Smoking

Hello Katie,

Oooooo hundreds of times then I went for EFT and it did the trick, the 'F' in EFT is for freedom and that could be another word for truth, so I found out the reason I have such a hard time quitting is because I like smoking and begrudge and resent 'having' to give up so I didn't! It was very empowering like owning my own truth.
On a personal level I don't think it harms, I know I will probably get shouted at for saying this on HP, but I read a quote by Lynn Grabhorn in one of her books where she said that we could pour cyanide on our Corn Flakes each morning and not get poorly if we are:
living authentically
remaining positive
owning our own truth.
The only thing that naffs me off about smoking was the cost in the UK £5.60 a pack, I live 50 mins from Gibralter so they are £1 a pack and if you buy three you get 2 free I'm coughing a lot better than I used to.

Good luck with it though if you really want to do it you will and lots of lovely people on here who will help you.

Love and Peace

Rebecca xx

I didnt give up - I stopped

dont know why but it worked and I am now 13 months down the line

just got to lose some weight - made it an excuse to eat badly

the fact is that you have got to want to do it, you cant do it for anyone else

Happy New Year Katie !:)

Yes we are in the same boat.this is my 38th year of smoking....yuk. 😮 I managed to stop whilst my 3 boys were small.They are now:-( 31,27 and23.) 😮

:eeeK:I have got nicoutine patches and also a member of an excellent on line support group.Let's see how we both get on...

:cool-smiley-027:
Wishing you a massive mountain of willpower and an overflowing bank accout.
Love Zemzia.:)

Also check out (do a search on) the Mind Therapies forum here on HP and you should find some threads which offer assistance in relation to smoking.

Love and Reiki Hugs

wow that's a great help. The mind therapies sounds like a great idea. It should help me build the will power but I am wondering if I need some suplementary help too.
Becky, I tend to agree with you many things are not bad for you in moderation. Only problem is, nicotine is highly addictive and it is something I can't seem to do in moderation.
I'm not sure if I'll go for the patches or the gum but in my research I found this mildly humerous game [DLMURL="http://www.nicorette.co.uk/freshfruitfreedom/"] http://www.nicorette.co.uk/freshfruitfreedom/ [/DLMURL]

Hi Katie,

The Conscious Mind is about 10% whilst the Sub Conscious Mind makes up the other approx. 90% of the Mind.

Usually, the "root" is in the sub-conscious which is why -

a) it is usually too difficult to quit from the conscious mind.

b) it usually requires work on the sub-conscious, maybe through EFT or Hypnosis.

c) a form of movement such as Hatha Yoga is required for the mind body link.

There are some great deals on eBay for stop smoking hypnosis CD's at the mo which may help You.

David

Hi Katie,

Yes I know what you mean, I don't seem to be able to do anything in moderation, I can't just have a sweet or biscuit I have to have the whole packet oink oink!
I think you are wise not choosing the patches, IMHO all they do is prolong the inevitable, once the course is finished you then have to go from a teeny bit of nicotine to none so you may as well do that to start with.
I have heard good reports about Champix, but I still think you are best with EFT and backing it up with yoga like David has said.
Good luck.

Rebecca XX

Good luck Katie - it is 10 weeks now since I last had a smoke. I am not an ex-smoker yet, simply someone who doesnt smoke at the moment. This mindset has helped, together with taking it all one hour at a time initially and a big kick start from one of the forums hypnotherapists. The longest I have done prior to this is 7 months so I am aiming to beat that this time. Feeling confident about it though!

The Mind Therapies forum is a really good idea.

It's very hard to just turn cold turkey when faced with an addiction, you should gradually reduce the number of sticks you smoke a day or buy nicotine patch to help you quit.

It's very hard to just turn cold turkey when faced with an addiction, you should gradually reduce the number of sticks you smoke a day or buy nicotine patch to help you quit.

Just to clarify you last point smoking is not an addiction it is only a habit. If it were addictive people would get addicted to nicotine patches. All you have to do is find a way that works around your conscious mind avoid using negatives like can't smoke, don't smoke otherwise you'll create the cravings people think is addiction. I know the experts say nictotine is as addictive as injecting heroin but that is nonsense. As a practicing hypnotherapist, hypnosis has incidentally been proven to be the most effective way to stop, I couldn't stop any addiction in one session.
Best of luck whatever way you choose as there are no benefits to smoking, only illusions.

As a practicing hypnotherapist, hypnosis has incidentally been proven to be the most effective way to stop

Has it? (links please!)

I've helped some people to stop smoking in as little as 15 minutes and no need for them to be 'taken under' with any hypno techniques. Just plain ol' EFT.

Obviously it depends on the individual and the reasons behind them smoking etc. but it can be that quick.

Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi Giles - in my research prior to giving up this last time I read a statistic which stated that hypnotherapy was far more effective than the more usual ie patches, gum, cold turkey. I suppose I should have had a look at EFT at the time! As Gary Craig says - use it for everything!

lookintomyeyes - Nicotine is addictive - the nicotine used in patches is a sanitised or therapapeutic version with many of the addiction forming traits taken away. I agree that smoking is a habit though!

For the record - I had hypnotherapy and then went cold turkey! There are times when I have intense cravings but they are for shorter periods as time goes on. I am not yet an ex-smoker, I am simply not smoking at the moment!

re:EFT and smoking. Does that involve tapping away every day? If so it might just be replacing one habit with a compulsive action. Personally I've notseen any stats on the long term effectiveness of EFT. Has the research been done? Unfortunately many claims are made for all therapies but they don't always stand up or work for everybody.
Still if it works for you.

hiya
i haven't had a ciggy now for 2 days
this is how i have done it
i have had this terrible cold,
it stops you breathing too well , especailly when
your a smoker , so with this
and the memoriesof when i saw my grandad dying
on a ventalator ,and not being able to breath at all well
it has so far put me right off .
its so hard to breath it is easy to imagine that this it what it
will be like in the future if i keep smoking
this horrid tightness on the chest , walking accross the room
can wear you out
and the coughing that hurts the head as well as the ribs.
( get my drift )
and knowing that yes is only the cold ,but its going to take longer
to get better , but this is what it feels like
to be a smoker .

you kinda get to the point when you think , is it worth it ??
is it worth the headaches and the pains in the chest
I say no
keep up with the good work all thoses that have managed
to say no this far

Kat XX

re:EFT and smoking. Does that involve tapping away every day? If so it might just be replacing one habit with a compulsive action.

Not at all.
EFT (and similar meridian therapies) look for the root cause of the issue and tend to deal with it from there.
As you will know, smoking is often used as a comforter or distraction for some other issues (often long term and/or traumatic) and the person may not even know the root cause themselves.
The simplest EFT treatments for smoking tend to be where it is just a social habit that was started with friends/peer pressure. A single session will often get rid of the immediate craving and may even deal with the whole smoking issue for the person meaning that if they ever chose to put a cigarette in their mouth again (most don't have the 'need' any more) then they will taste the true nastiness of what they are trying to smoke and feel that it's horrible. (Obviously everyone is different and the reactions can be different).
Where the smoking is covering some underlying issue the technique can be used to deal with the initial cravings and any habitual situations where the person knows they always have a ciggy e.g. first thing in the morning after breakfast etc. More often than not, once the initial craving has been removed then the person will have a moment of 'realisation' about why they started smoking, and then this issue can also be treated (this may take a while depending on the severity of the issue e.g. it could be as simple as the shock of a car accident or more severe like being abused as a child). The person will also be shown the technique to use on themselves should they come across any other situation where they feel a need for a cigarette, but these are usually small habitual situations that they hadn't thought about during the session and only requires their willpower to make themselves stop and say, "I'll just tap away that feeling".
So, no, EFT is not used to replace one habitual action with a compulsive action.

Personally I've not seen any stats on the long term effectiveness of EFT. Has the research been done?

There's a lot of research been done with EFT over the years and the number of successes are the stats for it. 😉

Unfortunately many claims are made for all therapies but they don't always stand up or work for everybody.
Still if it works for you.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't saying that hypno doesn't work, cos I know it does, but when a new member joins up and just comes out with a statement that their therapy is scientifically proven to be the most effective, without providing any links to those facts, then it has to be questioned. :rolleyes:

EFT can work for everyone, but as with all therapies, the person has to want to deal with their issues. The ones it tends not to work for are the ones who have been pushed into dealing with things or who are determined that they want to hold onto the issue and that the therapy won't work (whether consciously or unconsciously), although even those people can sometimes be surprised at how much better they feel even if they don't put it down to the therapy itself.

If you take a look at the EFT site () and look under the Addictions link or search the site for Smoking then you'll find many links to videos and case studies relating to this area.

Love and Reiki Hugs

Purplemysticmoggy - go girl! Keep it up and keep visualising all the reasons for stopping.

Giles - hear hear!

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't saying that hypno doesn't work, cos I know it does, but when a new member joins up and just comes out with a statement that their therapy is scientifically proven to be the most effective, without providing any links to those facts, then it has to be questioned. :rolleyes:

I think the poster is most likely referring to:

New Scientist vol 136 issue 1845 p6
To find the most effective method to stop smoking, Frank Schmidt and research student Chockalingham Viswesvaran from the University of Iowa conducted a meta-analysis, bringing together the results of more than 600 studies totalling nearly 72,000 people. The results, which were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and included 48 studies of hypnosis covering 6000 smokers, clearly showed that hypnosis was three times more effective than Nicotine Replacement.

Research by The New Scientist Magazine (1992) has shown hypnotherapy to be the safest and quickest way to quit smoking. People were six times more likely to quit with one session of hypnosis and remain non-smokers over 12 months after their session, compared to those who used Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

The advantage of hypnosis is that it removes the dependency and craving of quitting without risking the side effects of rashes and potential long term damage that has been associated with Zyban. Those using NRT are know to have to try to quit on average six times before succeeding, thereby investing heavily in substitute products and addictive chemicals, before developing a stronger will or abandoning any belief in quitting altogether.

Studies in America have shown that hypnosis is the most effective method of stopping smoking for good with an 85% success rate in just one session! This contrasts with the low rates of 10% success for those using nicotine gum and 6% compared with willpower alone. (Mathews, R (1992) New Scientist, Vol. 136, No. 1845, p.6.)

The study did not include EFT but Hypnotherapy did come out top by a very high margin with acupuncture coming a fairly distant second. However, the study highlighted how ineffective Nicotene Replacement Therapy really is. Last year, I was on a research panel for the NHS regarding the smoking ban. The NHS' own figures regarding the NRT they have been giving to people with public funds show what a waste of tax payers money the whole thing is compared to if the NHS funded complementary therapies for smoking cessation. Bear in mind, an average course of patches costs around £70.00 per course.

Of the people who have given up as part of the NHS provided NRT, an average of 7 courses of patches have been required (estimated cost of £490 per person, not including the cost of counselling and advice they received).

In fact 93% of people who do give up using NRT start again within a year! (Freedom From Tobacco - Quit Smoking Now)

A later study than the one published in New Scientist that was carried out in 2003 actually found the success rate of NRT is falling - only 7% were still not smoking after only 6 months.

The latest wonder drug Champix has only a 1 in 5 success rate based on how many were still non-smokers after a year. Of course, Champix (as with the previous wonder-drug Zyban) has some pretty extreme side effects for many people.

All the above facts and figures are very easy to find/check, all you need is a search engine!

Thanks for finding the article, I'd lost the reference.
Re Energylz, I wonder if EFT will work with the Anal types. It appears in many ways to work on suggestion and belief not unlike hypnotherapy, but I really do question the technique when I see it claimed to cure colour blindeness and fill cavities in teeth. You'll need to look back at Gary Craigs emails for those.
Still if it gets results, who indeed am I to question the therapy. But I do think that questioning things should go on I don't deny anyone that right as I do it myself as you might guess.

You guys are great. A huge help and just generally lovely.:)

i too wan to thank
Its a great information

To everyone
Just read my post on this forum about stopping because of a chest infection that just wouldn't clear up - sure gave me the incentive to stop as I didn't want to end up like PurpleMysticMoggy's grandpops.