Many of you might be familiar with how hypnosis can help with weight loss and smoking cessation. But, did you know that hypnosis can also be used during pregnancy to help relieve anxiety and aid in calm, natural birth?

Hypnosis has been used for quite some time to help in numerous health-related issues, from relieving IBS symptoms to preparing for surgery to alleviating fear of dental procedures. Many pregnant women are now enjoying the benefits of hypnosis, allowing them to experience natural births with minimal pain.

In order to better understand how hypnosis can help pregnant women, it helps to gain a better understanding of hypnosis itself. To put it in simple terms, hypnosis is intense focus and concentration. Many people have likened the concentration with getting lost in a good book or television program. Utilizing that intense focus, hypnosis can actually slow down your brain waves.

Right now you’re probably in your waking state, which is Beta consciousness. But, by altering your conscious state through hypnosis, you are able to enter Alpha consciousness, where your brain waves actually slow down. And, when you slow down your brain waves you lose the “critical chatter” of the conscious mind and are able to slip in positive suggestions to the subconscious mind. These positive suggestions can be about any behavior you’d like to change, or any outcome you’d like to see take effect, such as having a natural, easy birth.

In addition, when you’re in a relaxed stated and imagining a desired outcome, the brain can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy, and reacts as if the desired outcome was a reality. This phenomenon can be seen in pain management, when hypnotherapists use hypnosis and imagery on pain sufferers to help them lessen the intensity of their pain.

Hypnosis can aid pregnant women in so many different ways and in so many different stages of their pregnancies.

Hypnosis Can Aid in Fertility

Where inability to become pregnant is not due to a medical condition, many women have found relief with hypnosis. There are many who believe that if you can imagine it you can create it, and hypnosis is often paired with imagery to “visualize” oneself becoming pregnant and imagining a baby coming into one’s life. Hypnosis is also used to alleviate stress, which may be inhibiting a woman from becoming pregnant. Of course, women aren’t the only ones whose stress and anxiety may be inhibiting pregnancy. Many men feel the pressure to help their partners conceive. This stress can affect men’s sperm quality.

Hypnosis Can Aid in Helping a Woman Become More Comfortable

Many women experience discomfort from being pregnant, such as morning sickness, the intensity of which can be lessened through hypnosis. In women with high blood pressure, hypnosis can be helpful in helping them to relax, which in turn can help control the symptoms.

Hypnosis Can Help in the Actual Birth Process

Many women are now using hypnosis to help them have their baby naturally with no drugs. Utilizing hypnosis, women can help themselves relax during the baby’s birth. Since pain responses are greatly enhanced with fear and anxiety, creating a sense of calm helps in reducing the sensation of pain. The women will be awake and aware of everything that’s happening, including the contractions, but will be able to dictate to a great extent the intensity of the sensations she feels.

There are numerous hypnosis tapes and CDs available which can help reduce the fears and anxieties associated with pregnancy and the birthing process. If at all possible, it’s preferable to meet face to face with a hypnotherapist who can tailor the hypnosis to your specific fears, anxieties or needs.

How to Find a Hypnotherapist

The first place to look is your own doctor. (It’s always good to have your doctor’s input before beginning any treatment programs). Ask him or her for a recommendation to a good hypnotherapist. If your doctor does not have a recommendation you can utilize internet hypnotist referral networks to find one in your area. One good referral website is www.registeredhypnotist.com, where you can look up hypnotherapists in your area.

Another good internet resource is www.hypnobirthing.com, which lists practitioners across the country who’ve gone through the HypnoBirthing® The Mongan Method, a program specifically tailored to natural birthing.

Whether you plan on a natural birth or not, hypnosis can still help you relax more about the entire birthing process. Becoming more relaxed can help you gain control over your pregnancy, rather than have your pregnancy gain control over you.

Shari Hearn
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/can-hypnosis-help-with-pregnancy-and-childbirth-95855.html

1. Believe you can quit. Studies have shown that belief that you can quit is the most important trait in successful quitters.

2. You must be motivated. Ask yourself on a scale of 1 – 10 (Ten being the most) how motivated you are? If you are not at least a 7, you are not ready. If you are not quite ready, write a list of the reasons you want to quit, and put it on a bulletin board. Also, write down all the health risks involved with from smoking (Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 430,700 American lives each year, cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer, about 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking.) Source: American Lung Association

3. Create a Plan. Choose an date and write it down on your calendar. It is helpful if the date you choose is a special day, like a birthday or anniversary. Make an appointment with a local Certified Hypnotist. Each day before your Quit Date, write in your calendar (__ days till I quit smoking), mentally prepare yourself that you will be quitting on that day. Like many thousands before you, choose a safe and natural method to quit smoking. Hypnosis is the most effective method according to MedScape Medical News. Plan to have water, gum, and healthy foods to offset your smoking triggers. Find a support group, friend, or a quit buddy who you can share your experience with.

4. Work with a local Certified Hypnotist on the day of your Quit Date. Show up for your appointment. Throw away all your cigarettes, ashtrays, any other related paraphernalia. Listen to your Hypnosis CD at least once day for a few weeks. Hypnosis will help you with your triggers, and give you tools to help you reinforce your decision to quit.

5. Make a list of all your triggers. I smoked when I felt, bored, stressed, with coffee, after a meal, in my car etc.. Make a second list of all the activities you will do instead of smoking. Healthy dis-tractors like reading a book, going for a walk, working in your garden, taking a deep breath, chewing gum, lifting weights, riding a bike, listening to music, drinking water.

6. Use Daily Affirmation and place in on your fridge, mirror, or at your desk. Say them to yourself 10 times each morning, afternoon, and evening. I am Happy, Healthy, and smoke-free, Everyday I choose to breathe fresh air into my lungs. Today I am a proud and healthy non-smoker.

7. Tell a Spouse, Friend, or co-worker that will hold you accountable If you are held accountable by someone else it may help you to quit. Signing a contract, may make it more official. Find a support group locally or online.

8. Daily Exercise. If you do not currently have an exercise regiment, start off by walking 10 minutes each day. This will help you release any daily stress.

9. In the beginning, reward your self each day with with a healthy and safe reward. Some inexpensive reward ideas are flowers, a book, and an apple.

10. Don’t give up! This is one of the best decisions you have made in your life. 1000’s of people do it everyday, you are no different. Write a list of the reasons you quit, and the benefits you enjoy from being a non-smoker, and keep them with you at all times in your wallet or purse.

Darren Hiller
http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/ten-simple-steps-to-quit-smoking-with-hypnosis-595202.html

Stop smoking hypnosis clinic in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas – Quit smoking with smoking cessation hypnotherapy. http://ForeverSmokefree.com

Duration : 0:1:22

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: angeles, cessation, diego, franc, francisco, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, hypnotist, las, los, quit, quitting, san, smoking, stop, tausch, vegas

id like to stop smoking and drinking, ive done it before on my own and never lasted more than 6 months before i start again, hypnotherapy will cost hundreds but i am prepared to pay as long as it works

I dunno? I have been hypnotized before–it is wierd!! my friend and her mom went to stop smoking (to the same guy) and her mom quit (2 years and still not smoking), she is still smoking. I was going to do it too, but I think you REALLY REALLY have to WANT to quit for that to work. There is no miracle drug or mind playing games that is going to make you stop…..it has to be mind over matter. They also said some people CANNOT be hypnotized. Good luck

I believe it does work for some people but it can be very expensive.

My Mum tried hypnosis and it worked for her. She did eventually start smoking again but not because the hypnosis didn't work, she just got cocky.

Like everything, it depends on the person and you can only try it.

Watching videos on lung cancer didn't do it. I've cut down
but it's very hard to quit. I've started some hypnotherapy to
learn to relax and breathe deeply and it's increasing my
desire to quit, but I need some things that were the deciding
factor in helping you quit. Thanks very much.

Believe it or not, I tried all the gimmicks and none of them worked. What worked was putting myself in a position where cigarettes were not available for 4 days. ( In 3 days the craving will peak and start to diminish.) I went camping in the woods without cigarettes.
When I returned home, I ate a lot of sugar free life savers. Whenever I found myself wanting a cigarette, (Fidgeting, After meals, Wish I could say after sex, but wasn't that lucky), I popped a sugar free life saver. I used Sugar Free because I didn't want to gain a lot of weight.
I also avoided the places where I enjoyed smoking. The pool hall, bars, etc.
After 3 months, I no longer had the craving. After 6 months I became one of those reformed smokers that complain about everyone else doing what I used to do.
It takes a lot of will power, Good Luck

I am trying to find some kind of support group or class that helps to break habits, I don't want pills or patches. Any suggestions?

I think support is vital, and hugely helpful. Try http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org/meetings.asp
They also have online meetings if there isn't one near you.
Good luck.

1. I've heard of some who go through one private session and never smoke again. I found one local therapist who does it, but at 5-8 sessions. Why would you need so many sessions?

2. Of course I want to quit smoking but the "want" is not there in my head (smokers should understand my meaning) If I am not mentally prepared, if the "want" is not there in my head, will hypnosis still be beneficial to quit smoking?

Hello Misty

As a hypnotherapist myself you have more chance of gaining your dream to be a non smoker with sessions, rather than a one off. One off's can tend to fail for most as it does not always address all of the aspects that the individual has that keep them a smoker.

Hypnosis & NLP can help you to create that 'want'.

I hope that you get on well with your chosen therapist & become a happy, healthy non smoker as a result – good luck.

Sadhara
> see profile

With the push today to get everybody to quit smoking, today a smoker can choose a wide range of stop smoking treatments of his own personal choice. With different choices of a stop smoking treatment coming out all the time, if one doesn’t work for you then another one may – or you can choose several types of treatment to work together.

But the best stop smoking treatment will be your own determination and will to want to quit – if you don’t want to, then the entire stop smoking aids together will not work. Once you decide to quit, and chose the date you are throwing away your last cigarette, the option you choose as a treatment is the one you are the most comfortable with: inhalers, patches, injections, pills, pills, or cold turkey. This can be natural or traditional medicine – with everything being a matter of personal preference or medical concerns.

The cold turkey method has an advantage over all other treatments, as the nicotine will be out of your system in just a few days. But the largest disadvantage is the withdrawals will be extremely intense and painful. But what happens is the body demands its maximum amount of nicotine that it has had over the years. Long-term heavy smokers use this method over all the others – about 90% of smokers will suffer through these first 72 hours to two weeks of exhausting and hard cold-turkey from nicotine to make the body 100% nicotine clean and chemical withdrawn.

And as you read this, you think of pain and suffering instead of a short period of withdrawal but of the 90% of smokers who use it, they have a larger chance of success than with the other stop smoking treatments. The body recognizes there will be no nicotine offered and the pain and withdrawal stress will disappear, as compared to a slow and easy treatment. The body knows it will eventually be getting some amount of nicotine, creating some form of chronic state of drug withdrawal. It is a matter of choice – two weeks compared to life.

If cold turkey doesn’t appeal to you, try one of the other popular stop smoking treatment for nicotine replacement therapy. It gives the smokers a wide range of products to choose from with each product releasing a small amount of nicotine into the body, negating the urge to smoke. Some of the nicotine products that have been developed to kill the smoking urge are: the nicotine inhaler, nicotine gum and the nicotine patch. Or the smoker can use a pill like Zyban to stop smoking.

Zyban prods the pituitary gland to release endorphins in the bloodstream, which, in turn, cause a positive upswing in the smoker’s mood. Generally, a Zyban course lasts 8 to 12 weeks and should be taken under medical supervision.

A few other unique methods is to quit naturally, using the time-tested Asian therapy of acupressure. In this therapy, silver needles are used to release energy inside the body while creating a sense of well being, assisting the smoker to combat withdrawal symptoms. Another way to combat withdrawal symptoms is to take laser treatment. The low intensity laser beam stimulates the release of endorphins, and kills the urge to smoke. Some smokers also use herbal cigarettes to give up the habit.

Besides this, the smokers can take the help of clinics or self-help groups that provide advice and guidance. Such clinics provide counseling to individuals who want to give up smoking. They conduct mind exercises to improve an individual’s will power and the desire to return to smoking. Hypnosis is yet another method that can be used to give up smoking.

Considerable self-discipline is needed for any of these treatments to work. More often than not, smokers give up smoking for a few days or a few weeks and then pick up the habit again. They need the support of family members and close friends during this troublesome period. To quit smoking and recover from the nicotine addiction is a period of readjustment of the mind and body. Over time, the body and mind combination heals itself and breaks free of the addiction, teaching itself to function without cigarettes or any form of tobacco on a dependency level.

The same way different people smoke and are addicted differently, they will also quit and recover in the same ways. Some can quit and walk away with no symptoms or problems, while others double over with pure intense physical pain with multiple symptoms. This is why there are so many different stop smoking treatments for assorted types of smokers. Know yourself and what works the best and the most efficient way.

Mike Singh
http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/stop-smoking-treatments-which-one-is-the-best-84966.html

Hypnosis may help make resolutions a reality Houston Chronicle, United States - 3 hours ago While hypnosis has its skeptics, it has believers as well. Pennell said hypnosis can treat smoking, weight control, phobias, procrastination, anxiety, …

Read the rest of this entry »