Struggling to Quit Smoking

Hypnotherapy could be the Key to Help You Kick the Cancer Stick.

Are you concerned about your smoking habit and wishing to quit? Do you have a nasty cough and are you the finding you are one of a minority these days? Have you tried patches, chewing gum and even the electric cigarettes and still find yourself unable to kick the habit? Hypnotherapy may prove to be a valuable aid to help you quit smoking.

Our successful quit smoking program is very intensive and boasts a high success rate that sees people recommending us and travelling to us for all over Melbourne to our unique quit smoking program, system and education. A commitment is required by the person wishing to quit the habit, because over a two week period you come in and spend approximately five hours one-on-one with us. Your first session is about educating and exploring your past and present habits, patterns, associations and behaviours, as well as preparing you, your mind and your body for change. By the time you arrive for the second session, you have had your last cigarette ever and we remove all of the attachments you may have to your very best friend (your smokes) in a comprehensive hypnotic session. In the third session we simply just address any cravings, thoughts, feelings or emotions that may or may not have arisen as a result of you breaking up with your best friend so to speak and quitting smoking.

While everyone is aware of the numerous side-effects of smoking, it can still be extremely challenging to actually kick the habit. Most people begin smoking in their teens or early twenties and before you know it, you are caught in the throes of what you think and feel is a serious addiction.

Smoking can cause irreparable damage to your health and is often the underlying cause behind heart attacks, cancer and strokes among other ailments. You may not wish to know, however an interesting fact to be aware of is that smoking leads to more deaths than traffic accidents and suicides put together.

The reason why smoking can prove to be a huge challenge to quit lies not only in the chemical nature of nicotine, but the on-going mind chatter. Once a person gets used to smoking a particular number of cigarettes a day, the body becomes gradually used to a specific dose of nicotine along with the habits and associations that go along with that. Quitting cold turkey can be hard because of the severe withdrawal symptoms that set in when you abstain from smoking. Withdrawal symptoms could include headaches, nausea, dizziness and mood swings.

Quitting a long-standing smoking habit often involves a certain amount of willpower; smoking tends to be easier to start than to quit. However our hypnotherapy quit smoking program and system gives you the tools to cope with the mind chatter that may be able to help you quit smoking for good.

How does Hypnotherapy help you Quit Smoking?

Hypnotherapy can and will work for you providing you seriously want and are committed to quit smoking. Since the hypnotherapist will be working with your mind, it is important that you make a commitment to wean yourself off your addiction to nicotine. The therapist will first help you achieve a relaxed state of mind where you are able to communicate with your subconscious.

Your subconscious is a valuable tool when you want to quit smoking. The trained hypnotherapist who specialises in helping and assisting people to quit smoking is Heather at CaS Therapy and Heather will infuse positive suggestions in your subconscious mind. Your newly reprogrammed thinking process will help you strengthen your resolve. The initial session with your hypnotherapist will be lengthier than a normal standard session, as she will first assess your history and help you understand the motivation behind your smoking habit.

Hypnotherapy is a powerful technique and our program helps identify the triggers that you associate with smoking and that make you want to smoke. For example, triggers could include stressful situations during work or at home.

It is important to choose a therapist with whom you trust and feel comfortable with. Heather is happy to discuss if she is a fit for you, prior to your sessions to reprogram your thoughts about smoking. In order to reinforce the hypnotherapy sessions, your therapist may also help you with follow-up programs that may include affirmations and self-hypnosis techniques.

November 30, 2011November 4, 2013

Why do People…

Crave for Chocolate?

To crave means to have an intense desire for something and in the case of chocolate it means a strong liking or obsession for it, and in excessive amounts. The interesting question to ask is why people crave for chocolate? Chocolate works like a drug in the body that is why like medicine, chocolate can also be very addictive. For this reason also, craving for chocolate is associated with problems in weight gain.

Chocolate being able to evoke similar drug related pharmacologic effects and behaviour patterns has a high potential to be very addictive. To add to these characteristics that make people crave for chocolate are the hedonic pleasures it gives from its sweet taste, smooth texture and inviting aroma. The pleasure that it gives makes it the primary factor why people crave for chocolate and in some instances become addictive.

In addition to the hedonic pleasures that chocolate gives it is also closely associated with positive behaviour, mood and emotion changes. These behavioural changes are an effect of chocolate’s components such as biogenic amines, cannabinoids and methylxanthines that give the brain the boost it needs to create the positive feeling and emotion.

These brain effects come from the stimulation of dopamine and serotonin as an effect of chocolate consumption. Dopamine and serotonin are considered as “happy hormones.” These hormones tend to fluctuate especially among women as an effect of the hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. This explains why during the pre-menstrual period women crave for chocolate to counter the mild depression syndrome effects of the hormonal changes.

People who crave for chocolate find this boost an extra source and means of relaxation or positive sensory stimulation. These psychopharmacologic effects are real that is why chocolate craving can potentially result to chocolate addiction and weight gain problems.

Since, chocolate craving has the potential to cause more serious health problems such as high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, excessive weight gain and serious behaviour conditions such as obsessive chocolate craving or chocolate addiction, hypnotherapists suggest early detection and treatment.

Hypnotherapists can help the chocolate craving and it can be controlled through hypnosis. Hypnosis for weight loss is the method of altering the state of consciousness to positively re-channel the pleasure centres to more acceptable and positive means such as exercise and other relaxation techniques. Hypnotherapy works by allowing the individual to consciously decide to control the chocolate craving.

A hypnotherapist conducts hypnotherapy as a series of treatment sessions until the desired outcome is achieved. (Which for a Chocolate Craving is usually only one or two sessions) It is done through the process of hypnosis. Hypnosis for weight loss allows the hypnotherapist and the individual to access the subconscious pleasure centres of the latter. Then both the hypnotherapist and individual will work together to disassociate chocolate craving from feelings and emotions; hunger and appetite pleasure centres.

To disassociate means that an individual will gain conscious control of eating chocolate only in acceptable amounts. It will allow the individual to control the chocolate craving because the pleasure centres will be trained to focus on healthier and productive means of relaxation and satisfaction.

November 9, 2011November 4, 2013

Brain Effects of Chocolate and How it Becomes Addictive

Chocolate has a long history of use and consumption and is in fact famous among royalties around the world from the early ancient times. It has been a popular drink as early as 460 AD and in the past, chocolate used to be a bitter drink that provides energy and vitality for those who consume it. Among the famous people who were known chocolate drinkers include Aztec Emperor Montezuma, Christopher Columbus and Swiss confectioner Rodolphe Lindt.

It was also used as a medicinal alternative to cure symptoms like weight loss, body weakness, stomach aches, anemia, fever, skin irritations, poor sexual appetite and many others.

Today, chocolate has evolved into a variety of uses and has caught the attention of researchers on its effect to the brain. Researchers have also tried to identify its close association with issues like weight gain, eating disorders and chocolate addiction.

Chocolate addiction presents itself in various ways according to studies. They can manifest as a result of mood and behavior conditions; it can also be a symptom of dieting and eating issues; or it can be associated with the pleasure centres of the brain that provides euphoric effects.

The specific effects of eating chocolate are associated with certain brain activities, which will explain why it becomes very addictive. A group of neuroscientists from the US and Canada performed a study using PET (positron emission tomography) scan to determine the activities and areas of the brain that are associated with chocolate addiction. The results showed that the pleasant sensation and sweet taste of chocolate were attributed to the increased blood flow to the orbital frontal and mid part of the brain.

These areas of the brain control thoughts, emotions and feelings, which are also seen to have been activated in people with addiction to cocaine. In addition, the frontal lobe of the brain contains the highest levels of Dopamine, which controls attention, reward and drive. The midbrain on the other hand, also produces certain levels of Dopamine that has an important role in motivation and habitation characteristics of humans.

This gives an interesting explanation to the effect of eating chocolate to the brain. Consumption of chocolate stimulates the frontal and mid lobes of the brain that then fuels the Dopamine rush, which creates the euphoric sensations that makes it addictive. The same study also showed that eating chocolate takes several levels of motivation. This is significant to consider because the effects of eating chocolate as a form of reward or as a form of pleasure satisfaction record different brain activities.

Another point to consider is the fact that chocolate like addictive drugs are considered “primary enforcers,” therefore, are both perceived as highly addictive. Chocolate addiction is further elicited by the smooth texture and sweet taste that makes it very pleasant and rewarding.

Since this is considered a behavior concern, one of the treatment methods to consider is hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy for chocolate addictions is conducted by a professional hypnotherapist to alter the state of consciousness that will focus the attention of the client to other relaxation and pleasure centres of the brain that will take the place of the sensations provided by eating chocolate. A hypnotherapist will conduct hypnosis and work with the client to consciously re-channel attention to other relaxation activities that will focus the same level of satisfaction that eating chocolate provides.