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Will I feel something immediately from the Smoking Cessation audio or is it cumulative? |
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Monday, 14 June 2004 |
How long do I have to listen to the guided imagery before it starts to work? I’m a chain smoker who is going to start listening to the CD for smoking cessation..
Dear BR,
How long do I have to listen to the guided imagery before it starts to work? I’m a chain smoker who is going to start listening to the CD for smoking cessation. Will I feel something immediately or is it cumulative?
Tom
Dear Tom,
I wish I had one neat answer for you, but I don’t. Most likely the answer is yes to both questions - yes, you will feel something different immediately, and yes, the effects are cumulative. It depends on the strength of your addiction and the strength of your wiring for responding to an immersive, right brain technique like guided imagery.
Some people find the smoking cessation imagery so calming and diverting that they find they can quit and stay that way without too much discomfort. They use little else. The cumulative effects then keep them comfortable and motivated to stay the course until the psychological and physical pulls are under better control.
Others need to muster everything they can bring to bear and require a multimodal approach. They use the imagery in conjunction with a nicotine patch, a personal coach or buddy, and/or a highly structured, behavioral program. Yoga and breathing meditation exercises can also be recruited to help.
So it really depends. In addition to my own imagery CD, there is a great self-hypnosis, smoking cessation CD by Emmett Miller that we are now carrying. And soon we’ll be adding an excellent, complete behavioral program, complete with manual and CD, by the legendary guided imagery trainer, David Bresler . But no matter what you use, it’s all going to depend on your sticking to your plan and, when you get that urge to smoke, using the methods at hand vs. borrowing that cigarette. There’s no substitute for commitment to your intention, my friend!
I really do know how hard it is to quit, and you have my best wishes for your success. I quit a 2.5-pack-a-day habit 34 years ago (Camel nonfilters, no less!!) and I still count it among the toughest things I ever did, and among the things I’m most proud of doing. I was desperately addicted to smoking, and couldn’t imagine how I was going to live without it. For months, every day was a day of not smoking, first and foremost. When I got the impulse, I’d take a deep breath and mutter something encouraging to myself. If I can do it, you can too. (And food will taste so much better!! Growing things will smell so fabulous! There are rewards, I promise.)
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