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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How can I prevent relapse after quitting smoking?

    Related Topics
    Addiction Smoking
    I have heard stories how it is very rare for people to stop smoking after the first time they try to quit. What are ways to ensure that I stay away from cigarettes?
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  • Helen Stabback

    Hypnotherapist

    The best and easiest way to remain a non-smoker after quitting is to have advanced hypnotherapy with a specialist. Hypnotherapy and NLP (neuro linguistic programming) combined, gives you the best change of succeeding because the treatment  allows access to your sub-conscious mind where the smoking habit is stored.

    After experiencing my treatment you will find that you will stop thinking about not smoking and stop hearing that voice in your mind that keeps nagging at you to light one up. This is because both parts of your mind are now on the same team to keep you a non-smoker.

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  • Sherri Mulconry

    Hypnotherapist

    I combine Hypnotherapy, Coaching and Counselling and offer programs to help you release the automatic negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back from … View Profile

    The best way to break any habit permanently is to replace it with lots of positive habits. It is important to create new positive associations. Change your routine as much as possible, for example: if you use to wake up, make a coffee and sit on the patio to have a cigarette, you could create a new habit by waking up and having a shower first, make a coffee and sit in the dining room. If you use to have a cigarette at morning tea time you could create a new habit by going for a quick walk around the block or drinking a glass of water. The more you practice these new habits the quicker they become your automatic associations and the quicker you forget about your habit of smoking. By making lifestyle changes you will be developing a whole new set of coping strategies. This is really important as a lot of people revert back to smoking as soon as a stressful event occurs in their life. If you have already developed these other coping strategies you will be well equipped to deal with stress without the need for a cigarette.

    Also, be very clear and firm that there is no such thing as ‘just one’ cigarette. Once you have stopped smoking you must never touch a cigarette again. View the cigarette as being attached to a whole garbage bag of problems - guilt, worry, toxins - and you would not want to invite that garbage bag back into your life. Understand that it is normal to feel a little bit uncomfortable when you first stop smoking and know that the each day you don't smoke you are becoming closer to forgetting about cigarettes for good. Repeatedly tell yourself it is easy to be smoke free and take one day at a time. Hypnotherapy is a very effective method of stopping smoking for most people. For more information on hypnotherapy visit www.lifemakeovers.com.au and download your free copy of Change Your Thoughts and Change Your Life. 

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  • Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    I quit smoking a couple of years ago.

    In the early stages I used nicotine patches to break the physical dependence (initially a high dose, tapering off over some months).

    I also keep track of the money that I have saved by not smoking. Every so often I spend some of it as a “reward” - a book that I have always wanted, a nice restaurant meal, etc.

    This helps me to stay motivated.

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