Stop Smoking

The best way to stop smoking:

 is to acknowledge how much you enjoyed and needed to smoke during your smoking days and then (but only then) bid it a fond farewell. 

When I planned to stop smoking I noticed that the people who did not smoke acted different from people who did smoke. 

They didn’t need to arrive at appointments five minutes early in order to have a cigarette before they went in

They didn’t have to leave a social event in order to step outside to have a cigarette

They didn’t get restless if a meal lasted too long because they needed a cigarette

They could hold babies at any time

This was my light bulb moment; the moment I realised that cigarettes had all the power, they were the ones calling to me to change my habits in order to incorporate their nicotine

It was at this time that I also discovered choice. 

I would hold my hand a few inches away from a packet of cigarettes, arguing with myself whether or not I would consciously make the choice to take one or not, and it was this skill that I honed into a fine art

My next step was to decide how I would stop, so I used the strongest  learning feeling from my previous Stop Start experiences which was my need to 'say goodbye' to my addiction, my best friend for over 20 years, my smoking habit.

To do this, I visited all of the places and times where I believed I enjoyed smoking most and where I believed I would miss smoking most.

I went on holiday and out for meals with friends and family.  I relaxed with a good book.  In fact any place where I had “enjoyed” a cigarette and looked forward to it most.  

While I did this, I took notice of every cigarette, where it was, how it tasted, how I felt and most of all, whether or not I actually needed it to enhance that moment (obviously I didn’t but it was interesting to examine my personal reasons why)

I smoked every one of these cigarettes in order to bid my habit farewell, to get on with the grieving process and eventually the healing process.

When I smoked my last cigarette on 26^th October 2004, I savoured it as if it was my final cigarette ever - and it was.

Make your non smoking journey comfortable download my Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy soundtrack here: