What happens when I have a few drinks?

This is a very common question that comes up with more than 50% of my clients seeking to quit smoking. Smoking and drinking have gone hand-in-hand for so long, and having a few drinks tends to loosen the inhibitions so much, that they find it hard to believe they can have a few drinks without lighting up.



The very first client I helped to quit smoking, more than five years ago, had that very same concern. He was successful immediately following his first session, and when he came back for his follow-up a week later, he said he was doing great. However, he was worried because some old college friends were coming to town for the weekend and they were going to be out drinking. Some of them were smokers, so he wondered, in spite of how great he was doing, what would happen once the drinks were flowing and the smoke was in the air.

We incorporated that possibility and prepared him for it during the session. He emailed the next week that all went well, and a while after that he sent me this message:

"Sean,

I want to thank you so much for helping me quit smoking. I smoked cigarettes for 14 years, and was beginning to believe that I would never be able to quit. I had tried everything from quitting cold turkey, to the patch, to gum, to nicotine lozenges... EVERYTHING! To make it even more difficult, I was an "all-day smoker," averaging a pack or more a day. So, I associated smoking with all facets of my life.

As much of a skeptic as I can be, I was very reluctant to try hypnosis. However, having now gone through your program, I am reaching my 4-month anniversary without so much as a single puff. I have no desire to start the habit again, and in fact, have recommended you to many of my friends so they can quit, too.

Thanks again, Sean, for helping me breathe freely again!

Here's to a healthy future!!

Cheers!"

-L.M.
Atlanta, GA

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I've stayed in touch with him through the years, and I'm proud to say that he still hasn't had a puff in what has now been more than 5 and a half years.

When you quit smoking with my program, I don't just tell you to close your eyes and suggest that cigarettes will taste bad, I have to get to know you first. Once I understand the nature of your habit and your most important concerns, we incorporate them into the work we do.

Because of that, the message is personal, meaningful and motivating for you as an individual. You are like no one else, and because of that, you have your own reasons and motivations for making this choice.

When you're finished with this program, you're prepared for anything and everything... even a few drinks.

"It's harder to have cancer than it is to quit smoking"

As you may or may not know, November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. I found a story over at About.com that will be of massive interest to anyone, especially those of you who are struggling to stop smoking.



Here's a brief excerpt. I highly encourage you to click the link below to continue reading the full story.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Cheryl, and I have been here before in one of my many attempts to stop smoking. I believe I lasted 3 months that time.

This is a very good site for great information and support. This site, and the good people I knew here, did not fail me. I failed myself. It just wasn't enough for me. I went back out to smoke yet again.

Of course I had reasons why my quit attempts did not work. They were many and varied, but the bottom line was this: I didn't try hard enough.

...Nicotine withdrawal was too hard.
...I figured I could always try again.
...I had plenty of time.
...People in my family never had cancer, and they all smoked, so I was safe.

I was diagnosed with limited small cell lung cancer and squamous third stage B, on November 19, 2003. It's inoperable and incurable. I had finally pushed my luck as far as my body could handle.

Full story: http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/ourstories/a/cheryl.htm

Doctors Lack Smoking Cessation Training

Here's a new story I found yesterday at Forbes.com (click the headline above for the full story). This is no surprise. Doctors have been trained to do many things with a high degree of skill, but helping people quit smoking is not one of them.

"It found that 87 percent to 93 percent of doctors and other health-care workers receive less than five hours of training on tobacco dependence," says a study at the North Shore-LIJ Health System Center for Tobacco Control in Great Neck, N.Y.



This is especially important to recognize, as many people put the utmost faith and trust in their doctors when it comes to anything related to their health. As for their "training," the less than five hours could be anything from 0.0 hours up to 4.99. It means that many of them receive absolutely no training at all.

"They surveyed 322 prescribers (physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants) and 278 nonprescribers (pharmacists, registered nurses, social workers, counselors, respiratory therapists, and students)."

The best luck a person will likely have in seeking assistance from one's doctor is that he will prescribe a form of nicotine replacement like the patch, gum or lozenges... or perhaps he'll prescribe a drug like wellbutrin.

This is what doctors are trained to do.

To their credit, many doctors continually recommend that their patients quit smoking, lose weight and exercise more. The understand that taking a proactive approach is the most effective way to stay healthy. "An apple a day," as the saying goes.



However, there's a big difference between making recommendations and actually teaching someone how to make such significant changes. I can recommend you go to the dentist, but I can't do the root canal myself. I'm not trained for it. Likewise, doctors can recommend you quit smoking, but they can't help you quit.

Many people lack faith in practitioners of alternative therapies because they lack the fancy credentials awarded by esteemed institutions. It's important to consider the background and training of anyone in whom you're going to place your trust, especially with regard to your health.

However, it has been my experience that many people who have been stuck in one form of therapy or another for years (and years), whether with a psychiatrist, psychologist or other state-licensed counselor, have noticed little or no positive change.

After all of these "official" therapies fail, they call a hypnotherapist. Quite often, they notice benefits immediately -- actual changes in thought, feeling and behavior.

If you have a broken arm, see a doctor. If you have a toothache, see a dentist. If you want to stop smoking, lose weight or banish a phobia, see a hypnotherapist.

It's what we're trained to do.

Does Quitting Make You Think Bad Thoughts?

Ever noticed yourself becoming so irritable while trying to quit that you had a desire to become violent? Maybe you were just focusing on some very negative thoughts.

Here's an interview with a client of mine who quit smoking with the assistance of my Stop Smoking hypnosis CD... and thankfully, he didn't listen to those voices in his head just prior to using it (listen just a couple minutes in for the specifics).

This is a man who realized he'd spent over $10,000 on cigarettes in the past eight years, and just decided that it was time to stop. While you're watching this, you may find yourself wondering: "How much have I spent on cigarettes throughout the years?"

Enjoy.

Don't Expect Help Paying for Hypnosis

Many of my prospective clients ask if I accept various forms of insurance as payment, and while I would certainly welcome the support and participation of insurance companies with hypnosis and other alternative forms of therapy, the answer is typically "no."

It's not that I choose not to accept insurance, it's that insurance companies refuse to cover most alternative forms of therapy. Now this is a topic deserving of a lengthy article and discussion in its own right, but for now, I wanted to bring attention to this recent story from the state of Nebraska.

Neb. officials expect 3000+ to take advantage of quit help
Associated Press - October 25, 2008 2:35 PM ET

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - State officials estimate that about 3,130 Nebraskans will take advantage of the new Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation from December through the end of June.

But their chances to quit with help from Medicaid won't be limitless.

During the course of a year, Medicaid will cover two attempts by a person to quit smoking, allowing a maximum of 2, 90-day supplies of drugs. A maximum of 4 counseling sessions per year will be covered, and patients must enroll and participate in the state's Tobacco Free Quitline.

Hypnosis and other alternative treatments will not be covered. [my emphasis]

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This is not at all surprising.

Excuse my sarcasm (I'm sure you are aware that hypnotherapists aren't allowed to be cynical), but this is very typical. When it comes to health care, your tax dollars will only be spent on therapy supported by drugs and funneled through to the pharmaceutical industry.

If you think this viewpoint is cynical, consider the facts in the article. Medicaid will cover a 6-month supply of drugs for more than 3,000 Nebraskans, but only 4 counseling sessions. So who is going to receive the majority of these funds?

Hint: it's not your friendly neighborhood counselor.

I feel the need to continually remind the readers of this blog that simply because I'm a hypnotherapist, and thereby interested in generating new business to make a profit, doesn't mean I believe hypnosis will work for everyone, or that wellbutrin or other drugs don't help people to stop smoking.

I do, however, believe in freedom of choice in health care... that you, the individual, should be able to choose whatever form of assistance you desire in your effort to become healthier. If these companies were genuinely interested in your well-being, they would cover any and all forms of therapy, like hypnosis and acupuncture, that have been demonstrated to be effective.

It's unfortunate that an individual who would like to stop putting poisons (nicotine) into his/her body, when asking his insurance company for assistance, is told that they will only pay for him/her to do so by consuming even more drugs (the patch, the gum, wellbutrin, etc.)... all provided, of course, by Big Pharma.



So whether you choose hypnotherapy, acupuncture or any other alternative form of therapy that doesn't require you to continue to put drugs into your body, chances are you'll be paying out of your own pocket. I tell my clients to think of it as an investment, because really... the returns outweigh the expenditures exponentially.

You Don't Have to Become a Jerk!

In all my years of helping people to stop smoking, this roadblock comes up as often as any other. My clients will talk about how, in the past, when they tried to stop smoking, they became moody, irritable and ill-tempered.

Yes, in their own estimation, they simply turned into great big jerks.













Don't make people cry because you're a jerk.

So you want to quit, but you don't want to be in a bad mood, you don't want to put on an extra 20 pounds, and you don't want to feel stressed, nervous or anxious all the time.

If you take a look at some of the most popular methods used for smoking cessation, several of them attempt to address those physical feelings that directly cause you to start acting like a jerk (sorry, no scientific data to back up that assertion, nor is any needed).

Here are a few options that can help you feel more relaxed:

• Laser Therapy
• Acupuncture
  
• Wellbutrin (or similar drugs)
• Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy

Now let's talk about how each of these options have been demonstrated to work.

Laser therapy and acupuncture work in similar ways. They cause you to feel more relaxed, which can be of tremendous value to someone who's been smoking for quite a long time. The feelings of stress, anxiousness and irritability are generally what smokers refer to when they talk about having a craving. If these feelings are reduced, the cravings are likely reduced.

However, many of my clients have told me that although they felt more relaxed, they continued to have a desire to smoke after trying these therapies. You see, because most people try hypnosis as a last resort, I get to hear about their failed attempts at using all the other methods.

Wellbutrin has worked for many people, however as with most pharmaceutical drugs, it also has some negative and dangerous side-effects. All one has to do is visit www.askapatient.com to hear it from the horse's mouth. Here's one quote from someone who used wellbutrin and who had experienced some success:

"However, now at the end of 3 months, I am feeling extremely depressed, to the point even of contemplating suicide--very unlike me. I also have bouts of extreme almost uncontrollable anger."

Here are two more from people who recently began using wellbutrin:

"had my first panic attack on this drug. shortly after starting it was diagnosed with high blood pressure (at 28)."

"I can't concentrate on anything, I feel like I can't think. I'm dizzy all the time, and nauseous. I have a constant headache in my temple."

There are literally hundreds of similar responses (just at this one website), with more being added every day. Needless to say, even if you stop smoking (which is nowhere near a guarantee), the side-effects should give you pause.

Laser therapy and acupuncture do some of the same things that hypnotherapy can do -- mainly taking away some of the stress and anxiety that often lead smokers to relapse -- but what they don't provide is what generally leads even those who experience short-term success to eventually pick up the habit again... your thoughts.

No matter how relaxed you feel, there are certain times of day, situations, locations, etc., that remind a smoker that he/she used to smoke. Even when the individual is feeling calm and relaxed, if the thought remains, the likelihood increases that a relapse will occur.

Hypnosis, when performed correctly by a trained professional, is the only available method that adequately addresses all the factors that contribute to smoking.

• Physical feelings (stress, anxiety, etc.)
• Associations (after meals, while driving, etc.)
• Thoughts (self-talk, unconscious visualization)

When you not only feel relaxed, but also understand how to focus your attention in a way that allows you to forget about smoking most of the time, while changing how you think about smoking on the rare occasions when it does enter into your consciousness, well... that's what brings about long-term success.

So, if you want to quit smoking but you don't want to become a big jerk, there are several options available to you. It's up to you to choose which is best for you. Hopefully, the information provided here (although not entirely unbiased) will help you make a decision that will allow you to feel confident that you're investing your money wisely.

Be more like this person when you quit:









Because hey, the world has enough jerks already, right?

"Bark Like a Dog for Me, Baby"

Does it ever confuse you that hypnosis is used to make people cluck like chickens in front of hundreds of strangers, yet at the same time it’s being used around the world by doctors, dentists and therapists alike?

Here I reveal the secrets of stage hypnosis, and why you never need to worry about losing control while hypnotized.

Podcast: The Secrets of Stage Hypnosis - Revealed