How did the tobacco companies get you started?

You may believe that you chose to smoke and that your addiction to cigarettes is entirely of your own making but the tobacco industry used many techniques to get you to try their products. They knew that if they could get you to get started then they would get you hooked.

The tobacco industry has spent billions getting and keeping people addicted to cigarettes.

Cigarettes have been with us since 1880’s, prior to that people smoked pipes and before the 1500’s not a single European had ever smoked a cigarette because tobacco was only found in the Americas and it had remained unknown to traders.

War is used to promote smoking

During the First World War, whilst men and boys were scared and desperate, the tobacco industries promoted smoking heavily so much so that there was a cigarette ration for troops and also there was a gift sent by Princess Mary to everyone of the British troops which included a small pack of cigs. By the end of the war many men returned scarred by the war and addicted to smoking.

By the end of this war most men and many women, over 80%, smoked cigarettes.

How did Tobacco companies give smoking such a favourable image?

Tobacco companies from there on in did everything they could to keep the nation and the globe smoking.

Movie Actors were paid to be seen smoking. (Even Ronald Reagen is seen on posters promoting cigarettes). Cigarettes were used by cinemas to imply that a character was brave, bad or had just had a sex. Lead actors were often seen smoking in films, especially action films like war films, thrillers and westerns.

Doctors were paid to endorse smoking and even said that smoking was good for healthy lungs.

Start them young.

Cigarettes were sold individually to allow kids to buy them with there pocket money.

To train kids up cigarette sweets in mock cartons were sold to get them to pretend to be “grown up” by pretend smoking and kids were seen on foggy days pretending they were smoking.

Cigarettes had sugar and flavours added as kids like sweet tastes.

Tobacco industries sponsored sporting action and tough activities to emphasise how healthy smoking was.

Tobacco industries paid politicians to block any anti smoking legislation or any legislation which made smoking seem unhealthy.

Student Unions had pro smoking groups paid for by tobacco industries to prevent the banning of smoking in their buildings.

Cigarettes used to be given out free in pubs by promotions girls who targeted men.

Big Lies to get you smoking

Tobacco Industries own research showed smoking caused cancer, especially lung cancer. For Fifty Years they lied about this and continued to promote smoking as a healthy activity. (Eventually this lead to a huge lawsuit, but despite lying the US govt protected the industry by putting a maximum amount that they would have to pay in compensation so they could carry on selling tobacco products profitably).

As you think you chose to smoke be aware that  a huge industry that has lied, and corrupted the media, politicians and even promoted its products to toddlers in order to convince them that they are the ones who have chosen to smoke instead of realising the sophisticated brainwashing which has created so many smokers in the last 140 years.

Long term images keep us addicted.

The tobacco industry continues to influence how we see tobacco. Despite the changes old films are still being shown which continue to imply tobacco is strong and manly. Movies still have cigarettes and cigar smoking characters who are powerful. Rarely are smokers seen on screen with emphysema, cancer or even a poor cough.

As you question who got you smoking, use all the tools available to help you quit as even today the tobacco industry is just as keen to keep you smoking.

If you quit smoking today, how quickly do you recover from smoking?

There are many reasons to give up smoking, including more money, you don’t smell of cigarettes, no stress when you are flying, not having to stand outside in the rain just for that hit of nicotine, but the biggest reason is your health.

Preserving your health means that you are able to enjoy life more, breath better and more easily, sleep better and have the stamina to spend quality time with your friends and family. Smoking steals years from your life and this not only affects you but your friends and family. How important is it for you to see your family grow up, see them make their way in the world instead of hanging round hospital wards watching you slowly degenerate and decay.

Here are some of the key health benefits from quitting smoking today and accepted time frames when you will experience these changes.

Immediately you quit smoking and stop putting nicotine in your body you are recovering. However when you smoke again you are stopping that recovery. The sooner you begin the sooner you can start this healing process.

Health Benefits in the First 24 hours

• After just  20 minutes, the time it takes to put the kettle on and have a cup of tea…

Your blood pressure, your pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal. The effects of nicotine is already wearing off.

• After just 8 hours

Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream has fallen to 6% of normal peak daily levels.

Oxygen levels have returned to normal, whilst carbon monoxide levels have reduced by half.

• After just 12 hours

Your blood oxygen level has increased to the level of a non-smoker. Whilst the carbon monoxide levels, have returned to normal.

• After a day, just 24 hours later

Your body starts to clear out all the debris from smoking. Anxieties have peaked. Hypnosis can support you to deal with any anxieties but these strains are what keep you smoking so enjoy watching them wither and disappear over the next fortnight.

Health Benefits in the First Month

• Day 2, 48 hours

Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. The moodiness and irritation from quitting will have passed its worst.

Your ability to taste and smell is radically improved so food will smell and taste better.

• By Day 3,  72 hours

You will be nicotine free. The drug which has kept you addicted is now gone, a complete detox. The symptoms of the chemical withdrawal are now subsiding. Hypnosis can support you deal with sleep, restlessness and using your time differently. Even the triggers to smoke are now diminishing with a typical smoker. Hypnosis can support you deal with triggers and cravings. Lung bronchial tubes are beginning to relax in ex-smokers. Breathing starts to feel noticeably easier whilst lung function and capacity is starting to increase.

• Week One, 5 - 8 days

Cravings will start to reduce in both duration and intensity, typically around three episodes per day. Hypnosis can support with this. This is your body healing so enjoy the changes. A craving tends to last a few minutes so use distraction techniques, don’t carry spare money, instead an distraction game on your phone or text someone whilst the triggers and cravings dissolve.

• 10 days

Cravings drop to twice daily and tend to be less intense and less enduring. Cravings may still be present but you are now over a week since any nicotine was in your system, you are not addicted but need to build a new habit. New habits take up to 66 days to develop so from here on in it is about enjoying observing the evolving benefits.

• 10 days up to 2 weeks

Cravings almost totally subsided. Recovery continues in your body too. Blood circulation in your gums is now similar to that of a non-smoker.

• 2 to 4 weeks

Mood changes associated with quitting such as anger, stress and anxiety should end now, the benefits will massively outweigh the minor irritations.

• 21 days

Brain acetylcholine receptor counts have returned to levels of non-smokers.

Health Benefits During the First Year of Quitting Smoking

• 2 weeks up to 3 months

Your life is now materially being affected by those changes as your heart attack risk drops.

• 3 weeks up to 3 months

Physical changes include circulation improvements and feeling more energised, with activities like walking becoming easier and enjoyable.

• Up to 9 months

Lung function has been restored as the cilia in an ex-smokers lungs have re-grown Resulting in better energy levels, better breathing and less experience of shortness of breath and sinus congestion stemming from smoking.

One Year After Quitting Smoking

• 1 year after you quit smoking

Risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease is less than 50% of a smoker.

• 5 years

Brain haemorrhage risk has reduced by 60% compared to when you were smoking.

• 5 to 15 years

You are no more at risk than if you had never smoked.

• 10 years

After a decade since you quit smoking some health conditions present where the risks are the same as a non-smoker, diabetes risk is the same as any non-smoker.

Your risk of lung cancer decreases to up to 50% of those who continue to smoke. Mortality risk from cancer of the lung has fallen by near 50% for average smokers..  Whilst mouth, throat, oesophagus and pancreatic cancers also show a decline in risk.

• 13 years

Your risk of smoking related tooth loss reduces to zero. Smokers who are fortunate enough to last till their mid 70’s have 5 fewer teeth than their non-smoking counterparts.

• 15 years

Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker.

• 20 years

For women risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, and pancreatic has been eroded to levels of a never-smoker.

Quit smoking with Hypnotherapy today and make a difference within 20 mins.

Small steps to big changes

Small steps are essential for sustainable changes. Trying to do big changes instead of breaking a task down makes it more likely that you will either give up or meet an obstacle that you are not ready to address both of which will undermine your self esteem and your confidence. To boost your confidence whilst addressing with issues like addictions, anxiety, confidence, and weight management break your long term goal down into set short simple goals. as you meet each target your confidence will grow and your motivation to take on bigger and more demanding challenges will grow with it.

Learning to be accepting of yourself will allow you to break problems down into smaller stages allowing more mini successes which will help raise motivation and also make your confidence grow over time.

Small steps to breaking habits

One example could be dealing with habits like nail biting. Hypnosis is great a dealing with this issue. One practical thing that you can do to address this can be choosing to leave on nail unbitten. So accept yourself as a nail biter but not someone who bites a particular nail. Very quickly you will establish a different pattern of behaviour and once you have stopped biting that nail and it has grow longer you could then add another nail to leave unbitten. I have used this technique to stop nail biting in conjunction with hypnosis and can not imagine nail biting again.

Be realistic with goal setting

Acceptance is built on being realistic about how much you can change at any one time. To prevent failure when learning to be a different, you also need to be realistic about how long change can take.

With weight management ask yourself how long ago you were at the weight you want to revisit. This gives you some scale of how long weight change takes naturally. You should be looking at no more than 2lbs or a kilo a week and that it will change in cycles, some weeks will be faster than others. Many people fail to reach and maintain their weight because they reject adopting realistic goals.

See the bigger picture

The small steps approach also includes acceptance that there will be obstacles which may need to be overcome, it may appear as if a backwards step is taking place. This is very common when making lifestyle changes like, addressing an addiction, getting fitter, quitting smoking because reverting back to old behaviours is very common after you have started to make changes.

One strategy to employ when making lifestyle changes to keep motivation up and boost confidence, is to view the change journey as a long term event instead viewing it day by day.

Here, the person adopting a new lifestyle is then able to see that, should they experience a small setback, they see it in the context of all the other changes that they are making instead as a big event in itself.

For example: someone giving up smoking who has not smoked for 7 days may view a cigarette today as a failure but viewed over the last year, then this lapse can be seen as progress. Over a year, one day in seven smoking instead of every day is a huge change, and has clear health and financial benefits. This pattern will eventually lead to longer periods of smoke free living until reaching total abstinence. Ultimately, focus on the progress made instead of the minor disruptions to the progress. Using a success diary can help focusing on progress.

Equally, when someone lapses from alcohol abstinence use by taking one drink they can use their next period of abstinence to remind them that they have already made progress with their small steps and should just resume this approach and see how far they get next time.

The process of seeing an event over a long term can further be supported by viewing set backs as areas for further learning. By viewing each set back as a new point of learning a person is able to see this event as a point of personal development instead of a failure. For example someone who is new to a life in recovery may find that they drank when they socialised with their friends. Instead of regretting this and seeing this as a failure they could instead reflect on this and recognise that they needed to plan better next time and either tell people that they cannot drink, choose a venue where there is no opportunity to drink alcohol or not to attend with those people.

Small steps to feel in control

By employing these techniques a person undertaking lifestyle change still feels in control of their destiny instead of a failure as their self esteem is still intact and their motivation to maintain this change is in place as they view any difficulties as planned and necessary to reach their destination.

Ultimately small steps for change are sustainable and easier to maintain over the period needed for the change to evolve into a new lifestyle habit.

Life changes take 66 days to complete

Life changes, breaking habits or establishing new patterns of how you do things takes on average 66 days to be fully ingrained in your whole lifestyle so that they are permanent changes. Therefore, if you are prepared to invest three months into doing things differently then you have a best change that by the end of that time it will become the way you will always do things for the future.

START SMALL
Making small changes to reach your ideal goal takes time and energy. Using the right techniques for you will help get the success you deserve.

Break down your goals to succeed long term

This research is useful for all types of changes so if you want to address addictions, weight management, getting fitter by exercising or to address issues like anxiety you need to break each topic down into individual unhelpful behaviour elements and then adopt and maintain new ways of doing each element of the activity for three months for lasting change.

Identify individual changes that you can sustain

Identify individual changes that you can sustain that are not dependent on other change plans. For example: If you want to lose three stone, and one issue is over indulgence after work on a Friday night, which leads to a weekend of unhealthy eating. You may chose to have a healthy meal that you prepare on Thursday night to prevent the Friday binge.

This activity needs to be maintained for the next twelve weeks to re-write the association with Friday night as binge night. There will be scope for occasional meals out during this change period but this should serve to gain self control for the weekend. I used this technique alongside my self hypnosis to lose over 6 stone in less than a year.

Progress not perfection. The odd deviation from a plan is OK.

The research says that skipping a day is OK as long as the trend is actively towards the new behaviour. This research is a useful piece of information for you to plan out when is the best time for you to start to make changes and also suggests how long you must keep actively working on your change goals before the work you put in is likely to reward you with a new and more effective way of behaving.

Express all life changes in the positive

This approach emphasises why life changes should be outlined in the positive as it guides you to know what it is you should be doing each day to establish this new habit.

Use Hypnotherapy Sheffield to Quit Smoking

The Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield Service has a long established history of helping people break all sorts of unhelpful habits from smoking, gambling, problematic alcohol use and other addictions. When it comes to quitting smoking it is vital to realise your motivation to quit and offset this against your reasons to stay a smoker. I have worked extensively to raise self esteem, manage anxiety and beat cravings which will give you all the tools you need to stop smoking.

Identify and Beat Your Triggers

Triggers are complex reminders that you were once a smoker. You may be triggered by lighting a candle, returning to a room or even a shop where you bought your tobacco from. In the early stages changing your routine will reduce triggers but it will not prevent them. Triggers can last a long time after cravings have gone. They are only thoughts, just like being triggered to your childhood you do not have to act on this reminder and it will go as quickly as it came.

Beat Cravings

Beating cravings is not easy but using the tools which can be found on this website you will find that you will be able to quit smoking forever and be more and more able to deal with anything which makes you want to have another cigarette. Cravings disappear after 10 days so using Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield  treatments will support you to mange those first few tricky days and then you can enjoy the health, wealth and other benefits of being smoke free forever.

Beat Hunger Pangs and Weight Gain

Nicotine is a hunger suppressant so there may be a little weight gain as your body adjusts to it's natural weight. You may find that you want to put things in your mouth. There are products you can buy to replace the process of smoking but they only serve to remind you what you are not doing. Much better to find new ways of dealing and coping with this and soon this physical habit will be broken. Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield can support with hypnotic suggestions which support you to manage your weight. Slight weight gain is far less dangerous to your health than continued smoking. Use my weight management tips to reach a healthy weight. Read how I lost 100 lbs using the very same suggestions and self hypnosis.

Motivate Yourself

Motivation to stick at staying stopped is essential. Use the site to create motivation. See which is the most important motivating reason to quit. Is it money, health, seeing the kids grow up? I will support you to develop a personal target beyond not smoking, saving for a holiday or raising your general fitness. To maintain motivation you should set a target of what you want to achieve instead of what you do not want to be doing. Use Self affirmations, one thing I am proud of and all the other self esteem building tools to help you reach your goal. Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield can help you maintain your motivation by offering hypnotic suggestions to feel positive and find creative ways to keep trying when you would normally have caved in.

I will support you to plan effectively for any period of change so that the plan pre-empts any potential issues such as starting the changes on the wrong day, having extra resources to help you deal with specif issues: for example I worked with a client who sucked mints whenever she had a craving. After a couple of weeks her smoking days were completely over and now cannot imagine returning back to smoking but continues to report that the mints were vital for her to get through the first 2 weeks.

Build Your Confidence

Any form of change can be scary. Sometimes the fear of failure limits how committed you are to sticking at change and instead find reasons to lapse. The section on seemingly irrelevant decisions will show how when we fear failure we actively sabotage our plans by making decisions that make it more likely that we will lapse. Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield can offer suggestions and advice of how to make long lasting changes and permanent changes. Lapse can be seen as failure or as a point of learning. I will support you to be resilient when making changes so that any incidents of lapse are seen solely as individual events which you can learn from instead of an excuse to give up.

Manage Stress

Stress is often the underlying problem with lots of issues clients come to see me about. I will use my knowledge and skills to support you to identify and manage stress effectively. I can support you to make small changes and to reduce stress and also to manage the effects in a more sustainable and healthy manner. I can support you to develop assertiveness skills, effective anxiety management and quality sleep through both the Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield Programmes and supportive therapeutic skills development.

Smoking generates stress as the body starts to withdraw from nicotine depletion. This stress is temporary but life stresses, those that nonsmokers deal with, without the instant gratification of nicotine are stresses which smokers will have to learn to adapt to. Simple stress relieving strategies such as being organised, setting realistic schedules, eating healthily and exercise will support you to maintain this new healthy lifestyle. Build healthy routines to support you and incorporate small stage rewards that boost confidence but also help reduce stress.

Defeat Boredom

Smoking took up a huge part of your life and dictated how long you sat for and even where you went to through parts of your day. Being released from that type of institutionalisation takes some adjustment. Plan your day more completely, carry distraction resources, such as computer games on your phone or word searches to fill those moments that smoking absorbed. In a short time you will adjust but for now create clear routines to sustain you.

Find Something to Do with Your Hands

This is a really important part of the planning for quitting smoking. You have spent years occupying your hands so now they are unaccustomed to being free. You may need to carry something like a pen or a stress ball for a short time or even an ideas pad. The restlessness will dissolve in a short time so factor in this change. Positive Hypnotherapy Sheffield can support you to deal with these changes by using suggestions in trance to deal with this transitional anxiety. This tension will only last a short time. There are Millions of ex-smokers in the world. They have successfully coped with this change, you will be fine too.

Positive thinking keeps plans on track

Positive thinking, and the use of positive language is a simple non-trance hypnotic technique which makes sustainable change a reality. As you make any plans to change you should always express them in the affirmative.  When dealing with issues with smoking, addictions like alcohol, gambling, drugs, shopping or treating depression or anxiety it is essential to express plans and thoughts, feelings and actions in the positive, i.e. say what you want life to be like and not want you do not want it to be like.

The brain, our command centre, works in the positive, so if you want to focus on something express this as the thing to focus on instead of what you are trying not to do anymore.

For example:

"I don’t want to smoke anymore" is expressed in the negative, it says what you DO NOT want to do. A better way to express it is "I want to live a smoke free lifestyle", or "I am living a healthy lifestyle", or "I am getting my lungs to function much better".

This positive way of expressing any plans are significant for the brain because,  when people express an action in the negative such as I want to give up smoking or I don't want to eat fatty food, the brain first has to imagine smoking or eating fatty foods.  The brain then gives off the feelings it has for smoking or eating fatty foods which are the trigger sensations which cause people to crave the lifestyle habit which they are trying their best to change.

Positive thinking tools and techniques for change

So if you are ending alcohol use, you could say I am working on managing my health better, or I enjoy soft drinks, I am getting fitter, or even I drink low calorie drinks instead of expressing the behaviour change in the negative as I am not drinking any more or I don't drink anymore are more effective ways to prevent your brain from fixating on what you used to do and instead focusing on what you are working on doing instead.

Use positive thinking for planning

The use of positive thinking around the changes that you are planning also gives you a clear message on what you could be doing instead of what you are not doing. This simple hypnotic tool helps you visualise the newly established behaviour and envision some of the good feelings which will come from these changes.

E.G I am not eating sweets does not say what you should be eating instead. During the 1950’s research into food that was left by American households showed that they were cutting off the rinds of their chops and bacon. This showed that they were making their first attempts at limiting the amount of fat that they were consuming in their diet. This was also the same time that there was a huge rise in the consumption of salamis which are high in saturated fat. So, by focusing on what they were not eating, the American household ate no less saturated fat but mistakenly convinced themselves that their diets had improved.

For success in lifestyle change support your brain to do some positive thinking by expressing the changes you are making in the positive. Say what you are doing instead of what you will stop doing.

Make your own Positive Affirmations

By creating your own positive affirmations you can take control of anxiety and stress. Self affirmations are vital messages that people with low self esteem, anxiety and confidence issues can use to help change their thinking patterns.

Why we use Affirmations

What we say to ourselves has a massive impact on how we think about ourselves. This impacts on the way we feel about ourselves, leading to how we behave now and in the future.

To improve what happens in the future, to reduce anxiety, stress, and increase the positive experiences in our lives what we tell ourselves is an easy way to make long lasting changes.

How to make your own self affirmations

1) Decide how you would like to be different and use these goals as your foundation for your affirmations. this could be wanting to feel calm, stop smoking, be less annoyed with people, be less forgetful, be more organised, whatever is is that is important to you. Here are some affirmations that might help. To format your affirmation create simple clear statement as outlined in the following steps.

2) Always talk in the present tense, using  short and snappy statements.

e.g.      I am feeling calm and relaxed

I am eating calmly and confidently

I know when I am full

I stop eating when I am full

3) Say it like you mean it….. Use the Act As If Principle  to support you. First act as if you mean it and the feelings will follow if you focus your attention.

4) Say it and act is as this will allow you to completely immerse yourself into the new way of being and acting. A delivery with passion and conviction, engaging body posture tone and focusing on how you are at that moment in time.

5) Always speak and think in the positive. Say what are doing instead of what you will be stopping doing.

Positive Affirmations

Negative

I’m not smoking.
I don’t swear
I’ve stopped over eating
I don’t crash diet anymore
I don’t panic
I will not get anxious
I wont worry I am aware of my world and enjoy it.

Positive

I am enjoying being healthy NOW
I am speaking politely NOW
I am controlling my eating NOW
I am eating sensibly NOW
I am in control right NOW
I am calm and relaxed NOW
I wont worry I am aware of my world and enjoy it.

6) Repeat and enjoy watching the new you become you. Repeat your statements daily and integrate them into your pattern of behaviour alongside using the other tools and enjoy the positive changes that will follow.

The Act as If Principle. Get motivated fast.

Act as if is an easy to use technique to create instant motivation to do something or build motivation when you are having a dip in your motivation. It is one of the simplest forms of positive hypnosis or self hypnosis conducted out of trance.

This technique is the process of acting like you want to do something, even though you may not feel like doing it. To use this motivation building trick, you adopt the posture, tone, physical approach of someone who you imagine would like doing the activity that you are struggling to motivate yourself to do. Then start the activity in that manner and maintain this acting approach. After a short time the positive feelings which you would like from doing that activity if you really were keen and motivated to do it start to emerge naturally. So the act of pretending to enjoy doing something actually creates the positive feelings of doing it. Sounds too good to be true, so Act as if you believe me and try it out.

Instant Motivation

By learning the Act As If Principle, people with little motivation can become motivated and achieve more which in itself will result in raised self esteem. The act as if principle was first written about over 100 years ago by William James who outlined how to create motivation to do things people are reluctant to do. The Act As If principle is still used extensively today within all motivational change work from addictions, weight management, anxiety management and through to undertaking tedious task when experiencing a depression condition.

ACT LIKE YOU MEAN IT.
James suggested that you should adopt the manner, facial expressions, pace, tone, posture, dress whatever is typical of someone who is keen to do the task and set about doing this and in a short time anyone acting as if they wanted to do this would soon get the feelings which would be associated with someone who really wants to do this.

Build confidence and friendships with Act AS IF

This simple form of self suggestion or self hypnosis is key to developing self esteem and confidence as you can pretend to be excited about doing a task instead of anxious or scared. Equally you can use this technique to build peer networks if you are socially isolated. If you are anxious about meeting new people Act as if can give you the confidence and motivation to meet people and build support networks by just Acting like your are confident in new social settings.

Many professionals use the act as if principle when they have to deal with difficult situations or ones which lead them to feeling vulnerable and nervous. For example some professionals like nurses and police officers will appear very calm in dangerous or unpredictable situations despite feeling the opposite but by giving a confidence appearance leads them to feeling confident. Equally when teachers have to deal with a difficult class or a social worker has to deal with new situations they will adopt a calm and confident manner which helps them feel calm and confident.

If It Only Takes a Minute Technique

QUICK WINS IN 60 SECONDS

The only takes a minute technique is a simple tool to help combat motivation issues which also builds self esteem so it is great at treating depression, anxiety and any motivation sapping conditions.

Getting simple tasks completed, which takes a moments have massive health benefits.

Beat anxiety and depression with the only takes a minute technique

When experiencing anxiety and depression or feeling overwhelmed it can be hard to find the energy and drive to motivate yourself to do anything. This lack of drive has serious impacts on the mind and body. Using this technique encourages you to physically accomplish more. The process of being active helps to have a natural endorphin release which will help you to feel happier and better about doing other things and so raise your motivation.

that a person has been during the day by getting little formally overwhelming jobs done.

Motivation Techniques

Motivation is the essential ingredient necessary for any idea to become a reality. Whether you want to get started on a mundane chore or if you want to make big changes in your life that will take planning, time and resilience; knowing how to create and maintain your enthusiasm and drive will help make things happen.This drive to get things done can be created just by using a few simple hypnotic techniques alongside some simple self management tools.

Loss of drive

Many of the challenges facing clients who access hypnosis have tried to make changes for themselves before they come into therapy. One of the key reasons that people have failed to reach their targets whether is becoming smoke-free, finding their healthy weight, addressing their addictive lifestyles, curing their phobias or restoring their confidence for example is that they lose their original drive and energy to keep the working towards their goal as challenges persist.

Other motivation techniques

Act as if. A brilliant technique to get you started when it is an activity that either gives you negative thoughts or you are currently depressed, lacking focus and have got into a rut losing sight of your own potential and purpose. Other approaches include break tasks down, have little rewards for starting, tell others and set yourself mini deadlines.

If it only takes a minute, then do it!

If it only takes a minute. A quick win approach to small tasks. Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks that are in front of you? Has the list got so big that it paralyses you with anxiety? Use the "If it only takes a minute" approach to get some re-energising quick wins under your belt and you will soon be back on form. As you see any job which needs doing, ask yourself how long will it take to do it. If it only takes a minute or so, do it now. This quick win approach will help with self esteem and stop your feeling overwhelmed by tasks.

The Ten Minute Blast

The Ten Minute Blast. Have you found some jobs just too big to even know where to get started? Use the Ten minute rule and get a result every time. All you need to do is start a job, but only to do it for ten minutes at maximum outcome. So if you are tidying a wardrobe, just do ten minutes and whatever you achieve is enough, then forget about it for now. This approach motivates you enough to carry on. but if it does not it is still a little closer to being complete.

Hypnosis for Motivation

Motivation, or lack of it is very common. Hypnosis can be a huge help with dealing a loss of focus and drive or for feeling overwhelmed. Hypnosis can help re-energise you to make changes get down to revision or start planning so that you can make those changes.

Contact positive hypnosis here for more information or to book your free 30 min online appointment via Skype or face to face appointment in Sheffield UK to discuss hypnosis and how it can support you.

Stress Free Living With Hypnosis

Stress free living is an ambition for many today. Stress is such a common experience in our lives that we take it for granted. Imagine a time in your life when there was no stress, no tension and nothing that woke you up in the middle of the night. Hypnosis can release you from these feelings.

Don't be a martyr to stress

Through effective therapy that time can be restored again. Stress is so pervading in life that it is something which is worn as a badge of honour by some people whilst others act as if they are martyrs to stress, complaining but never doing anything about it. They promote how stressed they are as evidence of how important or busy they are. In reality they have lost their stress management skills.

Learn to deal with stress instead of ignoring it

I have been working in the field of effective lifestyle management for over a decade. The challenges of our lives are often non-negotiable, however how we deal with these events, especially if we are unable to relax and feel rested can and should be improved.

Control your stress

The goal of a permanently stress free life is unrealistic as stress is a valuable tool to motivate us. However when stress stops us performing it is time to take control. Using the tools on this site your can learn to deal with stress instead of ignoring it. Take control today.

For many people stress, the lifestyle of experiencing the pressure of life without managing the stress is raising the risk of a shortened life expectancy, through high blood pressure, sleepless nights, poor diet, excessive alcohol or related drug use, long hours and poor quality relationships.

Hypnotherapy for stress

Hypnotherapy for stress would give you the skills to unwind as well and see the bigger picture instead of fixating on the source of your stress. By using the wealth of coping techniques, some of which can be found throughout the website you will be more able to manage more easily, even in times of crisis.

Restore your health

As a therapist I can help you to broaden the range of approaches that you currently employ and use your inherent creativity and passions to identify the source of stress and also use this creativity to burn off excess adrenaline and energy in a constructive manner to support you to fully restore your health, allowing you to return to a more balanced more stress free lifestyle.

STOP technique prevents lapse

The STOP technique is really powerful self hypnosis technique which can work for issues like addiction, anger, weight management and any destructive behaviour and allows you to take back control of a situation when you are at risk of making a poor decision.

This technique uses one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary to help us snap out of a learned behaviour which we are choosing to change.

When in a situation where you are about to or are already doing something which undermines your change plans such as putting yourself in a high risk situation if you are a recovering addict or absentmindedly snacking if your issue is weight management or preparing to feel anxious if your issue is anxiety this technique is a very effective our of trance self hypnosis tool.

At the point you are aware that the behaviour is unhelpful, risky or is the activity that you want to end say to yourself either out loud or using your internal voice Stop!

Short, Sharp, Stop!
Loud and Clear

As you apply this voice it should be short, terse and clear. It should be said as a command. This use of this short, direct word will help you to snap out of the ‘auto-pilot’ behaviour and you can look at how you can get out of the situation. Exiting the situation can include calling others for support from your support network, moving away from the risk situation or to focus on another thought process.

For Alcohol Addiction you may use this technique if you find yourself pouring a glass of vodka, as soon as you are aware use the Stop! command, and withdraw from the room you are in and then call a friend to talk out the activity.

A similar approach could be used for self harming.

For Weight Management you could use the same approach, withdrawing from the situation until you able to put the food away or dispose of it, but first move away from the situation so that you can restore control of the situation by being and operating in the right frame of mind.

With Anger as soon as you are aware of the feelings you can use the command and use the technique of withdrawing or apologise for how you reacted but not for how you think or feel about a particular situation and you will come back to it later.

To enhance the STOP technique you should practise this before you need it and as part of this practise visualise either a hand with the upright palm in front of you as a police officer may display their stop sign, alternatively you could visualise a roadside stop sign. Visualise this very big so that it fills your field of vision and by using this combined with the word it will be very effective at helping you get control of a situation which is undermining your plans to make permanent changes.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a brilliantly simple technique to help you manage your awareness so that you fully experience all your emotions and sensations. This is a great technique that helps those with any issue which has an emotional connection to get back control in their lives. I have used the techniques to raise awareness with clients who have issues as diverse as addictions, anxiety, compulsions and weight management problems.

LIVE IN THE MOMENT

Some clients report that their issues and worries come from always thinking about things that were not good for them in their past or thinking about something in the future and worrying about what may or may not happen. This constant seeking out negative thoughts affects their confidence, motivation, increases their sense of helplessness and anxiety.Learning to live in the moment will change this way of thinking.

A MORE USEFUL WAY OF THINKING

This technique is about being acutely aware of yourself, your breathing, all of your senses and about being in the moment, responding to the things that are real, occurring right now. It is a different, more useful way of thinking, instead of thinking about the events which you have no control over, which either occurred in the past or in the future. This technique teaches you to not only be aware of the here and now but also to treasure it, value it and be thankful for what you are truly experiencing by focusing on the event.

Being mindful beats addiction, anxiety and depression

People who use these techniques are  more able to appreciate their lives, report lower anxiety and report less intense experience of depression. When in early recovery mindful awareness by using the techniques described below have been found to make those early difficult steps more successful.

Fill up on mindfulness not snacks

Research has shown that those who eat whilst watching tv report their food has less flavour than those who focus on their food. Research also shows that those who are distracted will eat more as they do not feel as satisfied by their food. By being more aware of what you are doing right now instead of being distracted connects you more with your mind and your body and serves to give greater satisfaction and contentment.

Mindfulness Techniques

Basic techniques include:

1) Use all your senses:
Focusing on your breathing to the exclusion of everything else. Notice your chest rising and falling. Notice how each thought affects you. Be alert to thoughts, and how they can deny you the experience of the here and now.

2) Slowing down:
Take time to experience things in detail.  Notice all When you eat, take only small mouthfuls and focus on the sensations of the food or drink in your mouth.

3) Concentrate on each sensation fully:
Notice the colours, shape and textures of what you see. Notice what you can smell. Notice what you feel, hot, cold, smooth, rough, soft, hard, but also your internal sensations too.

4) When looking at something, seek out the detail:
Notice the different colours, textures, tones, different hues, size shape of everything that you look at.

5) Be aware of the unique experiences of life:
AS you use your senses be aware only you are seeing PRECISELY what you see. Explore the unique things you find in life.

6) Explore internally:
Close your eyes and raise your awareness of what is happening within your body. Notice, warmth and cold, tingles and twitches, dull aches and soothing sensations. Fully immerse yourself in the moment both externally and internally to feel calm and able to make emotion free decisions.

Reduce Worry

Regularly practised, it will help you to reduce unnecessary worry but also offer more positive thoughts and feelings as you explore and appreciate living and being in the moment more and more. So start today, the benefits are immediate. Get more info on Mindfulness Here

Urge Surfing

MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUE

Urge surfing is a great mindfulness relapse prevention technique developed by Alan Marlatt to use when you are in the middle of an urge to regain control of your addictive behaviour. With surfing you approach those destructive feelings and thoughts from a very different standpoint and instead of fighting them you accept them, fully experience them but do so from a point of calm distance using a simple mindfulness technique to ride out those destructive feelings.

URGES WILL NEVER HARM YOU

Marlett suggests that you should start by knowing that urges rarely last long and will themselves never harm you, they last from a few minutes up to 30 minutes maximum. The frequency and intensity of an urge is dependent on what happens during and after an urge to use. If you respond to the urge to use, then like Instant Gratification, you are reinforcing that thought and behaviour pattern and there will be more frequent and more intense urge experiences that follow. So instead of acting on an urge,  working through an urge to use, will result in the urge diminishing and further urges being less frequent. From this starting point you have an understanding that not acting on an urge is the way forward to full recovery. How you respond to an urge is key to the urge surfing technique which makes it very different to other relapse prevention techniques.

One way people respond to urges is to fight it and disrupt the pattern of thinking, which is the focus of the urge. This may involve having an internal battle between what you want to do emotionally, to change how you feel and against the consequences of using, less money, lapse, failure, etc. Other techniques may involve distraction, where you occupy yourself with housework, chatting to others, ultimately by doing something else.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Urge surfing is a great technique to support an addict because it paradoxically takes the power of the urge away by just going with the flow and letting the urge take its course. The underlying premise of the surfing technique is that the more you try to fight an urge the more you feed it and give it power. Instead of fighting it, the person steps back from the event and just observes the effect, noting how it is impacting on the thoughts and feelings of the person.

GO URGE SURFING AND TAKE CONTROL

The process of surfing involves first asking if urges have ever passed, as the important message to take from this is that urges do not have to be acted upon. During an urge, notice all the thoughts and feelings and by stepping back from them, experiencing them as an observer, resulting in the person being more relaxed, controlled and powerful. Each thought is just a thought and like all thoughts it will pass to be replaced by other thoughts. By gently bringing your attention back to your own breathing you will further support the passing of these thoughts. By directing your thoughts to your physical sensations you are meeting the urge as it passes through you, without being controlled by it. Acceptance is the key to recovery, so go surfing.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHILST URGE SURFING?

During an Urge notice:

• how you are feeling
• how your breathing is changing from before
• notice feeling alive and aware of all your senses
• how your hands are
• how your thoughts are observe them and feel them fully express them, to others and to yourself
• fully immerse yourself in these sensations notice each wave of the urge
• notice how it moves
• how it ebbs and flows
• how it peaks and how it gently leaves to be replaced by a soothing calmness of a more intense relaxation
• Finally, notice how each urge is one less urge that you will ever experience

Each urge is the body and the mind recovering in unison repairing reconnecting to a life without urges and triggers, allowing new sensations, to emerge as those weakening urges are replaced by equally interesting harmless sensations

Relapse prevention tools are many and varied but you should learn and practise as many as you can as there will be times when one technique will be better than another. The more that you learn the less you rely on luck and hope. No matter what you are trying to change there are scientifically proven ways to get the result you want but as people are all different the best approach for each person is different. The more you know the more choices you have. Learn and practise urge surfing but add it to a range of relapse prevention tools. You don't have to choose to give up so choose success. Learn all the other relapse prevention techniques in this section and enjoy your success.

Get Anxiety Help by Seeing the World Differently

Anxiety help comes in many forms. People access hypnosis treatment for anxiety because it is so effective and has many different tools to help people fully recover. If you are looking for anxiety help then you can find lots of tools on the site to help you move forwards. You can find out about how you can offload anxiety by reducing the effects that anxiety has on your body, you can take even more control by adopting how you think about the world and also how you explain the world to yourself and others is a key part of that. So before you do anything else find out how to change the way you experience your world even before you change anything else...Because if you experience it differently, like that calm person you want to be then you will feel more like the way you want to.

One key motivational and anti-anxiety tool is a technique called reframing. Reframing is a Neuro Linguistic Planning technique which adopts out of trance hypnosis to see and experience life in  new, more motivating, anxiety beating ways.

REFRAMING

Reframing is using your creativity to see all situations in a positive light. This technique  is especially useful for people  experiencing any self esteem related conditions such as depression, anxiety, anger, addictions and self harm but is useful for all aspects of life where motivation would help sustain the changes when obstacles appear.

Realistic but positive viewpoints beat anxiety

When working with clients who need anxiety help and experiencing depressive behaviours or anger it is common to hear clients talk about things in a very negative perspective such as “nothing ever good happens to me” or “I have never been lucky.” This pattern of seeing the world is de-motivating and also a form of reframing i.e. seeing the world by one perspective (only in this case negatively, which creates anxiety).
Reframing is a simple approach of expressing the world we all experience by looking realistically but seeking and finding the positive.

Reframing techniques

To do this you must first believe that there can be a positive in any experience, even if the event is not pleasant. Here are some examples:

I have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. why does this happen to me? or:

I have been given the incentive to focus on what is important to me now and use my time left to do that. I am lucky that I can now get my affairs in order instead of leaving everything in a mess like others do.

"Stuck in traffic. Nightmare, I will be late!"

"Longer to plan the day. I can take stock. I never get to look at the buildings round here, as I am normally rushing past."

Over time, those who use this technique, are able to have a very different life experience where they see opportunity where other see change. The technique is a simple out of trance hypnotic technique which allows any one who practises to feel more resourceful, more motivated, optimistic, less anxious and better placed to deal with the challenges of life.

Set your anxiety free, be happy and calm

Reframing is the skill of choosing to see the world in a new, positive yet still REAL perspective. by doing this you are also choosing to be an anxiety help, managing your anxiety and finding more useful and enjoyable ways of experiencing the world.

ANXIETY FREE

Give it a go and Get motivated. Use reframing to set your anxiety and negativity free, it has done it's job. Let it have a rest. The more you practise the sooner your anxiety will be gone.

More anxiety help here.

Breathing tools: By learning to use breathing techniques to offload tension from the day you will feel more life you want to.

Exercise: Get regular exercise alongside the hypnosis that allows you to operate the way you want and you will feel the calm return in only a few weeks.

Mood foods: Eat food high in tryptophan to feel calm such as Turkey but also use the most natural diet you can access as this will stabilise your moods.

Connect with nature: Get outside if you can and if not bring house plants into your home. the more you feel connected to nature the more you will feel calm.

Connect with others: The more you connect with others the more you will feel calm and secure so keep close toe you friends even though it can be hard when you are anxious.

Join the Sheffield Quit Smoking Programme

By joining the 6 week Stop Smoking Programme, it will give you the chance to escape from the addiction of smoking, learn how to deal with stress and the strains of life without the added pain of nicotine dependency.

Using hypnosis I will help you to break free from smoking so that you can get your health back, have more money in your pocket, are free to travel on trains without the anxiety of hours without smoking and your home and clothes will smell nice once more.

Invest 36 days today and give yourself a chance of the future health and happiness you deserve.

Did you know it only takes 48 hours to completely rid your body of nicotine. So why do people wait nearly three weeks and then return to smoking?

How is the Programme Designed?

This is a mix of hypnosis  and practical tools which will include:

Techniques to raise motivation, for smoking and you can use them for life.

• Determine and promote your individual motivating factor to stay a nonsmoker
• Build confidence giving you more confidence to reach your goal of quitting
• Give stress management techniques
• Use NLP to manage anxiety and motivation
• Hypnosis for sleep issues

I will never quit,
it's too hard!

If you have tried before and relapsed only to return to your smoking habit it could be because you were not ready to quit, you were quitting alone, your motivation was not in place or you had not prepared for the amount of change becoming a nonsmoker takes.

Quitting using Willpower alone fails for 95-97%

Using will Power alone results in just 3-5% of people smoke free a year later according to the charity Quit. To have the best chance of beating smoking use a mix of approaches which will work together to build your confidence, build your resolve and pre-empt any problems. Quitting is hard, but going it alone is harder than doing it in groups, so join the Sheffield quit smoking programme to improve your chances of success.

Learn to cope with the psychological affects of NOT smoking

When you are attempting to quit smoking you may experience a whole range of difficult psychological effects. You may experience stress, anxiety and sleep issues. Some people also become short tempered and find that they feel and behave in ways that can undermine their staying power over the first month after quitting.

The programme is designed to safely deal with all these issues, coming to the group will help you build and maintain your motivation so that you will have the resilience and stamina to keep your cravings at bay whilst you get over the hump.

I will help you to identify and focus on what really motivates you to quit but also to identify the reasons that may cause you to want to return and help put in place measures to prevent these temptations sabotaging your healthy lifestyle plan.

Tips and Tricks to beat Relapse

Using specialist techniques dedicated to preventing relapse, raising self esteem, anxiety management and stress management the Sheffield quit smoking programme has been tailored to help deal with the common effects of quitting smoking and by using these techniques and hypnosis work together to make it more manageable, and enjoyable. The programme is designed to prepare you for the common psychological affects which cause people to lapse and relapse. By having key elements of the programme which deal with:

• Quit smoking anxiety
• Managing stress
• Smoking related Triggers
• Urges and smoking cravings

The Sheffield Quit smoking programme is designed to be a fully incorporated programme which deals with the initial stages of quitting but also the effects of quitting over the crucial first month.

The programme will give you the tools to deal with the unhelpful behaviours which cause some people to relapse including:

• Increased eating leading to weight gain
• How to socialise now you are a non smoker
• High pressure and risky lapse situations
• Relapse and recovery
• What to do with spare time
• What to do with your hands
• How to cope around people who still smoke now you are a non smoker

Support past day 17, the most common time of relapse

The programme is 6 weeks long as most people lapse after day 17 and then give up.

This programme is designed to deal with all the potential pitfalls, whilst making quitting fun, easy and enjoyable.

Within 5 years your body will have recovered so much that your risk of some smoking related diseases are the same as if you have never smoked.

Addictions

The addictions section of the site is here to help you identify your needs and access the appropriate support for you or someone who is struggling with their behaviour. If you are trying to get a better understanding of the condition, whether it is alcohol, cocaine, heroin, gambling, shopping sex, self harming or eating disorders, no matte what you are experiencing this is the place to discover more.  If you want to find our what changes you can do to take control or what professional support is available from Positive Hypnosis, or how effective therapy and hypnotherapy can be in helping you to make sense of your behaviour and support you to get your life back, then follow the links to the relevant sections.

What are addictions?

If you are new to this or are struggling with gambling, alcohol drugs or any other behaviour that has taken over your life and want to understand what is going on, this section will offer some key information about this. There is a quick test to determine if you have an issue, alongside lots of more common questions around what it means when we discuss this issue.

How can you build self esteem? An essential ingredient to beating your addiction?

Self esteem is essential to beating your addiction and living a long happy life in recovery. Are your preparing to change read this section to get yourself ready to build a long lasting recovery. Use the tips and suggestions in the confidence and self esteem section to start to grow within yourself today.

What tools do you need to keep your recovery moving forward from your Quit day?

Understanding what to do to keep your recovery on track is not enough. recovery from any problematic behaviour is not a theoretical process, it is a practical skill which needs to be maintained or the risk of lapse may occur. Use the tools in the Quit Day and Quit Day Tools section to keep motivated and find fulfilment in the early stages of living without using returning to your destructive behaviour.

How do I stop lapse turning into a relapse?

One of the key issues for people in recovery is learning to accept that change is difficult. During the recovery journey lapse though not recommended is a common occurrence. this section will help you to discover different ways to survive a lapse, find these experiences empowering instead of demotivating and as springboards to new learning, re-energising your recovery so that you can successfully break free of the unwanted behaviour. Lapse is just another way of learning about yourself. Use it to learn what does not work and adopt a new strategy which does.

What experience do you have in treating addictions and how effective is it?

I have worked with addicts who are struggling with alcohol, cocaine, heroin, cannabis, gambling. self harming, violence, and other behaviours over the last decade where I have worked in residential rehabs, hospitals and in community projects alongside my confidential private practice.

I use a range of techniques, many listed around the site to allow you to recover and let go of that destructive behaviour. The techniques I use start with gaining an understanding of the situation, the purpose and reasons that the behaviour exists and then use self awareness, self esteem building techniques, stress and anxiety management and goal setting to build a smooth and sustainable new life. The work may include works around managing guilt so you can move forwards and also tools to feel calm and in control again. I also offer support and advice so that the risk of lapse and relapse is reduced. I have used a range of creative approaches and commit fully to supporting a client to reach their addiction, both within the therapy room and beyond.

The use of therapy and hypnosis underpins all these changes so that the new way of being and feeling is done both at a conscious and unconscious level so as to make recovery natural and sustainable, instead of feeling like an effort.

As part of your therapy I will explore the support networks and recovery strategies which we can develop to make the treatment work for you. I have extensive experience in developing support and sustainable recovery. Find Out More Here

How effective is Hypnosis in treating my condition?

Hypnosis treatment is highly effective at breaking negative thinking patterns and behaviour patterns. It is highly effective at supporting anxiety treatment, and helping form new patterns of living and thinking. If you want to feel and think differently use hypnosis as part of your recovery

How can addictions be treated by Hypnosis?

Hypnotherapy can be a very effective way of dealing with problematic behaviours. Hypnosis is a valuable treatment for this condition because it helps to get at the root cause of the issues which the addict is unable to deal with without resorting to their using or repetitive behaviour.

How can you help someone with addiction?

“How can I help someone get help?” This question is often heard in the world of recovery as the various friends, family, carers and professions attempt to deal with the confusion and chaos that behaviour creates. End your confusion and frustration, learn what and how best to help here.

Stress Management Hypnosis in Sheffield

Stress management hypnosis in Sheffield is available through my own Positive Hypnosis practice. I am highly experienced at treating stress by using hypnosis and practical skills to help you to evolve effective coping mechanisms to dealing with stress.

HYPNOSIS CAN REDUCE STRESS SIGNIFICANTLY
Stress is a condition which hypnosis is very effective at managing and treating. Firstly it is vital to understand what causes you to feel stressed and then get it under control using a range of  hypnosis techniques.

Stress management techniques

When treating stress I will support you with hypnosis by using techniques to have a more positive emotional response to the stressors which are currently affecting you. I will also offer hypnotic tools which will result in you being better equipped to respond practically to the stressors which are affect, whether it is family life, financial issues, health, relationship issues or work stress.

BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE
Using hypnosis I will also help you grow your confidence and self esteem as stress evolves from feeling unfulfilled and failing to have the confidence to do things which lead to a life of fulfilment. to assist this I will also help you develop your assertiveness.

Have realistic expectations

I have a long history of helping people to prioritise their lives more effectively as well as to recognise their own needs and act on them. When we neglect our own needs we do not fully relax or feel fully restored and so stress persists.

Stress also evolves from unrealistic expectations, either unrealistic timings or expectations of others or unrealistic expectations of themselves. I will support you to re-balance these expectations so that you reduce the amount of self created stress in your life.

Communicate better to get what you want

Stress is often sourced from poor communication. Poor communication can either happen by being too aggressive in communication or being too passive. I will develop your assertiveness skills to help limit the stresses which develop from communication.

BURN OFF ANY NORMAL STRESS INSTEAD OF STORING IT UP
If you access hypnosis in Sheffield through my practice I will also support you to manage your stress by aiding you  to discover new and innovative ways for you to burn off any existing stress so that you can more effectively manage any normal, day to day stress that you experience.

Hypnosis in Sheffield for Stress

Whether you chose or are even able to access hypnosis in Sheffield, the Positive hypnosis website offers some of the tools which are vital to manage stress. Please look at sections on Addictions, motivation, Confidence and Anxiety.