More Job Stress Equals Less Nicotine Dependance

For many smokers, this is going to seem counter intuitive. A study at the University of Cologne has shown that people with higher stress levels at work are less likely to smoke. All the participants were smokers who were nicotine dependent according to a standardized test.

It would seem that smokers are correct in thinking that there is a relationship to smoking and stress at work. It is just that they have it backwards. Most smokers think that they smoke more when stressed.

When one of my former clients tell me that she went back to smoking or smokes more because of a stressful event I get a twinkle in my eye. Then I point out that when we see a stressed person smoking more, we can be sure that smoking is ineffective as stress relief. They are smoking more because smoking and nicotine just do not work to relieve stress even though they think it will.

Of course, there are scientific studies that show that nicotine actually causes more stress. Blood pressure and heart rate go up, for example.

The fact that most smokers believe that smoking helps them cope with stress is a good example of why hypnosis is effective in helping them eliminate the habit. Hypnosis can be used to help them adopt new beliefs and feelings about smoking and nicotine that are just as powerful as the ones that originally kept them smoking.

One of my clients stopped smoking when I simply used hypnosis to help make good health her highest priority in all the habitual moments when she had previously chosen to smoke. When that changed, she lost all desire to smoke.

Reason Number 1 Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work (And What to do About It)

SUGGESTIONS ARE POORLY WORDED

Complicated suggestions tend to be ignored, because they are more work to understand. Consider, for example, a sentence with two negations in it like, “I don't want you to not catch the ball.” We understand it, but it takes a moment to untangle “don't want” and “not catch” to get the meaning. And, we have focused the listener’s mind on “not catching” rather than what we want, which is for them to successfully catch the ball.

Also, a complicated suggestion like, “imagine yourself catching the ball almost every time, and feeling strong enough to score repeatedly every game” takes a bit of work to untangle linguistically. Give the unconscious mind simple suggestions to be effective. “You catch the ball”, “You score more and more frequently” are simple, easily understood, and much more effective.

Avoid ambiguous suggestions. Consider the name Atlanta Center for Back Pain. Ouch! I have enough pain already. I think I'll go to the Atlanta Center for Back Health.

Hint: Make suggestions short
Hint: Suggest exactly what you want (forget about the negations)
Hint: Make sure that your suggestions have only one meaning

Reason 2 Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work (And What to do About It)

GOALS GENERATE INTERNAL CONFLICT

Suppose, for example, that Sarah wants to use self hypnosis to get motivated to work out regularly at the gym. She used to hit the gym four times a week, until, that is, the baby was born. Now, she is exhausted by little Paddy's nighttime crying, and the demands of work and childcare.

Sarah wants to get back in shape, but taking the hour and a half four times a week is just too much stress in an extended schedule. Apparently, Sarah has been hypnotized into thinking she can “do it all” by popular culture and certain women's magazines. So, she intends to use self hypnosis to power herself into her old routines.

Contrary to popular opinion, someone cannot be hypnotized into eliminating concerns or objections through simple suggestion, or complex suggestions for that matter. The unconscious mind will make sure to limit the success of such an approach because of conflicting concerns. Sarah needs adequate rest as well as to take care of work, spouse and baby.

A smart friend, or hypnotherapist, might wonder inside of a conversation with Sarah if a more reasonable goal might include regular shorter exercise routines at home that take into account her new life circumstances and schedules.

A suggestion like, “You work out four times a week at home for fifteen minutes or longer ” is much more likely to succeed than, “You go to the gym four times a week for a full workout no matter what.”

Hint: Make sure to check for and eliminate internal conflicts. If it seems like you need to push or overpower something, there is likely a conflict.

Reason 3 Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work (And What to do About It)

3. THE SELF HYPNOSIS METHODS ARE TOO COMPLEX

I there are some hypnosis techniques that are highly effective, but which are too complicated for self hypnosis. One self hypnosis book for weight loss requires rather elaborate conferences between themselves and their parents (usually it would be the parents remembered from childhood). The reader was to express childhood hurts and grievances and imagine the parents responses as a way of resolving those issues.

This approach can certainly be very effective. However, it is too complicated for self hypnosis, because it requires the person in a profound hypnotic state to both keep track of the process and participate at the same time. It would be the equivalent of doing a complicated math problem inside of a daydream.

Hint: Keep self hypnosis procedures simple.

One of my favorite methods is to put together a simple suggestion, then go into self hypnosis while repeating the suggestion to myself. It does not matter if you lose track at some point, because the suggestion is already taking effect because of the repetition.

Reason Number 4 Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work (And What to do About It)

THE GOALS ARE TOO VAGUE, IMPOSSIBLE, OR WORSE

Goals are best defined in a way that is specific and concrete. You can ask yourself questions like, “What will I see that lets me know I have reached my outcome?” Let's suppose your goal is financial independence. You will be able to see X dollars in investments, a monthly income from those investments or your business of X dollars, a house with the loan paid off, etc.

More questions to ask yourself include: How will you act differently? How will your daily activities reflect your financial independence?

The more precisely you define your outcome, the easier it will be for your unconscious mind to understand it and give you exactly what you want. For example, “I practice self hypnosis ten minutes every day” is much better than “I do something to achieve my goal on a regular basis”. “something to achieve my goal” is vague, while doing self hypnosis for a ten minutes daily is easily observable and measurable.

In my hypnosis practice in Atlanta, I have had clients ask for such poorly thought out goals as “Make me stop eating!” Their intention is to lose weight, of course. However, given that the unconscious mind takes suggestions literally, the flaw in their request is obvious. So, I asked them the obvious question, “If I were to do that, won't you die?” And, the clients always responded, “I didn't mean that”.

That goal was both impossible and certainly would have been unfortunate for them if they had gotten it.

Hint: Remember that the goal is not the method, and be careful to ask for exactly what you want and how you want it. You might get that goal exactly the way that you asked for it.

To learn a comprehensive method of creating effective goals, see my articles: Well Formed New Years Resolutions parts one through three. (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

Reason 4½ Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work (And What to do About It)

Once you have selected a script to record for your for self hypnosis session, think about how to use your voice properly. Hypnosis does not make someone more suggestible, it does however, make them more responsive to nonverbal communications. And, that means that how you say something is almost as important as what you say.

We have all seen someone shake their heads “no” while they said “yes”. There were two messages going on at once. That simply means that the person was of two minds in his or her response. She or he was nonverbally and unconsciously expressing an internal conflict. For example, Joe may be so tired that he has no enthusiasm for going to Sally's party, but he has been looking forward to it for a while and wants to go as well.

So, what has this got to do with making self hypnosis effective?
A suggestion spoken with uncertainty will be ineffective. There are two messages in the same sentence: the words suggest “yes” but the voice says, “no”. The unconscious mind will reject the suggestion.

Another thing to remember about making a suggestion is to respect oneself and one's unconscious mind.

Imagine for a moment that someone makes a demand with a harsh and critical tone of voice. Is your first response, “Sure, I'd be glad to help out”? My first response is the opposite. The same is true of your unconscious mind. So, a harsh demanding style of giving yourself suggestions is likely going to be ineffective. This is one reason why harshly critical self talk is ineffective.

Since someone in hypnosis is responding to nonverbal messages so strongly, saying something like, “You remember all that you study, and make good grades on all your tests” will tend to be ineffective if spoken in a timid and uncertain tone of voice.

Hint: give yourself suggestions confidently, as if you totally believe what you are saying.

Many people believe that a monotone is best for giving suggestions, but projecting confidence through voice tone is much more effective. And, so is making the words sound like their meaning. For example, say the word “excitement” aloud in a monotone, and notice its effect on yourself. Then say it again in an excited tone of voice, and notice how you respond. Which way has more impact?

You may notice that professionals use a different tone of voice while conducting a hypnosis session with a client. Typically, they will slow down a bit, allow the voice to become soothing, and deeper. They speak in a confident manner, and many will user their voice to squeeze a bit more power from each of their words by making the words sound like their meaning. Doesn't it make sense that someone saying the word “relax” would get a more profound response by saying it in a slow and relaxed way?

Tip number 4½: use your voice like a professional hypnotherapist when giving yourself suggestions in self hypnosis.

Reason Number 5 Why Self Hypnosis May Not Work

Recording a self hypnosis session to listen to in one's own voice can be very effective. One advantage to using scripts is that we do not need to stay conscious enough to keep track of and repeat suggestions to ourselves. That allows total absorption in the hypnotic experience.

Another advantage is that professionally written scripts are available free on the internet. To find one do a Google search for “free hypnosis scripts”.

Of course, quality will vary with those scripts. And, determining the quality of a script may not be so easy for someone without much training or background in hypnotherapy. Some suggestions seem good at first reading, but there may be the possibility of misinterpretation or rejection because they are too vague, or too open to being understood in unfortunate ways.

For example, let's take the phrase from a free script that I found, “You know you can do anything as well as the next person...” My first response was “No, I don't know that. There are people who can do all kinds of things way better than I can, ballet dancing, juggling chain saws, and playing the tuba, for example.”

And, even if the listener accepts the suggestion completely, do we want him or her believing that he or she is competent to do remodel their house with zero experience in carpentry, electrical engineering or plumbing?

Happily, the chances are that kind of overly broad and easily disprovable suggestion would be immediately rejected.

Of course, a script may not address the specific issues of the person either.

Suppose that a major payoff of smoking is getting much needed breaks at work. Suggestions like “You are now a nonsmoker,” will be ineffective in the long run, because the person needs those breaks, and thinks that the only way he or she will get them is by smoking.

Self hypnosis can be effective for resolving many issues, including stopping smoking, weight loss, eliminating fears, and procrastination. Success requires some effort, repetition, and choosing well written scripts. Hint: it pays to treat ourselves and our unconsciously minds respectfully.

[ALERT, ALERT self serving statement begins now] Occasionally, when self hypnosis is not enough, it is useful to use a professional hypnotherapist, like myself, who can craft an approach that is goes beyond simple suggestions and general approaches. [end of self serving statement]