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| Perhaps the easiest method to stop smoking - or, for that
matter, to stop any other addiction, be it caffeine, chocolate, cocaine, marijuana, popcorn, or sugar - is through
the use of EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT is based on the idea that any negative emotion is a disruption
in the body's energy field, and by tapping on the body's energy meridians, this disruption can be eliminated, thus
eliminating the emotion. See The EFT Quick-Start Method.
Since smoking is driven by emotion - cravings, boredom, stress, reward, etc. - it is
very treatable using EFT.
The process of stopping smoking using EFT is handled in two stages, requiring two or
three sessions. In the first stage we eliminate the cravings. Cravings are best eliminated
when their intensity is high. I ask clients to refrain from smoking for as long as possible
before coming to see me. Then the client takes out a cigarette and places it in plain sight,
perhaps smelling it or even taking a dry drag from it. Once the craving is as strong as we
can get it, we use EFT to eliminate the cravings, which takes a very short time.
The client and I then work together to find any situation in which cravings for
cigarettes still exist, and we eliminate those cravings. The first session over, the client now has the ability
to stop smoking. However, he/she still has to deal with the physical withdrawal symptoms, which usually last only
2-3 days.
In the first part of the second session we look at whether or not the client was able to quit. If not,
what was it that triggered the need to smoke? What were the rough spots? We work with those emotions to eliminate
them.
The second stage, handled in the second and third sessions, deals with the emotional drivers that cause us
to smoke. Obviously, smoking fulfills a need for us, or we wouldn't do it. This step is important, because without
addressing the basic emotional need it is likely that the addictive behavior will be transferred to some other
addiction such as food, caffeine, or alcohol.
We look at how a person got started. Did their parents smoke? If so, was it a rite of passage to smoke?
If not, was smoking an act of rebellion? Was smoking a way to fit in? Then we look at the different times of day
when the person smokes most often. We try to determine what emotional needs the act of smoking suppresses, so
that these needs may be eliminated.
I tell people to plan for three sessions, but often it only takes two to complete the process. If the third
session is needed, we follow roughly the same outline as in session two. We review the week to determine emotional
highs and lows and address them as required. We then look at any remaining motivations that lead the client to
smoke.
As with any addiction, there is a high tendency for the person to subconsciously not want to quit smoking.
This "psychological reversal" is easy enough to work with, but it requires the person doing some "homework" three
times a day for three weeks. These 20-second exercises help eliminate the possibility that the client will start
smoking again at a later date.
People smoke for many different reasons: to relax, as a reward, to fit in, to stuff their feelings,
to comfort themselves, to escape, to "be a man," to think things through, to be rebellious, to prevent
weight gain, etc. The job of the EFT practitioner is to root out the motivator for each person.
EFT can be done over the phone with most people. Certainly I have had success working with smokers
over the phone. In addition, I hold "Stop Smoking with EFT" workshops. For more information on these workshops,
click here:
(c) 2006 Chip Engelmann
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