Breaking the smoking habit: Can hypnotherapy really help you quit?
On World No Tobacco Day, Weekend Breakfast talks to a hypnotherapist and a former client who hasn't lit up for six years!
Picture: Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
CapeTalk's Sara-Jayne Makwala King gets the lowdown from therapist Graham Thomas and now ex-smoker Laura Corlett.
Nicotine is known to be an extremely addictive substance, up there with cocaine and heroin.
On World No Tobacco Day, Sara-Jayne Makwala King looks at one particular method that does seem to help people to stop smoking - hypnotherapy.
Graham Thomas is a Cape Town hypnotherapist and psychotherapist who’s helped many people quit the habit through the power of suggestion and subconscious reprogramming.
He explains that because of the addictive nature of nicotine that once you start smoking it goes right into the pleasure centre in the brain through your neural pathways.
"Once those pathways have been 'hijacked, you've really got it for life."
"The problem is then how do you break the habit, and that's where hypnotherapy seems to be very successful."
Graham Thomas, Hypnotherapist
A hypnotherapist is basically altering a person's behaviour, the therapist says.
He emphasizes that, first of all, the smoker must want to quit.
Thomas uses three sessions to work with them, with a week in between each appointment.
"Some therapists like to do one session, but unfortunately the incidence of relapse is quite heavy with smokers because once it's got a hold on you it's there really for life and we just need to break that habit."
"I programme the person to come down gradually - they're not expected to stop after the first session, but they are supposed to change the cigarettes they're smoking to one with lower tar perhaps, and then cut the number of cigarettes and THINK before they light up."
"I am obviously following a general pattern which is cutting down, being able to feel comfortable with NOT feeling you have to rely on, say having a cigarette with a cup of coffee or a drink."
Graham Thomas, Hypnotherapist
Practising also as a psychotherapist, Thomas looks at the smoker's needs holistically, doing an initial (free) consultation to find out their background.
As such, every individual's case will be unique.
"They'd want to look at other things in their lives - if they're suffering anxiety or stress for any particular reason that's something you need to deal with... They explain to me what's going on and then I explain what it is we're going to do and then it's up to them to decide."
Graham Thomas, Hypnotherapist
Former client and now ex-smoker Laura Corlett attests that this approach worked for her.
She highlights the support and lack of judgment involved in the process.
Coming in extremely anxious about giving up her crutch, Corlett actually found herself feeling 'surprisingly calm' after her first session.
"I really went through all the areas that I was worried about with Graham. He focused in on that and has such a calming technique... He gave very clear, very simple steps to follow that changed how I felt about smoking and how I smoked."
"I think I dozed off for half the session because it was so calming and it resonated with me but, again, I was very committed to quitting."
Laura Corlett, Ex-smoker
In fact, Corlett stopped smoking ahead of her third session, wanting to quit on her own terms.
"I decided a few days before that I'm done with smoking and then the third session could be like a reinforcement and support session to keep it going. Graham also said the door would always be open if I ever felt wobbly... And it's been six years now!"
Laura Corlett, Ex-smoker
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