QUIT SMOKING: PART ONE
Hypnotherapy For Quitting Smoking: Addressing the Root Cause
Note: If you are more visual or auditory, feel free to jump across to YouTube where I have a video on this topic. Click this link or watch below.
So, I wanted to share something I’ve been noticing in the hypnotherapy world recently. Lately, I’ve had several clients reaching out for help with quitting [insert addictive coping behaviour here]. Interestingly, many of them had quit smoking in the past, only to find they’ve replaced it with another unhealthy habit. In fact, the majority seem to have replaced smoking with excessive drinking or over-eating.
This pattern isn’t as uncommon as it seems. During my time as a nurse, we often saw clusters of patients presenting with similar symptoms or conditions all at once. It’s a reminder that these behaviours and challenges are more widespread than we think, and people often feel like they’re facing them alone.
If you’re going through something similar, know that you’re not alone. Replacing one unhealthy habit with another is something many people experience. The good news is that hypnotherapy can help address the root causes of these behaviours, offering a way forward. You don’t have to face it alone.
True change comes from looking beyond the symptom.
When most people think about quitting smoking, they focus on the physical act of smoking—the cigarettes, the cravings, the nicotine. But the truth is, smoking is often just the surface of a much deeper issue. It’s not the real problem; it’s a symptom of something larger. Quitting smoking is about more than just the habit.
Smoking: A Symptom, Not the Cause
Smoking often serves as a coping mechanism, masking underlying emotional struggles like stress, anxiety, or even past trauma. Many smokers reach for a cigarette when they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, using it as a way to calm down or escape. But without addressing the root causes of these feelings, quitting smoking becomes like treating the symptoms of an illness without addressing the illness itself.
That’s why so many traditional smoking cessation methods—like nicotine patches, gum, or even medications—don’t always lead to long-term success. These methods may help reduce physical cravings, but they don’t tackle the emotional and psychological reasons why people smoke in the first place.
How Hypnotherapy Helps Quit Smoking
Hypnotherapy can be a powerful tool in helping people quit smoking because it works by addressing the emotional and subconscious patterns that drive the behaviour. By accessing the subconscious mind, hypnotherapy helps uncover and heal the deeper issues that lead to smoking.
During a hypnotherapy session, a trained therapist guides you into a deeply relaxed state, where the mind becomes more open to exploring emotional triggers. It’s in this state that we can begin to understand why smoking has become a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, or trauma. (Note: If you are interested in trauma, read article: "Healing from Within: The Role of Hypnotherapy in Addressing Emotional Trauma").
Hypnotherapy doesn’t just focus on helping you quit smoking. It focuses on healing the deeper emotional wounds that caused the habit in the first place. By resolving these issues, you’re less likely to replace smoking with another unhealthy habit, like overeating or excessive drinking.
Hypnotherapy focuses on healing the deeper emotional wounds that caused the habit in the first place.
The Root Cause: Stress, Anxiety, and More
For many people, smoking is a way to manage their stress or anxiety. They may reach for a cigarette when they feel nervous or overwhelmed, or as a way to relax after a hard day. But smoking is only a temporary solution—it doesn’t truly relieve stress or anxiety. In fact, it often creates more problems in the long run.
Recently, numerous clients have stopped smoking, yet they continue to seek external sources for self-comfort. Whether it's alcohol, food, social media, the gym, work, shopping, or other substitutes instead of cigarettes, many individuals are in the same situation. If you find yourself in this scenario, remember that you are not alone, and there are solutions available! If you would like to learn about self-soothing techniques that you can try today, check out this YouTube video!
By using hypnotherapy to explore the subconscious mind, we can identify the specific emotional triggers that cause someone to smoke. For some, it might be unresolved childhood trauma. For others, it could be work-related stress, unresolved grief, or social anxiety (to name just a few!). Once these triggers are identified, the hypnotherapist can help you develop healthier coping mechanisms, so you no longer feel the need to smoke (or any of the other maladaptive behaviours mentioned earlier).
Creating Lasting Change
My hope is that this article has shed a little bit of light on why quitting smoking is about more than just the habit! And in understanding this, a person can now show themselves some compassion while they also can feel hope that a permanent solution is within their reach.
The goal of hypnotherapy is not just to stop smoking; it’s to create lasting change by healing the root causes of the behaviour.
This holistic approach ensures that when you quit smoking, you’re not simply replacing one unhealthy habit with another. Instead, you’re addressing the emotional and psychological reasons that kept you tied to smoking in the first place.
By tapping into the subconscious mind and uncovering the root cause of your smoking habit, hypnotherapy empowers you to take control of your emotions and behaviours, leading to long-lasting freedom from smoking.
If you would like to learn more about what to look for in a hypnotherapist to help you quit smoking, or any habit, read "Choosing The Right Hypnotherapy For Smoking Cessation: Going Beyond The Symptom - Part 2".
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Louisa Greaves is an Australian registered clinical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist, and registered nurse offering both online and local services in Brisbane. She is the founder of the Somatic Hypnosis Technique, an intensive hypnotherapy method that delves deep into the subconscious mind using both spiritual and psychoneuroimmunological (mind-body) and modern scientific principles. This innovative approach bridges science, psychology, and spirituality to address and alleviate clients' physical, mental, and spiritual discomfort and dysregulation.
To book a one-on-one session with her, visit her website, find her on social media, or just give her a call on +61 (07) 0411 571 834.
#EmotionalHealing #HypnotherapyHealing #TraumaRecovery #SubconsciousHealing #Neuroplasticity #MindBodyHealing #QuantumHealing #HolisticHealth #SpiritualHealing #HealingFromWithin #EmotionalTraumaTherapy #HypnosisForTrauma #MentalHealthRecovery #InnerHealing #AlternativeTherapy #subconsciousmind #rootcause #neuroplasticity #somatichypnosistechnique