smoking cessation

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on December 6, 2009 at 5:04pm

Hi Susan-

In my world there is no such thing as "false" hope. But, I understand what you are communicating.

During my intake/pretalk -- I tell my clients that all roads lead to being smoke-free and quickly run the possible outcomes by them: A high percentage of my clients leave my office happy to be smoke free and never smoke again - a very small percentage smoke a cig as soon as they get outside and quickly discover smoking has become utterly boring and stop, others smoke less and less and then stop and a very, very small percentage actually smoke more than usual before they stop -- I wonder how you will decide to become smoke-free...

Consider this: Nicotine is not very physically addictive (this is not an induction =^..^=) as evidenced by the fact that people quickly level off and do not require increasing their intake of nicotine to get their desired result as is the case with cocaine, morphine and alcohol... Mind-blowing, huh... The urges you speak of are psycho-emotional and one can easily reframe them and give the client a post hypnotic cue for changing their state from Hot (I gotta have a cig) to Cool (the last thing I want or need is a cig) -- I market the belief that hypnosis takes the withdrawal symptoms out of the process or at the very least reduces them to manageable levels and my clients leave my office with that expectation. Knowing they have a tool if necessary.



The next time a person on the street asks you for spare change - give him or her a dollar and tell em it's from me

Michael E.


Susan French said:

I have a question that's been rattling around in my head and intefering with every darned smoking cessation I've ever done.
Michael and John C, and Kelley, can you comment and anyone else who has an idea?
I always waffle over how to help the client decide on a strategy. Many come with the idea that they will stop magically, after one session. I don't want to give any "suggestion" that they cannot, because a few people do. I don't want to give a suggestion that it might be harder than they think, for the obvious reasons. But I don't want to send them out with false hope that the urges will be magically gone either. Ha-a--a-a-a-lp!

But I have yet to figure out a pretalk way of addressing the best mindset to have or how to say in the least limiting, most positive expectation way, that it's not necessarily a "magic wand, one-session does it all" process.

If someone can help me with this setup, I think I've got the rest wired. It's always the place where I trip over my tongue, especially when they've come with the idea that they will just quit after hypnosis and that will be that.

I can't figure out how to suggest that they might have urges and how to deal with them with suggesting that that can't do it in the way they envision.

I've been scratching my head for ten years on this one. Call me slow. I just haven't found the right words to begin to lead someone through this journey without getting in their way, discouraging them or giving them false hope that may undermine them.

Thanks.

I'll pay you a dollar, Michael just for being you and everything you share. Tell me where to send it.

Susan

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Permalink Reply by Susan French on December 6, 2009 at 6:16pm

James, thank you. Thank you for hearing my question and letting me know that I'm not the only one who asks it. That makes me feel much, much better.

It also saves me from buying yet another book or training searching for that magic phrase or magic bullet.

Back to the drawing board. I'll go back to trying to write it myself.

Thank you so very much,

Susan

James Hazlerig said:

Susan-- I'm glad you brought this up, as I've often been bothered by the same question.

Interestingly, the experts all seem to disagree on the best way to go about smoking cessation. Some say that cold turkey is the only way to go, and others insist that gradually cutting back is the best method. I often wonder if a totally authoritarian approach would be best--it's what smokers seem to expect. There just doesn't seem to be a magic bullet.

I have a friend who obsessively researched every hypnotic smoking cessation method he could find. Then he distilled his research into one method that he used on himself. He went from five packs a day to nothing, overnight. Sounds like a magic bullet, right?

However, his research partner is still smoking.

And the client with whom I used his method also kept smoking.

For every method I've heard of that had outrageous success, there's someone else for whom it just didn't work at all.

I don't have any solutions for you, but I thought you should know that you're not the only one who worries about this kind of thing.

James

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Permalink Reply by Susan French on December 6, 2009 at 6:31pm

John and Michael,

I think you both gave me a perfect solution: the small percentage that may have urges. That's perfect. Now I can present it without the hesitation I've been experiencing knowing that I don't have the words I'm comfortable with.


John: I like this, it works well in my head: "As far as urges or withdrawal symptoms go, if done right, there won't be any. But; you can tell the client that in 95% of the cases their aren't any urges at all, but if they happen to end up in that 5%, to let you know and have them come back in for a booster session."

Michael, I like this a lot too: "During my intake/pretalk -- I tell my clients that all roads lead to being smoke-free and quickly run the possible outcomes by them: A high percentage of my clients leave my office happy to be smoke free and never smoke again - a very small percentage smoke a cig as soon as they get outside and quickly discover smoking has become utterly boring and stop, others smoke less and less and then stop and a very, very small percentage actually smoke more than usual before they stop -- I wonder how you will decide to become smoke-free...

as well as: "give the client a post hypnotic cue for changing their state from Hot (I gotta have a cig) to Cool (the last thing I want or need is a cig) -- I market the belief that hypnosis takes the withdrawal symptoms out of the process or at the very least reduces them to manageable levels and my clients leave my office with that expectation. Knowing they have a tool if necessary."

Thanks guys, so much. I think that's all I needed so I could feel comfortable and cover any reasonable outcome without suggesting possible defeat.

And, Michael: I'll definitely give your dollar to someone who needs it and tell them it's from you.

Thanks everyone. Hopefully, I can check this one off the list. Funny how something so simple can elude you.

James, I agree with you and I appreciate your acknowledging my concerns. Now I think I can be much more comfortable with those who don't make it and really know that it isn't because I missed something important.

Thanks for a great holiday gift.

Susan


Michael Ellner said:

Hi Susan-

In my world there is no such thing as "false" hope. But, I understand what you are communicating.

During my intake/pretalk -- I tell my clients that all roads lead to being smoke-free and quickly run the possible outcomes by them: A high percentage of my clients leave my office happy to be smoke free and never smoke again - a very small percentage smoke a cig as soon as they get outside and quickly discover smoking has become utterly boring and stop, others smoke less and less and then stop and a very, very small percentage actually smoke more than usual before they stop -- I wonder how you will decide to become smoke-free...

Consider this: Nicotine is not very physically addictive (this is not an induction =^..^=) as evidenced by the fact that people quickly level off and do not require increasing their intake of nicotine to get their desired result as is the case with cocaine, morphine and alcohol... Mind-blowing, huh... The urges you speak of are psycho-emotional and one can easily reframe them and give the client a post hypnotic cue for changing their state from Hot (I gotta have a cig) to Cool (the last thing I want or need is a cig) -- I market the belief that hypnosis takes the withdrawal symptoms out of the process or at the very least reduces them to manageable levels and my clients leave my office with that expectation. Knowing they have a tool if necessary.



The next time a person on the street asks you for spare change - give him or her a dollar and tell em it's from me

Michael E.


Susan French said:

I have a question that's been rattling around in my head and intefering with every darned smoking cessation I've ever done.
Michael and John C, and Kelley, can you comment and anyone else who has an idea?
I always waffle over how to help the client decide on a strategy. Many come with the idea that they will stop magically, after one session. I don't want to give any "suggestion" that they cannot, because a few people do. I don't want to give a suggestion that it might be harder than they think, for the obvious reasons. But I don't want to send them out with false hope that the urges will be magically gone either. Ha-a--a-a-a-lp!

But I have yet to figure out a pretalk way of addressing the best mindset to have or how to say in the least limiting, most positive expectation way, that it's not necessarily a "magic wand, one-session does it all" process.

If someone can help me with this setup, I think I've got the rest wired. It's always the place where I trip over my tongue, especially when they've come with the idea that they will just quit after hypnosis and that will be that.

I can't figure out how to suggest that they might have urges and how to deal with them with suggesting that that can't do it in the way they envision.

I've been scratching my head for ten years on this one. Call me slow. I just haven't found the right words to begin to lead someone through this journey without getting in their way, discouraging them or giving them false hope that may undermine them.

Thanks.

I'll pay you a dollar, Michael just for being you and everything you share. Tell me where to send it.

Susan

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