep weight off.

You are responsible for eating and putting weight on.

If you quit with willpower alone you may substitute with food and drink. This is not ideal.

The little nicotine monster begins to die when you stop smoking. Do not let it tempt you to feed it.

Nicotine leaves your body in a few hours.

Withdrawal is noticeable for up to 5 days.

After that, it is all your thoughts and nothing else against you.

Your thoughts will die down after three weeks.

Trauma from smoking is mental, not physical.

Your last cigarette leads to death row for your little monster.

Death row is caused from the last cigarette and will not last longer than five days.

And this means that you have cut the supply of nicotine. This means you gave up smoking. You did not give up living. And so congratulations you will now be a non-smoker.

One of your greatest fears may be fear of success.???

Willpower feels like you are sacrificing something.

Fears are part of the brainwashing.

Your fear creates an internal war.

You feel that you cannot cope without it.

And on the other end of the scale you have pleasure.

Smoking causes both fear and pleasure. Now thats not nice!

There are many reasons to quit:

Health risks

Benefits of quitting

Cost of smoking

Pregnancy

…Other reasons

When preparing to quit:

You need to understand your smoking (why, how etc)

You need to choose the best way to quit

You need to get ready

Staying quit:

You need to manage the first few days

You need to manage your nicotine withdrawal

You need to manage routines

You need to manage risky situations

You need to reward yourself

You need to manage weight gain

You need to see yourself as a non-smoker

You need to be aware of triggers

Managing setbacks:

You need to learn how to recover from slip-ups

You need to be aware of the relapse

How to quit smoking:

The question of how to quit smoking is really two questions.

What method to use?

What tips on how to succeed at that moment are there?

One of the first tips may be to go cold turkey.

And there are many tips on how to succeed going cold turkey.

Going cold turkey is an extremely wise decision.

Cold turkey generates more long-term ex-smokers each year and beats all other quit smoking methods combined….. just saying.

The common thread among all successful cold turkey quitters is that they did not allow any nicotine back into the bloodstream. The common thread among all who relapsed to smoking is that they did.

Nicotine is “only” a chemical with an IQ of zero.

It cannot plot, plan or conspire against us, and is not some monster or demon that dwells within!

The Internet is loaded with wonderful free resources that transform cold turkeys into smart turkeys. Careful not to stumble across Turkey Cooking Recipes!!!

Planning strategies to avoid smoking:

Instead of smoking first thing in the morning you can have a shower first thing

Instead of smoking with coffee or tea, you can change to a different drink, different blend of coffee in a different mug or change the pace you drink it

Instead of smoking at morning tea you can read a magazine or book, or sit in a different place with different people

Instead of smoking at the computer at home you can shift your desk around

Instead of smoking after lunch or dinner you can go for a walk

Instead of smoking after afternoon tea you can try a herbal tea or read the paper

Instead of smoking after work you can do some exercise or meditation

Instead of smoking just before you start dinner you can have dinner earlier or later

Instead of smoking with alcohol you can change to a different drink or hold a drink in your smoking hand

As you plan the next task, you can breathe deep, and try a quick relaxation exercise.

As a reward for example, as you complete a chore you can listen to music or have a piece of fruit instead of smoking.

Stages of change:

You may be at the stage of not even thinking about quitting.

We call this the pre-contemplation stage.

If you are thinking about quitting, we call this the contemplation stage.

If you contemplate and plan to quit, we call this the preparation stage.

If you’re prepared to quit then you become active and you quit, we call this the action stage.

If you stay quit there are two paths to follow:

Part one, you either quit for ever and you will be at the maintenance stage, or part two you relapse and continue or begin to start smoking until you reach the contemplation stage again.

Some people say that smoking is their friend. ???

However this friend makes you smell
This friend uses up a lot of your money
This friend gives you bad breath
This friend makes your skin on your hands yellow
This friend makes you stand outside alone most of the time
This friend makes people around you, young children, pregnant mothers, the elderly, and other people sick
This friend controls you
This friend may give you cancer
This friend makes you cough

When you quit, there is no physical pain.

You just experience imbalance.

And you also experience a panic feeling.

Cigarettes cause panic.

Smokers say that cigarettes calm them.

So why are they so uptight and nervous.

They think that smoking calms the nerves, but this is not true.

Why do non-smokers not need to calm down?

The most stressful time is pregnancy, and yet we give up smoking with no problem??

Nicotine is a drug. Nicotine is the number one killer.

If you are smoking this means you are brainwashed.

Smoking does not calm nerves and does not help you concentrate.

Your subconscious mind knows you need to keep feeding the little monster.

The little monster is nicotine.

Nicotine is a stimulant and does not help you relax.

Lets not use the term give up smoking. Because it is not sacrifice.

Cigarettes do not fill a void. They create it!

We fear quitting because it is in the present.

Cancer is in the future. So we fear what is today instead of what may come tomorrow.

Cutting down is not good enough. You still keep the monster alive.

Nicotine dependency is every bit as real and permanent as alcoholism or heroin addiction. The brains dopamine reward pathways have been taken hostage by nicotine.

The recovery philosophy that you should adopt is: one day at a time.

Celebrating every day of healing and freedom.

Recovery phases:

Number one. Physical nicotine withdrawal peaks at day 3 and within 2 weeks the body physically adapts to functioning without it.

Your brain is working hard to restore natural neuro-chemical sensitivities.

Be patient with your healing.

Number two. You have trained your subconscious mind to expect the arrival of the new supply of nicotine upon encountering specific times, locations, activities, people, or relations.

The process of conditioning and breaking these subconscious triggers and cues also peak during the first week, at about day three.

Number three. The final phase of recovery; thought fixation.

This is the least intense yet longest. Here the rational, thinking mind will find itself fixating on conscious thoughts about wanting to use nicotine.

With each passing day, wanting gradually gets fewer, shorter in generation and generally less intense.

Withdrawal symptoms:

Withdrawal symptoms are good not bad; for they are true signs of healing.

Blame symptoms on where you have been, not where you are going.

Emotional recovery:

Chemical dependency upon nicotine was probably the most intense, repetitive, dependable yet destructive relationship you have ever known. Be prepared to experience a normal sense of emotional loss. Expect to travel through and experience six different emotional phases. These include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and complacency.

Quitting methods:

Most of all long-term ex-smokers quit smoking cold turkey. Not only do cold turkey quitters avoid potential medication side effects, they also do not get hooked on the gum.

Record your motivations:

It is normal for the mind to quickly forget many of the reasons that motivated us to commence recovery. Imagine having a loving reminder letter listing all motivations; carry it with you.

Do not skip meals:

Recovery is a time when we should begin to properly fuel the body, by spreading out our normal daily calorie intake more evenly. Small, healthy and regular meals.

Weight control:

Consider vegetables and fruits instead of candies, chips and pastries to help avoid weight gain. Engage in some form of moderate daily exercise. Expect a substantial increase in overall lung function within just 90 days of quitting. It will aid in engaging in extended periods of brisk physical activity, in shedding pounds and building cardiovascular endurance.

Stress-related anxieties:

Contrary to popular thinking, using nicotine does not relieve stress but only nicotine’s own absence. New quitters often discover an amazing sense of calm during a crisis. During this temporary period of readjustment, slow, deep breathing, focusing your mind on your favourite object, place or person, to the exclusion of other thoughts, can be useful.

Quitting for others:

We cannot quit for others. It must be our gift to ourself to quit. Consider, if quitting for another person, how will an addict’s mind respond, the first time that person disappoints us?

Attitude:

Celebrate the full and complete victory each day of freedom and healing.

Patience:

Be patient

Carrying cigarettes, chews, cigars, NRT or e-cigarettes??? No!

Get rid of all nicotine: why play mind games with your ongoing healing and freedom?

Caffeine/nicotine interaction:

Nicotine somehow doubles the rate at which the body depletes caffeine. The caffeine users blood caffeine level will double if no intake reduction is made when quitting. This interaction is not a problem for the caffeine user who can handle a doubling of normal caffeine intake without experiencing symptoms. Consider a modest caffeine intake if troubled by additional anxieties, difficulty relaxing and trouble getting to sleep.

Subconscious triggers:

It is impossible for any trigger to cause relapse so long as nicotine does not go into the bloodstream. Most triggers are reconditioned and extinguished by a single encounter during which the subconscious mind fails to receive the expected result – nicotine.

Crave episodes of less than three minutes:

No subconsciously triggered crave episode will last longer than three minutes.

Time distortion symptom:

No crave episode will last longer than three minutes, but the minutes can feel like hours.

Crave episode frequency:

The average number of crave episodes last less than three minutes: experienced by the average quitter on the most challenging day of recovery is six episodes.

That is a total of 18 minutes of challenge on your most challenging day.

Understanding the big crave:

The average quitter will be experiencing just one big crave episode per day within 10 days.

Crave coping techniques:

One crave coping method is to practice deep breathing while briefly clearing your mind of all needless chatter, by focusing on your favourite person, place or thing.

Confront your crave triggers:

Don’t hide from them. You need to not give up anything during recovery except nicotine.

Alcohol:

Get with your friends but refrain from drinking, or consider spacing drinks further apart, or drinking water or juice between drinks. Have an escape plan and a backup, and be fully prepared to use both.

No legitimate excuse for relapse:

Nicotine use cannot solve any crisis.

Cautious thought fixation:

Do not debate with yourself about wanting just one. Instead, ask yourself how you would feel about going back to all of them.

Reward yourself:

Consider getting your teeth cleaned and no longer being afraid to laugh hard or smile.

Avoid all crutches:

A crutch is any form of recovery reliance that is relied on so heavily that if quickly removed, would likely result in loss of support and relapse. If looking to others for support, it is far wiser to pick an already recovered ex-smoker, ex-oral nicotine user, or someone who has never smoked.

Thinking versus wanting:

It is easy to confuse the two. Thinking about recovery is good. As for thoughts of wanting, with each passing day, they will eventually grow shorter in duration, generally less intense, and a bit further apart.

Complacency:

The ingredients for relapse are; fading memory of why we quit and the early challenges, rewriting the law of addiction to exempt or exclude ourselves, and an excuse such a stress, celebration, illness, finances, hitting a wall, death, or birth of baby.

Relapse:

No nicotine just one day at a time. Never take another puff.

***

Most quit smoking methods have a very low success rate because they rely either on willpower or substituting one addiction for another; as in the case of patches.

INTERESTING FACTS:

In 20 minutes your blood pressure, pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal.

Within eight hours remaining nicotine in your bloodstream has fallen to approximately 6% of normal data levels (this is about to 93% reduction).

Within 12 hours of your blood oxygen level has increased to normal.

Carbon monoxide levels have dropped to normal.

Within 24 hours anxieties have peaked in intensity and within two weeks should return to your pre-smoking levels.

Within 48 hours damaged nerve endings have started to repair and your sense of smell and taste beginning to return to normal.

Anger and irritability will have peaked.

Your entire body will test 100% nicotine free.

Within 72 hours symptoms of chemical withdrawal has peaked in intensity, including breathlessness.

The number of acute induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day have peaked for the average excuse.

Breathing is becoming easier and your lung’s functional abilities are starting to increase.

Within 5 to 8 days the average ex-smoker will encounter an average of 3 intense crave episodes per day. Time distortion however can make minutes seem like hours.

Within 10 days blood circulation in your gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non smoker.

Within 2 to 4 weeks, cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of the symptoms get seen and evaluated by a professional.

Within two weeks to 3 months your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve.

Within 3 weeks to 3 months your situation has substantially improved.

Walking has become easier.

Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. If not, get seen by a doctor.

Within 1 to 9 months any smoking-related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath has decreased. Your system has the ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean and reduce infections. Your body’s overall energy has increased.

Within 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease, has dropped to less than half of that of a smoker.

Within five years your risk of haemorrhage has declined to around half of your risk if you were still smoking.

Your risk of developing diabetes is now that of a non-smoker.

Within 5 to 15 years your risk of stroke has decline to that of a non-smoker.

Within 10 years your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30 and 50% of that of a continuing smoker.

Risk of death from lung cancer declines almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack) per day. Risk of cancer in the mouth, throat, oesophagus and pancreas have declined.

Risk of developing diabetes for both men and women is now similar to that of a never smoker.

Within 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of person who has never smoked.

Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker

Regardless of quitting method, if you or a family member become concerned about any symptom, or any change in thinking, mood or behaviour, contact your doctor immediately.

What about smoking and weight gain?

A major barrier to smoking cessation is the unsure association with weight gain. A key component of my hypnosis smoking cessation program is ensuring your appetite and eating behaviour is controlled.

I’m equipped with helping people with weight (release and maintenance) and avoiding unhealthy food cravings as replacement eating.

THE ROLE OF HYPNOTHERAPY

Hypnotherapy focuses on reducing the urge to smoke.

As a disclaimer results of the stop smoking hypnotherapy program may vary person-to-person.

So how does hypnosis work?

Our minds work on two levels: the conscious and the unconscious.

We make decisions, think and act with our conscious mind.

The unconscious mind controls our habits.

In a relaxed state known as hypnosis we can communicate directly with the unconscious mind. This is why it is so quick and easy to change the habit.

Hypnosis is completely safe. You are aware and in control of every movement and can terminate the session at any time. Hypnosis is not sleep, nor can you get stuck in a state of hypnosis. You cannot be made to do something against your will. It is a safe, relaxing and enjoyable experience.

You will not give up anything, what you will do is – choose a better life.

During hypnosis for smoking cessation, a client is often asked to visualise unpleasant outcomes from smoking.

I aim for my clients to stop smoking painless and effortless without fear, anxiety or panic.

Smoking like any habit is very difficult to break, using willpower alone because the habit becomes a deeply embedded part of who you are.

You slowly begin to realise that you rely on cigarettes in certain situations, and associate smoking with certain activities.

Once this process has begun, the choice to smoke is no longer controlled by the conscious, it becomes a habitual and automatic pattern such as brushing your teeth in the morning. This is why when you decide to give it up it can seem extremely difficult.

Non-smokers do not think about it, nor desire cigarettes because they have not developed a habitual mindset, just like once it was not your mindset either.

Once you’re a non-smoker you could go about life without even one thought about cigarettes.

The aim of the sessions is to reprogram the subconscious back to the non-smoker that you once were.

You should not have to feel like something is missing.

My goal is that you become completely unbothered by cigarettes and those who smoke around you. Ultimately you become a non-smoker, not an ex-smoker.

If you want to be a non-smoker and are committed to your goal, hypnotherapy can help you.

The details of the program again are: