The Effectiveness Of Hypnotherapy In Smoking Cessation
Earlier this year, the results of more than six hundred individual studies on more than 72000 people were combined to get an overall success rate from several methods of smoking cessation.
On average, each one had a success rate of about 19 per cent, and as you might expect, the highest success rate was from the group of people with serious heart health problems, although it was disappointing to see that even these had only a 36 per cent success rate.
Across the board, however, the most successful treatment was hypnotherapy. Patients were given suggestions whilst in a relaxed hypnotic trance and the success rate was 30 per cent.
After that, was combination therapy. Combination therapy was 29 per cent. This means where more than one therapy is combined, such as exercise and breathing methods or cognitive behavioural therapy combined with hypnosis. Old fashioned methods, such as having your stale cigarette smoke blown in your face was surprisingly successful with 25 per cent. Acupuncture followed with 24 per cent.
GP advise was the least successful. Some people were successful with just sheer willpower at only 6 per cent. Self help books or magazines were 9 per cent and nicotine gum at 10 per cent.
Hypnotherapy can be very effective when giving up smoking and many people are surprised at the level of success that can be achieved in a mere one session. According to the British Society of Medical & Dental Hypnosis, the latest hypnosis techniques have been up to 60 per cent successful from just one session.
However, for hypnotherapy to work on anything, you must want it to work and want it enough. For example, if you really love smoking and you are only going along to hypnosis because your partner asked you to, then it is not as likely to work successfully.
