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.