Stop Smoking with Hypnotherapy or addiction counselling
This month James Alexander looks at various ways to give up smoking and interviews top addiction therapist Christopher Morgan-Locke who explains why hypnotherapy and addiction counselling are the safest options
There can be few in this country who are not aware of the harm smoking can do yet despite all the publicity there are still millions who smoke. If smoking tobacco had been discovered today there is little doubt that it would be banned along with cocaine, heroin and other harmful substances.
However, because of its legal history and massive tax implications it is still legal and it looks as though it will remain legal for years to come. Gestures have been made to curb its use however banning advertising and under-age smoking may help prevent some youngster's start but it will not help the millions already addicted.
Dr Douglas Ringrose M.D., F.R.C.S., an expert in the field of smoking says: "Harmful addictions, such as smoking, usually flourish in a climate of ignorance, low self esteem and lack of personal assertiveness in health matters. According to one survey the smoking of tobacco results in 8000 deaths a day worldwide yet there are still many who continue smoking. It has for them become a true addiction not just to tobacco but to the process of smoking."
According to the British Medical Association tobacco smokers have an increased risk of lung cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer. All tobacco users have and increased risk of cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus. The majority of people with head and neck cancer have a history of heavy alcohol and tobacco use. And, as if this were not enough to put you off smoking, it can also impair your sexuality!
What is interesting when non-smokers read these types of statements they have no doubt as to the dangers of smoking. However, when smokers read them their minds automatically find half a dozens reasons to discredit such statistics. The usual one is 'my Uncle Fred smoked 40 a day and lived until he was 85'.
What they fail to point out or perhaps are not aware of, is that if Uncle Fred did not smoke he may have lived until 100 and would not have spent the last 30 years of his life suffering from chest infections, shortage of breath and circulation problems.
What they also fail to realise is that for every Uncle Fred there could be nine others who died tragically in their forties or fifties of a smoking related illness or that Uncle Fred's children may have been healthier if he had not smoked.
Quite often they genuinely believe they will not succumb to any of the smoking related diseases and readily discount the fact that their smoking can be harming and offensive to others around them.
I suspect the hardened smokers will have stopped reading this article by now, as it can be painful reading the truth or if they have continued they may be feeling angry or upset.
However, for those who really want to stop there is good news - in recent years millions of people have successfully given up smoking and thousands stop smoking each week in Britain.
Firstly it may not be as hard as you may think to stop and some will have enough will power to stop without any help at all. One study suggests that almost one in five are able to give up by personal determination alone and between 20% and 25% are able to give up by determination aided by the use of nicotine replacement or other devices. However, the majority find it impossible to give up with professional help.
There are many options now when it comes to getting help stopping smoking and a raft of research widely available on the Internet. Basically there are talking therapies such as addiction counselling, hypnotherapy or psychotherapy which are without doubt the safest methods and also help to resolve surrounding issues so tend to be the long term solutions. There are also chemical interventions such as nicotine replacement or the use of drugs, which can be prescribed by a doctor, but these treatments run the risk of side effects and in isolation do not deal with the surrounding issues.
When the use of Nicotine patches really took off a few years ago the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis reported requests from the public needing help dealing with addiction to the patches - the bottom line is whilst taking nicotine through the skin as opposed to by smoking is less harmful the fact remains you are still putting nicotine in your body and that may have side effects so all agree the best approach is to stop smoking completely and to avoid taking nicotine in any form.
A combination of addiction counselling and hypnotherapy is probably the best option and for over 50 years this has been a tried and tested method for stopping. Over the years there have been many studies which show that that talking therapies including counselling and hypnotherapy are the most successful method of stopping smoking and popular as they do not involve taking any drugs or chemicals of any kind.
If you go for this approach the most important thing it to find a therapist who is well trained and who has many years of experience working in addiction. There is a wealth of information and advice available through your GP and the NHS and personal recommendation is also a good route.
Addiction Therapist and Medical Hypnotherapist Christopher Morgan-Locke worked at a addiction centre for some years helping people get off hard drugs and alcohol. He said: "It was interesting how many people I saw said that they found giving up smoking harder than giving up drugs or alcohol.
"In the Nineties we realized that for all types of addiction including tobacco often people needed a deeper intervention than just counselling and it was then I introduce the use of Hypnotherapy, NLP and even EMDR Therapy if bad memories were involved. This had a huge effects and the success rate increased which was a breakthrough. Hypnotherapy is widely used now on its own or as part of a stop smoking course."
The process of hypnotherapy for stopping smoking it gentle and you learn the techniques yourself so you do not need to keep seeing a hypnotherapist again and again. It is often done in just one double session (usually an hour and a half or two hours) and the cost varies between £90 and £200 depending on where you live and the level of expertise and experience of the therapist. It often worth paying a little more to see a really experienced therapist with a track record of success than gambling on someone who may be less expensive and have limited experience - getting a personal recommendation is useful.
Christopher went on to say: " Over many years of working in the area of addiction I have seen many smokers some who have been smoking 40 or 50 a day for 20 or 30 years and who have failed to quit smoking many times. It always amazes them that after just one or two treatments they instantly stop and often with no side effects at all.
"I had one famous actor about 12 years ago who had been a heavy smoker for about 25 years and the result was so immediate since then he has referred dozens of actors and actresses to me. At one time I had actors from Eastenders, Coronation Street and The Bill and several West End theatres all at the same time but as everything I do is confidential I can say no more."
Christopher Morgan-Locke is a top addiction therapist dealing with drug, alcohol and smoking. He has patients from all over the world come to get his help with addiction and other conditions. He owns The Peel Clinic which is a small private clinic which is based in London (Clapham Common, Battersea) but he also works each week in Surrey (Weybridge and Wentworth area) and Hampshire (Alton and Farnham area). Website: www.thepeelclinic.org.uk or email Christopher@thepeelclinic.org.uk
