Various elements of human health require a degree of willpower to change. These are usually difficulties based on choice. Sometimes, it is easier to do something else and avoid the issue.
The two key areas of human health that center around willpower are weight loss and quitting smoking. Often, the moral high ground of better mental and physical health and avoiding severe disease isn’t enough incentive.
So, if this is a psychological stumbling block, is there an answer which addresses the root of the problem?
Can Hypnotherapy Help Smokers Quit?
Hypnosis alone doesn’t usually help smokers quit, but it can help to reduce cravings. The studies around hypnotherapy have produced mixed results, with some people maintaining that this alone was the reason for the change.
However, most people need a phased withdrawal from nicotine. They will swap the cigarettes for something like RELX pods. These have varying nicotine levels and use a vape device to mimic the original smoking experience.
Smokers often use hypnotherapy alongside other smoking cessation programs like vaping or nicotine patches. Hypnotherapy can weaken the desire to smoke and strengthen the desire to quit.
Does Hypnotherapy help with Weight Loss?
A recent investigation suggested that the success of hypnosis for anything boils down to how suggestible we are as individuals. It determines how successful hypnotherapy is likely to be, whether to lose weight, quit smoking, or help with the pain of childbirth.
Celebrities, such as British food writer and cook Nigella Lawson and music artist Adele, have supposedly used hypnotherapy for weight loss.
Forget the swinging watch and the trance-like state. Hypnotherapy for weight loss is about helping people to understand what makes them do what they do and to re-write unwanted emotions, behaviors, and thoughts.
Does this sound like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? Well, it’s along those lines, but it goes deeper than that by putting the person into a deeply relaxed state.
Hypnotherapy uses different techniques to change the person’s thought patterns. It usually requires a therapist. But, just like quitting smoking, hypnotherapy is not usually the only technique used to achieve a particular goal – it is part of a package of measures.
Final Thoughts
Hypnotherapy can help unlock engrained patterns of behavior that lead to overeating and smoking even when that person knows they are probably harming their health and increasing the risk of a serious illness.
Sometimes that is the kickstart needed to move to a better lifestyle. Changes like a different diet or avoiding cigarettes can be some of the hardest to make. That’s why many people who consider hypnotherapy have already tried other ways to change their lives without success.
A healthy life must be sustainable and ongoing. That’s why diets don’t ultimately work. Susan Hepburn is the name of the hypnotherapist who is credited with helping Adele lose weight. If she sounds familiar, it’s because she also helped Adele quit smoking in 2014.
If you are considering hypnotherapy, then always consult a qualified professional.
