Hypnosis?

[Dash Riprock]

Has anyone ever tried it to quit smoking? If so, does it work or a waste of money?

I quit smoking cold turkey about 10 years ago. It was very difficult, but I believe the only way to do it and make happen is to really want to quit.

My mother has been "trying" to quit with the help of prescription drugs of all sorts to no avail. Now she's looking into hypnosis and I'm not sure that will do anything more than relieve her of a few hundred dollars.

Does it work or is it just a quack practice?

[jkroner659]

My friend tried that,still smokes but I don't want to say it does not work...I just don't think it does. It's a physical addiction not mental. I'm a smoker and will quit someday...soon hopefully. I agree cold turkey is the way to go. I bet you still have cravings don't you Dave? My uncle still does after 5 years...

[Sinatra877]

It's like having a chapstick...once you start, you can't stop.

[KPierce]

I would recommend that your mother give Chantix a try. I am currently taking it at it has been the best thing I have ever tried to use to quit. It works by blocking the nicotine from binding to receptors in the pleasure centers of the brain. You can still smoke while taking it, and I do have the need for a smoke once in a while. But that's because smoking for me was a big part of how I dealt with stress. The only time I really want one is when I get really mad and it's more because I want something to do with my hands rather than actually having a craving for the cigarette itself.

[Cliff731]

Needless to say, I'm not one to speak regarding ways to quit smoking... :nono:

[Headhunter 13]

I quit almost 5 years ago and did it with a little help from the lozenges. They suck so I just stopped. I smoked for about 35 years and even 3 angioplasties didn't stop me until I wnated to

[Dash Riprock]

When I quit I did it because I had a ceiling fan that ran pretty much all the time without tuning it off. One it was thurned off and when I cut it back on dust came off of it so I took the blades off the wash them. The nicotine build up was so thick it disgusted me.

Then I started learning all the shit the tobacco comanies put in there to make you crave it and that just pissed me off. I've never tried to kid myself with thinking cigs are good for me in anyway, but adding chemicals is just too much.

I'm a life loving type of guy and when I started thinking how much I was paying for them per pack I realized I was paying them to kill me $2 at a time.

At that moment I decided that was it. No more smoking for me. I finished off my last pack before I went to bed didn't have one for about 3 months. Then on my birthday I went out to some clubs and started smoking. I guess I had 5 or 6 of them. The next day and for about 4 days I was so sick I thought I was going to die... That was it! Never had another one.

The side effects...

I believe the side effects can very harmful if you just quit cold turkey like I did. At one point, and I really can't prove the lack of the cigs had anything to do with it, but I lost the strength in my hands. It was so bad I couldn't twist door knobs to open them. I couldn't even play guitar. If I tried bending a string my fingers would just buckle.

I did go through the mood swings, cravings an all that. For a long time I would really really want one when I saw someone on TV smoking or something. I'd even have strange dreams about smoking.

The worst part about it I think was drinking and that after dinner smoke... That and the smell of it... The smell still makes me sick today.

My mother has tried varuious drugs to stop smoking and I believe Chantix was the last one. She called today and has an appointment on the 22nd for hypnosis, but really don't think that is going to help.

I kind of doubt anything will help her simply because I don't think she REALLY wants to quit and that to me is probably the most critical part of quitting. You have to want it for yourself, not because someone tells you to or because you "need". You have got to want it.

[reetismatic]

Has anyone ever tried it to quit smoking? If so, does it work or a waste of money?

I quit smoking cold turkey about 10 years ago. It was very difficult, but I believe the only way to do it and make happen is to really want to quit.

My mother has been "trying" to quit with the help of prescription drugs of all sorts to no avail. Now she's looking into hypnosis and I'm not sure that will do anything more than relieve her of a few hundred dollars.

Does it work or is it just a quack practice?

I have investigated hypnosis and must say that yes it can work, but as with all approaches, there is a failure rate. In this case its 15-85%. The reason for that is because when viewed scientifically, only approximately 15-85% of people can be hypnotised and only 15% are highly effected by it.

My suggestion is to have it done by a doctor and maybe try other methods such as drugs as well. I believe that may just be enough to do the trick.

I quit cold turkey over a year ago =)

best of luck