How Hard is it to Stop Smoking?

 

A common question I get when I interview a smoker on the phone who wants to quit smoking is “How hard will be for me to stop smoking?” Or “How hard is it going to be to quit and stay a non-smoker?”

The fact is… it depends. I know it’s a frustrating answer to give but it’s the truth. For some people coming through my practice they said it was a lot easier than they expected. They left the office after my one session stop smoking hypnosis program and never smoked again – no urges – no problem.

For others it was less than a walk at the park. It took overcoming some challenges but they did it. For a few more… they slipped back and required more sessions. It happens. Hypnosis can’t help you quit if you’re not committed or the timing is wrong for other reasons. But it will help make it easier to quit for you if you’re ready.

But back to the original question.

This question is asked for three primary reasons:

1) How much effort and discipline are they going to have to be put into the “stop smoking plan“?

2) How hard will it be to accept failure if one relapses and what will it mean the next time they try to quit smoking again?

3) How will it affect the smoker’s life once they’re a non-smoker?

The amount of effort and discipline put into quitting smoking is often times the deal maker or breaker which pushes one toward a smoke-free life or continual struggles with quitting smoking.

So many smokers don’t quit because they believe it’ll be too hard to quit. They cower at the idea of quitting when they acknowledge the amount of mental and emotional effort they’ll have to invest.

Interestingly enough when most smokers started the habit of smoking, they often times told themselves they could quit anytime they wanted too. What they didn’t realize was the longer they smoke, the more intense and ingrained the habit grew. At some point they stopped telling themselves that they could quit, when they really could have because… they really didn’t want to quit!

With that said, the effort and discipline required to quit weighs heavily on the exact same beginning mindset, “I can quit anytime I want to quit!” Now the smoker has to believe it! Now is the time to say, “I choose to quit because I no longer like smoking or deem it as a necessary part of my life!”

This is an attitude changer.

Your attitude approaching quitting will determine how hard it’ll be for YOU to stop smoking. If you approach it with a “give it a go” or “I’ll try to quit” attitude then you’re in a for a difficult roller-coaster ride. My advice is not to bother. You’re not really ready to quit.

However, approach smoking cessation with “this must work for me” because “it’s too important for me not to quit” then you’ll likely to have a much easier time and successful outcome.

Failure is the second factor many smokers don’t want to quit smoking, or make another attempt at quitting after their first or repeated failed attempts.

Failure from not being able to quit smoking can be extremely devastating for some.

As much and as hard as they want to quit the habit this inanimate object rules their lives. Failure often times becomes the set outcome in advance if the smoker tells them self, “I will never be able to quit!”

This negative affirmation becomes ingrained in their subconscious mind along with the mindset, “I am a smoker“.

To avoid failure, the smoker has to separate the act of smoking from who they are.

Many smokers find it very difficult to quit smoking because they believe they need it to function, act and cope in their everyday lives. For some, smoking is not only a way of life or a lifestyle, but also a crutch. Some believe smoking is a part of their mystique or power wielder.

In quitting smoking, many believe they’ll lose something magical or powerful about themselves.

This couldn’t be even more truthful when one who is trying to quit smoking while everyone else around them (family, friends and co-workers) continues to smoke. As silly as it may sound, the act of smoking in groups outside the office during smoke breaks keeps people in the proverbial loop!

Is it really that difficult to quit smoking?

It can be if the smoker is not truly ready to quit. If they’ve accepted the notion they can quit on their own terms, then they’re ready to quit. At this point, quitting becomes as easy as they perceive it to be in their mind.

If they believe it to be easy, then it won’t be that difficult to quit.

So you see it does all depend… on YOU – and that’s the truth. As a hypnotherapist I’m just there to guide you to the tools and resources you’re already got to stop smoking.

Erika Slater, CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis