Smoking is a harmful and addictive habit that affects millions of people around the world. Today, we know about the dangers of smoking, and smokers are encouraged to find ways to quit smoking for their own health. This is not easy to do, as most smokers start at an extremely early age. The average age at which many people begin to smoke is thirteen years old.

A habit formed at that age is not easily broken. Nicotine affects many parts of the body and it is hard to pull free without assistance. Nicotine addiction is only one of many different diseases which can be caused by smoking. Most smokers need assistance on how to quit smoking and a variety of methods exist for this very purpose.

There are many reasons why people start smoking and continue to smoke. The main reason that people start to smoke is peer pressure. Some young people are led to believe that it looks “cool” when portrayed on television, in movies, and in advertisements. It also is forbidden which makes it all the more attractive to teenagers, hence the low starting age for many people. This young age makes quitting smoking more difficult in your later years.

Media can also have an impact on the decision to start smoking. Smoking portrayed on television or in movies can lead you to believe that smoking is a safe activity. Parents can wield the biggest influence over their children by setting a good example on how to quit smoking. Mothers and fathers who smoke are much more likely to have children who start to smoke.

Smokers begin to crave nicotine, a drug within tobacco. Nicotine can affect your body and mind in many negative ways. Nicotine, once inhaled into the lungs reaches the brain in a mere eight seconds. Once there, nicotine affects your blood pressure and heart rate. Over time it can increase your bad cholesterol levels and narrow your arteries. Nicotine in concentrated doses is a lethal poison, so imagine the effects on your body. Nicotine is also addictive and one of the reasons many cannot quit smoking.

Smoking can impact your health on many different levels. Getting winded playing a game is one side effect of smoking. More serious smoking related diseases include emphysema and cancer. Heart disease and stroke are also closely associated with cigarette smoking. A person who stops smoking will dramatically reduce their risk of developing these diseases for every year they go without smoking.

These smoking-related medical conditions often have grave consequences. Lung cancer is nearly always fatal unless detected very early and 80% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Heart and lung disease can take years from your life unless you are able to quit smoking. Emphysema cannot be cured but only managed, plus the damage to your lungs cannot be repaired. Stop smoking benefits include a longer life span and a better quality of life.

There are many different methods to quit smoking, and you must pick the right method for you as an individual. Nicotine gums and patches are designed to help slowly release you from the nicotine addiction. Only about 10% of the people who use them will actually quit smoking. Another option is going cold turkey, and this is effective for up to 11% of the smokers who choose this option. Other frequently used methods to quit smoking include an herbal kit that can show you how to quit smoking. It has a success rate similar to that of nicotine gums and patches.

Stop smoking hypnosis is a popular and effective option for those who want to quit smoking without withdrawal or weight gain. Hypnotherapy has a high success rate with smokers who are trying to quit smoking. Hypnosis might sound like an extreme solution but it delivers positive results up to 70% of the time. This success rate is many times that of other methods.

The reason hypnotherapy is so effective is that it while the physical addiction to nicotine makes up only about 10% of the smoking addiction, the psychological aspects of the habit make up a full 90% of the cigarette smoking addiction. Hypnosis treats this aspect of the addiction.

About 45% of the smoking behavior is caused by stress, and hypnotherapy has proven to be a powerful, non-invasive tool that can help reprogram the mind to divert it from stressful thoughts, and towards relaxing, positive thoughts. In addition, the very essence of hypnosis is that it incorporates a state of deep relaxation.

Another 45% of the smoking behavior is caused by conditioned responses. This is when smoking becomes associated with other activities and events at the unconscious level of mind. For example, if you smoke and simultaneously watch television, your unconscious will associate the image of a cigarette in your hand with the image of the TV. Each time you see the TV, your unconscious flashes an image of the cigarette in your hand, and you feel the compulsion to smoke.

Hypnosis for smoking cessation is regularly used to “extinguish” the conditioned responses by disassociating the unconscious links between cigarettes and TV, driving, coffee, working on your computer, or any other situation where an unconscious association has been created.

In summary: Although most smokers believe that their inability to quit smoking is due to their addiction to nicotine, in truth it’s the mental aspects of a smoking addiction that present the largest barriers. Hypnotherapy was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1958 as an effective tool for quitting smoking. And hypnosis for smoke cessation is the second most common use of hypnotherapy today.

While hourly rates for hypnotherapists continue to skyrocket, there are effective self hypnosis programs on the market that can greatly reduce its cost. Since everyone is unique, there are no specific “magic” words or post-hypnotic suggestions that will work for everyone.

So when choosing hypnosis CDs, look for those that incorporate a broad variety of hypnotic and NLP techniques in a series of at least six or more sessions to enjoy the best possible outcome. In any case, the cost of the very best hypnosis CDs & DVDs equates to much less than the amount that an average smoker spends every month on cigarettes.

Alan B. Densky, CH developed the Video Hypnosis quit smoking program to help smokers easily break the habit. He also created many ways to quit smoking with Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and NLP. Visit his Neuro-VISION self help hypnosis site.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/Products/NeuroVISIONSmokingDvd.htm

The underlying causes of the majority physical habits may be quite varied, and rooted at different psychological levels. Although hypnotherapy has a wide range of applications, the behaviors that are most directly related to physical habits are typically the ones that can be treated with hypnotherapy most immediately and directly.

Hypnosis for smoking cessation is the most well known of these, and is one of the most successful and least invasive techniques for reaching its goal. Another popular area for hypnotherapy treatment is for weight reduction. Similarly, hypnotherapy is also the best technique for conquering the nail biting habit.

Nail biting shares many similarities to smoking. It is a physical, ritualistic habit. Either can be caused by the mechanics of a physical routine, or might perhaps be indicative of deeper psychological issues. And in either case the habit itself can be quite effectively stopped with hypnotherapy.

Discovering and treating underlying psychological problems, which are exhibited in nail biting or smoking can be a process that requires multiple sessions with a knowledgeable hypnotherapist. However, not all hypnotherapists and hypnotists are capable of performing at the deep psychological level. Thankfully, for the purposes of eliminating a nail biting or a smoking habit, they do not need to work below the most direct physical level.

The immediate goal of curing nail biting is far more straightforward. Many of our deeper emotional and psychological states are influenced by our physical state, so in solving the physical symptoms directly, we are also able to have an indirect impact on deeper issues. Furthermore, not all negative physical habits have an underlying cause; sometimes it is merely just a physical habit; and it just “feels” good for the person to take part in them.

In my experience, the focused and relaxed state of hypnosis can have extraordinary results when used in causing simple changes to one’s physical state. Whenever I relieve severe burn pain, remove nausea, and relieve other physical problems for a client in just a few seconds, it still amazes me, even though I’m supposedly the one with the “power” (although as we know, the true power exists within the client’s unconscious mind). The capabilities exist in each of our minds to block severe nausea and pain; so the ability to prevent one from nail biting is a relatively modest goal in comparison.

I have found three of the powerful aspects of hypnotherapy to be anchoring, substitution and association. With association, one can link the undesirable behavior to something aversive; with substitution, one may replace the bad habit with an innocuous one; with anchoring, one may link physical movement triggers with alternative feelings and behaviors.

With association, just like the simple hypnotic parlor trick can make a piece of white bread taste like the most delectable New York Cheesecake to a subject, one can make the feeling and taste of nail biting to be extremely distasteful. If your subject is consistently and repeatedly conditioned to believe that the taste and feel of nail biting is extremely unpleasant, it will help to cause the habit to cease.

There are chemical products that achieve this goal via unpleasant tasting nail polish. However, with a mental association they can stop nail biting without depending upon using a chemical product. This “aversion” type of therapy is not generally extremely helpful. But it is only reliable when used as an adjunct to eliminating stress that causes one to bite their nails, as well as extinguishing conditioned responses (unconscious associations), which triggers one to bite their nails.

Using substitution, it can be effective to replace the nail-biting pattern with a more benign affliction. For instance, it is quite effective to place the suggestion that whenever one feels the impulses that lead them towards nail biting, they will take a deep breath instead, and exhale slowly, experiencing all the same feelings and resolution that nail biting used to bring. I have found the deep breathing substitute to be effective for a wide range of issues.

Anchoring similarly can be used to subvert one action into another, and works well with the association and substitution techniques. It is useful in creating the suggestion that each and every time subjects see their fingers approach their mouth, they strongly recall the bad taste association, and they instead take that deep breath to relieve the tension.

In summary, hypnotherapy has long been established as one of the best methods for negative behavior modification. Just as with smoking cessation, the techniques and concepts outlined here prove to be extremely effective as a long-term nail-biting cure.

Alan B. Densky, CH is a leader in the field of hypnosis. Visit his website for free hypnosis advice. He’s developed a comprehensive seven-session stop biting fingernails hypnosis program based on NLP and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/Products/AudioNailBitingHypnosisTapes.htm

Are you becoming concerned that your case of seasonal sadness is lasting longer, or is more severe than you have previously experienced? How do you know whether this is only a short-term problem, or whether you may have a serious condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD? Do you need to seek counseling? Find out about the signs of SAD, how this problem can affect you, and those treatments that are available.

SAD is not just getting the blues when the weather is bad. SAD begins in autumn, when the season moves toward winter and the days become shorter. Symptoms usually start sometime during late summer or early fall. Moreover, because of the severity and consequences of SAD and other types of depression, physicians need extensive evidence of the condition before they are willing to make a definite diagnosis. Even though signs may be very severe, physicians do not usually diagnose patients with SAD before he or she demonstrates strong evidence of the disorder for at least three winters in a row.

Individuals who experience SAD begin to have emotions of sadness, reduced motivation, and tend to sleep for excessive periods. They also report a dependence on sugar or sweets. In addition, most people diagnosed with SAD also have poor immune system functioning. Often, they find themselves becoming ill much more easily than people who do not suffer from SAD.

SAD can negatively decrease a person’s ability to function professionally or at school. This lack of motivation can make it difficult for a person even to get out of bed and tend to normal activities. People with SAD have trouble participating in social situations, or even at home. These persons frequently have times of extreme anxiety and irritability. Sometimes, symptoms become severe and distressing enough that victims even think about suicide and require hospitalization for therapy.

Interestingly, women seem to experience SAD more frequently than men do. Furthermore, this disorder seems to get better yearly at springtime. In fact, by March or April, symptoms usually decrease or disappear completely – until autumn returns again. This remains true even in states that tend to be dismal all year long. In fact, as many as twenty percent of those who are treated for seasonal depression will at some point develop signs of bipolar disorder.

These people primarily tend to be depressed during wintertime, but have normal moods during the remainder of the year. At times, however, individuals describe instances of uncontrollable mood elevation, also known as mania. Like any other type of depression, SAD may become quite severe or even result in disability if not treated properly. Moreover, many people experience very mild levels of SAD; they may experience sleepiness, lack of motivation, and loss of appetite. Such people, however, do not usually endure instances of depressive moods or anxiety.

This type of depression is relatively rare in sunny areas such as Tennessee, southern California, and even Colorado. In contrast, people who live in places with a large number of cloudy days, such as Indiana, Illinois, or Washington are much more likely to develop this disorder. Citizens of countries such as Finland, Sweden, and England also struggle with SAD.

Scientists have tried a number of different strategies to help affected individuals overcome this debilitating condition. They have tried exposing people to artificial light in an attempt to assist them to manufacture more serotonin and relieve depression symptoms. Researchers have also tried medicines such as antidepressants, and supplements, such as melatonin, in an attempt to relieve these symptoms of depression. Often, individuals who experience this condition also seek out counselors when they are suffering most greatly.

Each of these approaches result in with different degrees of effectiveness. All, however, are definitely more expensive and time-intensive than two recently introduced, innovative methods. Hypnotherapy practitioners have refined the art of coaching clients to learn both NLP and self-hypnosis techniques for depression.

Using the latter method, clients learn to talk themselves out of a depressive period and resolve their symptoms. These innovative treatments, hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, have proven to have an astonishing amount of success in assisting individuals to heal from, and prevent future occurrences of SAD.

Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in stress and depression related symptoms as an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He’s helped thousands since 1978. He offers treatment for depression therapy CDs. Visit his self-help depression site for hypnosis articles and hypnosis videos.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/

Most people are aware of the dangers of smoking, yet despite awareness of the harmful effects of smoking on their personal health, many smokers cannot seem to quit. They rationalize their habit by thinking that they are only affecting themselves if they smoke. In actuality, smoking also impacts the health of those who don’t smoke. Friends, children, family, co-workers, and even bystanders may suffer health effects from passive smoking.

What is passive smoking? You may be more familiar with the term “secondhand smoke” to describe smoke inhaled by someone who is near a smoker. Secondhand smoke is a combination of smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe, and the smoke exhaled by a smoker. It often contains greater amounts of dangerous chemicals than inhaled smoke, including twice as much nicotine and tar. This puts passive smokers at a higher risk of smoking related diseases and health problems.

Scientific studies of the effects of passive smoking show increased risks of heart disease, lung disease, and various ailments for people continually exposed to secondhand smoke. Statistics on smoking show a relationship between secondhand smoke and cancer, with passive smokers having an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.

Sadly, it is not uncommon for the nonsmoking child or spouse of a smoker to develop diseases related to smoking because of passive smoking. Secondhand smoke is especially bad for infants and children. Small children exposed to secondhand smoke are at a higher risk of respiratory diseases and other respiratory illnesses.

Children who have asthma are at an increased risk of having more frequent asthma attacks. Secondhand smoke may also be responsible for increasing a pregnant woman’s risk of having a miscarriage or a premature baby.

Because of the health impacts of secondhand smoke, smoking has been banned in many public places, such as restaurants and bars. Secondhand smoke can also be a problem in the workplace. Workers who breathe in secondhand smoke have a higher risk of illness and even have more absences from work. This has led many offices to ban smoking on the premises, and some areas have even passed ordinances against smoking at work. Amongst jobs with a smoking ban, employers report more productive employees and decreased absences.

Typically, most smokers begin seeking ways to quit smoking out of concern for the health of their family. There are several ways to quit smoking, and one of the best ways is through the use of a quit smoking hypnotherapy program.

Hypnosis programs for quitting smoking are developed specifically to help smokers quit smoking without withdrawal. They are particularly useful because they help smokers beat the psychological aspect of the addiction, which is the most difficult aspect to overcome.

Self-hypnosis stop smoking programs are developed to teach people hypnosis techniques to help quit smoking. One of the best things about such a program is the fact that smokers learn how to quit smoking without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. In fact, hypnosis techniques can reduce or even completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms commonly experienced using other methods of quitting smoking.

Another great thing is that since people are instructed on how to use hypnosis techniques on themselves, they don’t have to worry about relapsing. If they feel the urge to smoke, they just remember and utilize the techniques that got them to quit.

Hypnosis produces many effects to help people quit smoking. It is an ideal tool for eliminating tobacco cravings while also functioning as a relaxation aid to relieve stress and anxiety. It also acts as a tool for encouragement to eliminate the psychological urge to smoke. This combination of effects gives hypnotherapy its high rate of effectiveness in helping people to quit smoking once and for all.

The benefits of stopping smoking include better health for the quitting smoker as well as for friends, co-workers, and family. People who are looking to stop smoking out of concern for their families can turn to hypnosis for a useful and non-invasive tool for ending a smoking addiction.

Anyone can learn self-hypnosis techniques for quitting from a well-formulated program, and hypnotherapy for smoking cessation has a high rate of effectiveness because it makes the process of quitting smoking quicker and easier.

Alan B. Densky, CH offers hypnosis CDs to stop smoking. He is the developer of the Neuro-VISION Video quit smoking hypnosis technology, which received a US Patent due to its success. Visit the Neuro-VISION hypnosis self improvement site.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/Products/NeuroVISIONSmokingDvd.htm

Self confidence is a mental and emotional state of mind which responds to a person’s need for self-acceptance and peer recognition. It is one of the oldest and most discussed ideas in psychology. It describes a positive albeit adequate perception somebody has of himself or herself and of his or her abilities. Hence, self-confident people frequently have a better knowledge of the things they can achieve and will be more apt to be successful in what they attempt. They are also more likely to accept and understand their errors.

Contrarily, a lack of confidence may deter you from trusting that your actions or decisions will finally turn out the way you had planned. It can thus prevent the buildup of executive skills, strategic and managerial capacities all of which are fundamental and required aptitudes in the business world of today. The pre-occupation with other people’s judgment of your work can also cause you to become overly self-critical, which will distract you from jobs you would have otherwise been perfectly able to perform.

Low levels of confidence will also have an impact your social life, because individuals with low self-confidence tend to stay in their “comfort zone” and fear the risk of being rejected. This is called social phobia and has a high level of co-morbidity with low self confidence, but also other mental afflictions like depression. People with low levels of confidence are afraid of being judged by others and will avoid meeting new people, which can consequently lead to isolation and even less self confidence causing a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.

On the other hand, because they believe in their own abilities, self-confident people can do what they feel is right and don’t feel the need for the approval of others. Their boss, employees, customers, friends or relatives are more likely to believe in them or in the things they are telling them.

Numerous experiences can contribute to a lack of confidence. New research indicates that parenting style has a major impact on the development of self-confidence in a child. Bodily and mental abuses during childhood are for example the worse for a person’s self-confidence, as well as divorce and family conflicts. Overprotective parents may also be a reason for a child’s social phobia and inhibit the independence that is necessary to develop confidence and self esteem. Failures and successes, for example at school or in one’s professional life, also play a significant role: failing a class or losing a job are some of the different experiences that will have a negative impact on the way that you feel about yourself.

There are however ways to overcome those bad experiences and increase feelings of self worth. The first step would be to learn to know yourself and your strengths. Recognizing that you are allowed to be imperfect and cannot be the best in all that you do will help you imporve. Accepting yourself as you are is the key to gaining self-confidence. But in order to improve you also have to start taking risks and giving yourself credit for your accomplishments. This is very basic advice that will help you build self-confidence. You may also find plenty of books that will tell you how to improve yourself, but not all of them are reliable.

A lot people are only able to gain confidence in one or a certain number of areas of their lives because they constantly look for other people’s approval and are afraid that they could fail. Several factors, for example childhood traumas, can explain why some people can’t have the wholesome life of a confident individual. Such people also don’t always know how to gain self confidence. However improving can now easily and effectively be done through hypnosis and NLP.

As we have seen before, fear and doubt and social phobia can be caused by traumas or unconscious fears which can be difficult to overcome with sheer self persuasion. Confidence hypnosis and NLP by contrast can reach the unconscious part of our mind and change belief systems to boost your self-image. They are powerful tools that will help you address your fears and believe in yourself.

Self Hypnosis for building self-confidence has been in use for many years and has shown significant results. In a hypnotized state, reaching unconscious thoughts is a lot easier and, thanks to hypnotic suggestion, it is possible to replace your negative thought patterns with positive ones.

Alan B. Densky, CH is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers effective self esteem and self confidence hypnosis CD’s. His public speaking hypnosis CD’s were reviewed by independents in the UK. Visit his Neuro-VISION hypnosis site to view free hypnosis videos.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/

Have you ever tried to do away with a harmful behavior, only to be unsuccessful? There is a long list of widespread problem behaviors that people often try to change or wipe out using self-hypnosis. Possibly the most common are: Overeating and weight loss; stop smoking; quit chewing tobacco; stop nail biting; increasing self-confidence; overcoming insomnia and sleeping better; improving memory; and managing stress.

What the mind causes, the mind can cure: The motivation for our behaviors starts in our thoughts. If you mull it over, all of these nonconstructive behaviors are the end result of negative thinking. In other words, you think and motivate yourself into all of these behaviors. Or at least you think yourself into feeling frazzled, and that can trigger these behaviors. And since you think and motivate yourself into these behaviors, you can think and motivate yourself out of them as well. But in order to effectively think and motivate yourself out of these negative behaviors, you will need to know specifically how to go about accomplishing it.

Desire: You’re most likely reading this piece because you want the motivation to change something about yourself. And that’s handy for the reason that the first factor in the “Motivation Formula For Your Success” is that you must want or desire to change. If you have read this far, at least some part of you wants a change.

Belief is required for motivation: Before anyone can eliminate a harmful behavior, that person must be motivated to do so. Merely wanting a change is not sufficient.

Our motivation comes from the things that we believe. If we believe that something very important to us will get better or “become enhanced” if we modify our behavior, we will become motivated. Conversely, if we believe that something very important to us will be in jeopardy if we don’t alter our behavior, we will also feel highly motivated to make a change.

Some plain examples of these motivational beliefs could be:

If I take some weight off, then I’ll be able to find a lover.

If I kick my smoking habit, then I won’t have to worry about cancer.

If I stop biting my nails, then my hands will be a lot prettier.

Technologies that can create the beliefs that lead to motivation: Neuro-Linguistic Programming – which is commonly known as NLP, offers strategies that are able to instantly produce the element of belief. You can discover more about this by reading the articles “How To Get Motivated To Exercise Using Hypnosis And NLP” and “Motivation Theory – How To Quit Smoking Using NLP And Hypnosis For Motivation.” These articles are both available in my free hypnosis research library.

Decision: The dictionary defines the word “Decision” as making up one’s mind / a verdict or judgment. When you believe a concept that provides you with a powerful feeling of motivation to make a change, you will feel a compulsion to make a decision to change a negative behavior. Decision is the key that unlocks the door to taking action.

Action: The dictionary defines the word “Action” as an act or deed / to do or perform. Taking action means that instead of just thinking about making personal changes, you will actually take steps to bring about your desired changes.

Self-talk: One of the reasons that individuals fail to change or eliminate a negative behavior is because of the way that they talk to themselves. Self-talk is significant because repeatedly it is an important part of what caused the negative behavior to begin with.

I’d like you to think about this for a moment: Let us say that you want to kick a cigarette addiction. Probably the first thing that you are likely to say or think to yourself is: “I’m not going to smoke cigarettes anymore.”

It’s universal for people to tell themselves what they aren’t going to do. Unfortunately, when we tell ourselves what we aren’t going to do, we are actually compelling ourselves to do it!

Self-talk exercise: Say the following to yourself: I can’t see blue. I can’t see polka dots.

I’ll bet your mind showed you the color blue, and then it showed you polka dots. That’s because when we tell ourselves what we don’t want to do, or what we won’t do, in order to make sense of it our mind must make an image of us doing what it is that we want to stop doing. And when we see ourselves participating in a behavior, our mind compels us to create that behavior.

Summary: In order to get rid of a negative behavior, we must first want or DESIRE to eliminate it. BELIEF is the element that creates MOTIVATION. MOTIVATION is the drive that leads us to DECISION. DECISION is the means to ACTION. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a tool that we can use to facilitate beliefs, motivation, decisions, and actions.

When we tell ourselves what we aren’t going to do, we make a mental picture of ourselves engaging in the behavior that we want to alter. And that mental picture gives us a compulsion to generate the negative behavior. So if we want to get rid of a negative behavior, instead of telling ourselves what we won’t do, we must always tell ourselves what we will do.

To stop smoking say: “I can live without them.”

To erase cravings for food that will make you fat or to quit smokeless chewing tobacco say: “I can live without it.”

To abort stress say: “I’m relaxed and calm, both mentally and physically.”

To fall asleep more quickly say: “I fall asleep quickly, and sleep restfully throughout the night.”

Alan B. Densky, CH is an NLP Practitioner and certified hypnotherapist. He runs the Neuro-VISION self-hypnosis CDs website and offers Hypnosis CDs for motivation. Visit the website for his free Hypnosis MP3 downloads, newsletters, and his hypnosis research library.

http://www.neuro-vision.us/