The Surest Natural Ways to Stop Smoking

The ideal way to stop smoking naturally is by either going cold turkey or using hypnosis to help you combat the addiction.

If you are a non-smoker but planning to smoke, just say no! That technique has worked for many and it can work for you. However, if you are already a smoker but you want to quit, you have two options: cold turkey and hypnosis therapy. These options are the best ways to stop smoking naturally. They will stop your cravings for cigarettes once and for all.

Medications, herbal cigarettes, nicotine candies, gums and patches, and other nicotine substitutes may not be the best ways to stop smoking naturally. They involve substances that you have to use when you crave for cigarettes.

Quit smoking products cost money. Cold turkey and hypnosis are the most cost-efficient ways to stop smoking naturally. Another problem with stop smoking aids is they do not directly deal with your smoking habit. Nicotine replacements only substitute your craving but not eliminate it.

So do yourself a favor. Do the cold turkey or the hypnosis method. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones.

Cold turkey is a good way to stop smoking naturally. It is a sudden and complete withdrawal from smoking without the help of herbal cigarettes and other quit smoking products.

You can succeed in going cold turkey if you have a strong will power, commitment, self-discipline and determination.

Other important factors are the moral support of family, friends and support groups to help you in your commitment struggles. Regular support group meetings with people who also want to quit gives you a sense of belonging because they are experiencing the same struggles as you are.

However, cold turkey is the most difficult way because you instantly stop smoking. It is not a gradual reduction of smoking like in other programs. If you are a long time smoker, the nicotine withdrawal symptoms will show in the first few days.

The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are:

1. Irritability
2. Intense craving for cigarettes
3. Insomnia
4. Tiredness
5. Headaches
6. Tension
7. Problems in concentrating in doing a physical or mental task
8. Increased appetite
9. Weight gain

Pros of Cold Turkey:

• Inexpensive and safe – It will not cost you a thing and is the safest way since it does not use chemical substitutes.
• Cheap substitutes – You can use readily available substitutes like juice, water, regular candies, chewing gums, etc., if you start craving for cigarettes.
• Decrease of withdrawal symptoms – Nicotine withdrawal symptoms decrease over time if you can make it through the early days of cold turkey.

Cons of Cold Turkey:

• Low success rate – Based on several research studies, the success rate is from five to 25%, which means the failure rate is from 75% to 95%. However, the success rate goes up if you combine it with support groups.
• Increased appetite and weight gain – Since nicotine is an appetite suppressant, sudden withdrawal will give you an increase appetite and to keep eating. This could lead to weight gain that could be detrimental to your health.
• Risk of backsliding – a low success rate and high failure rate could mean you are at high risk of going back to your habit even years after you quit. If you are in an environment surrounded by peers who are smoking, it increases your temptation to smoke.

Hypnosis therapy is another way to stop smoking naturally. The method puts you into a hypnotic state through a series of suggestions in your mind.

The purpose of hypnotherapy is to modify your attitudes, behaviors, and emotions to a goal of ending your smoking addiction. Hypnotic suggestions maybe delivered to the person by a trained hypnotist or self-administered by the person himself by doing self-hypnosis using hypnosis CD's.

How to Stop Smoking Naturally Using the Hypnosis Method

• Consult a certified hypnotherapist – Look in the telephone directories, newspaper ads and in the Internet about the availability of a trained Hypnotherapist in your area. A hypnotherapy session in either a group or one on one is a good personalized way to stop smoking naturally.
• Buy a self-hypnosis book – You can research the Internet about self-hypnosis books. You can also go to your local bookstore to ask about self-hypnosis books as part of a quit smoking program.
• Buy a Stop Smoking Hypnosis CD or audio – Ask around or research in the Internet about self-hypnosis audio or video programs for home use. Some Internet sites also sell downloadable self-hypnosis audio or video tutorials.

Benefits of the Hypnosis Method:

• Convenience and comfort – You can do self-hypnosis in the comfort of your own home and at your own pace and time. You can also ask for a recorded self-hypnosis program from a trained Hypnotherapist so you do not have to attend and pay for multiple sessions.
• Higher success rate – Several research studies show that it has a high rate of success ranging from 36% to more than 60%. The success rate depends on how committed you are to the program.
• Reduction of stress – It can teach you how to control and reduce your stress that could be a trigger in your craving to smoke. Stress control can also give you other health benefits.

Let us compare the two methods to determine which is most suitable for your needs.

• Cold turkey will not cost you anything. Hypnosis will cost you by attending hypnotherapy sessions or buying self-hypnosis materials.
• Some research studies have shown that hypnosis has a higher success rate than cold turkey when trying to stop smoking naturally.
• Will power, commitment, determination, self-discipline and the support of family, friends and support groups are key factors to the success rates of both cold turkey and hypnosis.
• Cold turkey and hypnosis do not require artificial substitutes and directly address the nicotine addiction problem.

You can stop smoking naturally. Looking at the comparisons, the best way is by undergoing hypnosis. Hypnosis can change the way you look at smoking where going cold turkey cannot. The power is in your mind, you just need the right tools to harness those powers to be free from smoking for life.