Psychologist Dr. Carol Francis serves Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, El Segundo, San Pedro, Carson, Harbor City, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Long Beach, All of the Los Angeles South Bay Area.
Psychologist, Psychotherapist & Counselor
Marriage, Family and Child Therapist
Certified Medical Hypnotherapist
Stop Smoking
KISS AWAY Your Cigarettes
Keep it Super Successful by using the KISS Method.
310-543-1824
| Serving the Los Angeles & South Bay Areas
"Stop Smoking Now!!! KISS Method"
Hypnosis to help you stop smoking is extremely powerful. Everyone is at a different stage or different readiness to stop smoking however. Individual sessions in person or Skype sessions are tailored to you specifically. I will interview you and determine the type of suggestions, the stage of readiness, the preliminary steps you need to take to be successful and your different personality qualities that will help you quit as soon as possible. This way, the person-to-person sessions match you very specifically. Nonetheless, the generic video below will help too.
The following video and audio is a lively stop smoking hypnotic process offered to help you progress in your readiness to quit smoking. It is generic. This quit smoking video does not put you to sleep but keeps you actively engaged with different suggestions that address your will-power, your feeling states, and your logical and reasonable states. Individual sessions address your very unique styles and strengths extremely specifically. Both this video and individual sessions can be very useful.
Quit Smoking The "KISS" AWAY (Keep It Super Successful)
KISS AWAY your cigarettes and enjoy a life of fresh, free breathing the KISS AWAY.
As we all know, cigarette smoking is a physiologically, emotionally, socially, biochemically (etc) addictive. Cigarette smoking's satisfactions are parallel to its' horrible consequences for many. Quitting can be extremely difficult. But my experience helping people stop suggests it need not be so impossibly hard to quit.
Stop smoking the "KISS AWAY"
I happen to know and have tested that you can stop smoking, very successfully. I call it the KISS AWAY, meaning--Keep It SUPER SUCCESSFUL AWAY. There are many aspects of this approach to stop smoking. I will delineate as much as I can below in the space allotted. Cheers to you as you find yourself excitedly motivated to stop smoking!!
Cigarette smoking is addictive and habituating. Physiologically, biochemically, and neurologically, smoking alters your body's processes in a manner that makes the nicotine and other additives a part of how your body functions throughout the day.
In addition, your smoking is emotionally satisfying to you. For some, social moments are enriched by smoking. The guys' night playing poker or watching sports or the girls' night out clubbing. Others tolerate social moments more calmly because of smoking's stress reducing qualities. Taking a break from the maddening work load or conferences and committees using the excuse of "going for a smoke" is yet another way smoking becomes a socially reinforced habit.
Anxiety, anger, fear, stress? Yep! smoking eases those moments too both physically and emotionally.
I could continue to explain the various ways smoking is physiologically addictive and personally habituating. But, the "KEEP IT SUPER SUCCESSFUL" AWAY of stop smoking aims to focus on remedies.
My work with smokers over the last 30 years has demonstrated that the most optimal and definite forms of quitting smoking implement simultaneously no less than five interventions that address the impact or causes or patterns of your smoking. Then after those five or more interventions are easily and comfortably in place, hypnotherapy becomes very successful in motivating you to stop smoking and in giving you the power to stop. These five interventions, at the least, include at least one pattern or action change that addresses each of the reasons why you are still using a substance which you desperately wish you could stop using.
I'll divide these reasons into the following categories:
- Category I: Physiology (Smoking for the physiological affects that alter Metabolism, Energy Management, Chemical Process that reduce chemical anxiety reactions.)
- Category II: Biochemistry (Smoking which alters nutrients and chemicals that circulate throughout your body in your blood.)
- Category III: Neurologically (Smoking which alters your nervous system such as brain functions, muscular reactions, and organs that help regulate your emotions and thoughts.)
- Category IV: Social patterns (Smoking used for fun, "fitting in," "letting loose," "hanging out," "calming down," "transitioning into awkward situations," "taking a break from the maddening crowd or pressures.")
- Category V: Emotional patterns (Reducing depression, anxiety, stress, anger, sadness or loneliness.)
- Category VI: Habits of the day (Where you shop; how you prepare for the day; rituals of your evening, off moments at work, driving patterns, social activities.)
- Category VII: Nicotine Addiction--a BIG YES FOR MOST FOLKS
- Category VIII: Smoke--just because--and hate it most of the time--but not all the time.
When I work with individuals to help them stop, I review with them these categories and find out their own personal configuration of why they smoke and what the immediate benefits are that keep them addicted and habituated.
Then, for each of these categories above, we find interventions that can be put in place within 7 days that address the needs of those categories. For example, for the physiological category, I find that these smokers tend to like to drink coffee or liquor with a "smoke" or "smoke" ritualistically after or before a meal. Therefore, we change certain components of their meal (easily) that actually aggravate their physiological need to smoke.
When I detect that neurological components of a person's body keeps them attached to smoking, we address the nutritional, hormonal or chemical components that are being impacted by their smoking and introduce vitamins, minerals, and perhaps medications that will improve the health of their neurology and thus lessen the attraction to smoking.
Social patterns related to smoking requires putting into place interventions that alters one or more social component of smoking that allows the person to be less interested in smoking. For example, if Sue is more likely to smoke after a tense board meeting on Thursday, we put into place an activity that immediately requires her attention after the board meeting in a location where she will not want to smoke and create a quick pleasurable re-inforcer that feels much better than smoking.
A key intervention to Category VII: Nicotine Addiction includes the patches and relatively recent medications that have been introduced from pharmaceutical companies, if desired. Herbal products are available as are cigarettes with reduced nicotine or "natural" cigarettes that have no additives. These types of cigarettes temporarily help transition an individual into a ready state to quit smoking.
Well, I could detail all my interventions in regard to these 8 categories, but the key for you here is to address the many aspects of your addiction and habituation to smoking and find no less than 5 interventions to change that improve those reasons for your addiction. Put those five interventions into place simultaneously or in a sequence within a 7 day period of time.
Now, I know that this does not sound simple so far. But the truth is, your will-power and cold-turkey approach is far less success and far more difficult.
But we are not through yet!!
After the interventions have been put in place, tested, and modified until a good fit is found, I implement the motivational portions associated to quitting. I use various forms of hypnotherapeutic approaches that utilize the power of the unconscious to want to stop smoking. This likely will include emotional fears that smoking will cause a dreaded and truthfully horrible cancerous death. Aversion to the smell, taste and sight of a cigarette also is helpful and quite effective.
Next, I use hypnotherapeutic interventions to heighten all the positive reasons for quitting smoking. For example, most smokers simply hate that embarrassing and inconvenient need to locate a "smoking zone" or despise that driven, obsessive need to yet again purchase another highly taxed pack of slow-death inducers.
Three sessions of hypnotherapy with various tools integrated into the conscious and unconscious usually is all that is needed. However, if the smoker has stopped before and resumed over and over again within a 6-12 months after stopping multiple times before, a pattern has been established. In this case, one follow-up session prior to the "anniversary" cycle cuts that pattern off.
The hypnosis is a powerful tool but I find that when it is used with at least 5 other practical and specific interventions that address at least 3 of the Categories described briefly above, that the "staying" power of the hypnotic suggestions is wonderfully good. The success rate increases many times when we address the "whole story" behind the addictive and habituated aspects of smoking.
Truth be known, quitting smoking is not that hard when you have everything in place and ready to go.
I could include many more details than I have today. But hopefully this will be a start for you toward feeling clear, free and fit as a nonsmoker.
Best of days,
Dr. Francis 310-543-1824
American Cancer Associations
I am so excited by how businesses are eagerly embracing the opportunity to support the American Cancer Associations' Great American Smokeout (Nov 18th). We went door to door and asked retailers and small businesses if they are interested in placing a trash can with a banner upon it to encourage people to quite smoking on that day. Not only did they eagerly embrace the opportunity, they suggested contributing a small and encouraging token from their store if possible. Small businesses without corporate ties were the first eager to participate coming from their heart to be a part of the community spirit on this national day. The larger businesses however are catching the wind of excitement and corporate headquarters are dicing the idea around a bit and then saying yes.
Their participation is so easy too. They merely supply a trash can and place a banner we are supplying in their store front or on the trash can. Patrons or passersby can dump their cigarettes (etc.), be gifted a token congratulations from the store owners and grab our STOP SMOKING TODAY CD free to help them throughout the days ahead to stop smoking. We usually retail the CD for $25. Mary O'Maley, an hypnotherapist, and Dr. Carol Francis, a psychologist in this community for 26 years, were thrilled when the American Cancer Association was eager for us to rally this campaign. Hopefully, the collective excitement will help many stop--free at last.
I don't know if you ever smoked or now do, but the strain of smoking and maintaining the very demanding habit of doing so actually plagues at least 70% of the smokers. Every smoker I met while going door to door, was thrilled with the idea of ending on a day when many would be doing the same. There are many ways to assist the smoker to stop. It would be fabulous to include this alternative as a true assistance to the South Bay. Let me know when one of your reporters can call or visit so we can pass this and other information about how individuals who want to stop smoking can stop.