Tapping Out of a Smoking Addiction

When Tod came in for his session he was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and had been smoking most of his life. Over the past eight months he had made tremendous improvements in his health. He was now at a good healthy weight and feeling better than he had in years. He wanted to keep going with his health improvements, but knew he couldn't progress further until he quit smoking. He had one carton of cigarettes left and was thinking he might possibly quit when he finished that...

Tod had been smoking since he was 14 years old. He had quit three times before, each time for about two years. He knew he could quit because he had done it before, but he was also anticipating how terrible he would feel during the transition period - and how much he would miss smoking! Part of him felt ready to quit now, but another part felt resistant and wanted to put it off as long as possible.

Tapping is a process that works deeply with the primitive, non-verbal part of the brain - the part that holds and controls habits, patterns, stress, and traumatic events. By tapping on the same meridian points used in acupuncture, we send this part of the brain signals of calm and peace, letting it know it can safely release old habits, patterns and stress.

Tod was skeptical about this tapping thing, but willing to give it a try.

When I asked him how he felt when he thought about quitting, he said he felt anxious and stressed at a level of an 8. We tapped on this stress and anxiety and he was amazed at how it dropped to a 1.

We then imagined and tapped on a series of different future events. We imagined his first day as a non-smoker, waking up and wanting to reach for his cigarettes. He again felt stressed at a level of an 8, a tightness in his solar plexus and a longing for a cigarette in his mouth. He was again amazed at how quickly his stressed feeling dissipated with the tapping.

He also imagined being in a conference call without his usual cigarette in his hand. He again felt stressed and was again surprised at how quickly this lowered with the tapping.

In the past there had always been a day about a week into quitting that was especially intense. We took a visit back to one of those days. Tod's younger self was extremely stressed and desperately wanted a cigarette. Tod was able to comfort his younger self by letting him know that the first couple of weeks are the hardest, but after that it gets easier and easier. He was able to take his younger self to a scene where he had pulled over on the side of the road - NOT to smoke as was his usual habit, but to completely enjoy the beauty of the mist in the redwood forest. He was able to be fully present to the magic of the scene and not have to be controlled by the need for the cigarette. We focused on that moment - Tod and his younger self fully enjoying the scene in nature without any longing for a cigarette whatsoever. When Tod opened his eyes, he said, "I think I may be ready to throw that last carton away and just quit now. What am I waiting for?!"

We spoke about how Tod could use the tapping process he had learned every time he craved a cigarette.

It has been a month and Tod is still a non-smoker. He said it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in the past or as bad as he had feared. The tapping has continued to help calm his nerves and empower him to make a powerful choice each day for his health and longevity.

If you have any kind of habit or pattern in your life that you are ready to change, but feel blocked or stuck, give tapping a try! Visit http://www.beyondinsomnia.com or email  jen@beyondinsomnia.com for a free consultation today!



 By Jennifer C Jackson


Article Source: Tapping Out of a Smoking Addiction