Hypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? Essay examples -- Hypno

Hypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? â€Å"And now, when I snap my fingers, you will never smoke again! †Could there be something more useful to hypnosis than just magical entertainment? Are there applications for hypnosis in the medical realm? Hypnotherapists now advocate hypnosis as a near panacea, claiming it can help one lose weight, stop smoking, improve memory, improve athletic ability, reduce stress, build self-confidence, overcome phobias, find lost articles, and even manage chronic pain (http://sageways. com/sageline/0196/hah. html). It has been estimated that some 390,000 Americans die prematurely from cigarette smoking each year. Smoking has been linked as a major risk factor to lung cancer (and many other forms of cancer), heart disease, chronic lung diseases, stroke, and respiratory illness. However quitting smoking can decreases the risk of these chronic illnesses and those who quit smoking generally live longer and healthier than those who do not. As scientific evidence revealing the harmful eff ects of smoking has accumulated to the of point universal acceptance, smokers are now seeking heavily (even desperately) to terminate their potentially fatal habit. Furthermore, smokers usually must make multiple attempts to quit their habit before reaching the point of abstinence. In such despair, an unorthodox treatment such as hypnosis can arise as a tantalizing option. But can a hypnotherapist really use hypnosis to end such an ingrained habit, or are the seemingly magic powers of hypnosis being used to swindle money from the gullible and the desperate? Who Advocates Hypnosis? In general hypnotherapists and other alternative therapists endorse hypnosis. Many of these advocates do not possess a... ...ly Physician, 42(5Suppl), 70S-73S. Schwartz, J. L. (1992). Methods of Smoking Cessation. Medical Clinics of North America, 76(2), 451-76. Schubert, D. K. (1983). Comparison of Hypnotherapy with Systematic Relaxation in the Treatment of Cigarette Habituation. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 39(2), 198-202. Spiegel, D. , Frischhlz, E. J. , Fleiss, J. L. , & Spiegel, H. (1993). Predictors of Smoking Abstinence Following a Single-Session Restructuring Intervention With Self-Hypnosis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(7), 1090-7. Sorensen, G. , Beder, B. Prible, C. R. , & Pinney, J. (1995). Reducing Smoking at the Workplace: Implementing a Smoking Ban and Hypnotherapy. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 37(4), 453-60. Van Dyck, R. & Hoogduin, K. (1990). Hypnosis: Placebo or Nonplacebo?American Journal of Psychotherapy, 44(3), 396-404.