Joan
Director
Austin, TX
I had been a smoker for thirty years and I was smoking a pack a day. I felt out of control and that didn’t contribute to my feelings of self-worth. It felt like I was punishing myself over and over; I would find myself smoking even when I didn’t want to.
I was using smoking as an avoidance measure and a way to deal with how I was feeling about things. I’ve always been prone to anxiety and I would have panic attacks and use the cigarettes to calm down. I stopped smoking with “Smoke Stoppers”. It worked for a while, but I experienced a lot of personal losses and felt like I didn’t care about quitting smoking anymore.
I heard about A New Day Hypnosis on Google. If there is something that I haven’t tried before that can help me, I am open to finding out more about it. I looked at the website and Laura had real credentials and a solid background, so I decided to call her to schedule. I had qualms about hypnosis because I didn’t really know what it was, but I felt like I needed to ask for help.
I noticed a change after the first session and I realized right away that the feeling of wanting a cigarette is also the feeling that I have when I’m stressed about something. I made it an intention to stop smoking and realized that my smoking is really tied to other issues. It’s been great, I’ve been a nonsmoker for a month now and I feel more confident in general.
I’m on the path to better emotional health and I’ve learned a lot about myself. I feel a lot better; if I feel the sensation of panic coming on, I just say “no”. I have more control over my emotions and I feel calmer. This process it has really helped me to stop fretting. There is a certain kind of directness in this sort of interaction, you can hear things from someone who has a little distance and take it better than when you hear it from someone who is too close to your situation.
I feel more in control now, it’s intentional and I know that deciding not to smoke is a choice that I get to make. Hypnosis helped me to reinforce the choice not to do it; it was a tool to get me to think about what I was doing. The most important benefit for me has been the awareness about codependence and how it impacts my life everywhere. Cigarettes feel like a remnant of a life that I’m not leading anymore. I’m addressing the bigger problems and stepping out of my comfort zone and I’m taking action in my life.
I would recommend A New Day Hypnosis to anyone who wants to stop smoking because I’m all for using all the tools in your tool box. You have to keep going and know that it’s not a bad thing to ask for help. I really like myself better when I don’t smoke, so I am confident that I am a nonsmoker permanently because I choose it.