Hypnosis To Stop Smoking does not work.

Some say, hypnosis to stop smoking does not work.

It works, but certainly not 100%.

When people call NLP Hypnosis Centre they ask.

Do all your clients in the “Smoking Cessation Program” actually quit?

Most do, but not all. Not 100%.

In the case of NLP Hypnosis Centre, in London, Ontario we do not have an exact statistic because some clients simply do not keep in contact for a long time, but the percentage of those who do not stop smoking It is very low, I would say around 10%.

In NLP Hypnosis we offer guarantees.

  • If you do not experience hypnosis your money is refunded, 100%.
  • If you go back to smoke after a while, we will give you FREE reinforcement sessions.

Since we started, very few people have used these guarantees, because most clients go into hypnosis, most clients stop smoking using hypnosis.

So, why hypnosis, sometimes, does not work to stop smoking?

Possible reasons:

  • Fear of being controlled in hypnosis.
  • They really do not want to stop smoking.
  • They expect something different from what hypnosis really is.
  • Lack of rapport between the client and the hypnotist.
  • Inexperience and lack of training of the hypnotist.

Let’s elaborate a little more.

When I do an analysis of the client, who have not entered into hypnosis or have not quit smoking, a factor always comes up … it was his o her spouse or a family member, who called initially to make the appointment because the relative wanted them to test if Hypnosis could help him or her to stop smoking.

Many resort to hypnosis after trying other methods, such as nicotine patch, without success, and know little or nothing about hypnosis. Sometimes only what they have watched on YouTube … and as we know on YouTube there is good information but there is also a lot of exaggerated or false information and in the case of hypnosis it is more the second.

What is hypnosis?

Putting it in simple form, without going into many details (explained in other articles), hypnosis takes you into the hypnotic state that is a state of total concentration, focused on a goal.

During the hypnotic state you set aside the Critical Faculty, also called the Critical Factor – temporarily – and accept positive suggestions more easily.

Note 1 … relaxation is part of hypnosis, but not always. A person can be running or exercising and enter hypnosis.

Note 2 … during hypnosis it could happen that you lose notion of what happens around you, but often not. Hypnosis is not sleeping and many times you will be fully aware of what goes on around you.

The two previous observations are important. Analyzing the clients we have had at NLP Hypnosis Centre and those who have not stopped smoking, some times it has been our mistake because probably our hypnosis pre-talk was no clear or did not answer correctly the questions they had.

The goal of having a “talk” before the actual hypnosis, before the induction is that the client understand exactly what to expect before, during and after the actual hypnosis induction.

And the talk after the hypnosis is also very import. We always do a little bit of analysis after the hypnosis and we ask the client:

  • Do you feel that you experienced hypnosis?
  • If a friend asks you, what did you feel? What is hypnosis? What would you say?

Interestingly I have never had a client saying, “no, I did not experience hypnosis”, but I had a couple of clients that a couple of days later called me and say “it did not work for me, I spent two days without smoking, but I went back to smoking “,” the truth is that I do not think I was hypnotized, I never lost consciousness, I listened to all your words”.

Obviously they expected to lose consciousness … obviously our hypnosis pre-talk did not clarify their doubts about what hypnosis is.

Some times is fear to ask from their part, some times is that we didn’t motivate them to ask and/or we did not answer with all the information they needed.

Another detail is that we offer a guarantee … “if you do not experience hypnosis, we give you back your money, 100%” and “if after quitting smoking for a while you go back to smoking, we will give you free sessions”.

Talking with colleagues hypnotists and hypnotherapists … the vast majority does not offer guarantees, they do not agree with offering a guarantee.

Why not offer a guarantee in hypnosis?

The reasons are basically two …

  • They tell me … Have you seen a Health Care Professional offering a guarantee?
  • When we offer a guarantee we provide them “with an easy way out”. For the client who actually wants to quit smoking and even more for the client who does not really want to quit smoking but who is motivated or pressured by someone else.

Sometimes I have thought about removing the guarantees and it is something that always comes back to discussion but in NLP Hypnosis Centre we have used them for so long that it is already part of the culture of our company.

At NLP Hypnosis Centre our goal is your complete satisfaction.

Another factor that could influence the positive outcome of hypnosis to stop smoking is the rapport between the hypnotist and the client.

On YouTube a person criticized me for my accent, and of course I am very aware of my accent, but I have never had a client who told me “I do not understand you” or “I want you to give me back my money because I do not understand you well”.

Language use is a key in establishing rapport and having an accent of course could be a problem, that’s why I ask if my accent is a problem.

Moreover, for several years here in London, Ontario I was an instructor of Computer Literacy and always at the end of the program I did an anonymous survey and among the questions was … Do you think that my accent has influenced your learning in some way? And the answer was always no.

I believe that rapport with my clients has not been a factor. Even those who have not quit smoking sometimes stay in contact with me.

I think any hypnotist or hypnotherapist who uses hypnosis to Stop Smoking, for Smoking Cessation, will tell you that success is never 100%.

It is important to realize that hypnosis is not a magic wand, it is not a cure all, it is not a special power that magically I say a couple of suggestions and goodbye to the cigarette.

In the end, in our case at NLP Hypnosis Centre, I think there are three main factors why, sometimes, hypnosis to stop smoking does not work.

  • One, that the client does not really want to stop smoking, which shows that hypnosis is not mind control.
  • Two, not given clients a good hypnosis pre-talk in where the person understands correctly what to expect, and motivate clients to ask all the necessary questions to clarify their doubts.
  • Three, not using correctly the appropriate technique for the clients based on their way of learning, including the hypnotic and post-hypnotic suggestions.

Many hypnotists and hypnotherapists will tell you that the information chat before hypnosis is vital, since that is where you can eliminate myths, and false information about hypnosis.

At NLP Hypnosis Centre we say that you do not need to “believe” in hypnosis, but you do need to follow the instructions during the hypnotic process.

It is important that you know exactly what to expect … and that you experience hypnosis, even before the actual induction for Stop Smoking with Hypnosis, that is why many times before the Hypnosis Stop Smoking program, we do some exercises, tests or games, which have as purpose that you “feel” what hypnosis is.

With families and groups I do a little bit of “stage hypnosis” so they have fun and at the same time they experience hypnosis.

Some times clients are afraid, even if they say “no, I’m not”. They are afraid of been controlled and when doing a little of stage hypnosis games and showing them how they are the ones in control, they enjoy hypnosis more easily.

Our goal is your complete satisfaction … that’s why we say “if you do not experience hypnosis, your hypnosis session is totally free. We give you back your money, 100%. “

Blessings and Peace Profound.

Olivier Hidalgo. NLP Hypnosis Centre. London, Ontario. Canada.