New Book By University Of Calgary Professor Tackles Nicotine Addiction Through Hypnotism

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 17 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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In his fifth and new self-published book Breathe, Freedom: Kicking the Crap Out of Cigarettes, Dr. Kevin Alderson, a clinical hypnotist and associate professor in applied psychology at the U of C, uses hypnotic suggestions and offers a host of other methods that he is confident will make readers kick the habit for good.

"If you want to quit, read this book and follow the program," says Alderson. "It's different from everything else out there. Since the '80s, there hasn't been anything new in psychology treatments for quitting smoking. I've got something new and this book offers the best and most current research available on quitting smoking combining hypnotherapy, behaviour therapy and pharmacotherapy treatments."

Dedicated to his father and a close friend who both died from lung cancer, the book begins by telling a fictional story about Freedom, an adolescent boy who is bullied by a gang. Determined to fight them, he learns Aikido (Japanese martial art) and defeats them. His victory turns into an invitation to join the gang and smoking a cigarette is one of the rites of passage. Freedom becomes addicted to cigarettes and the rest of the story chronicles the ups and downs of Freedom's life and how with the help of his Sensei (marital arts teacher) and psychologist, learns to quit.

Throughout Freedom's story, Alderson makes hypnotic suggestions about quitting smoking but the reader won't always know when a suggestion is being made. "I hope people are intrigued by this alone and read the book," says Alderson. "And the story itself is engaging and meaningful. I hope even non-smokers will read it. For the smokers, I want it to add to their motivation and get them excited about quitting."

Alderson's success with hypnosis lies in the hundreds of patients he's helped to quit smoking and the many more with other goals. He's the author of four previous books including Grade Power: The Complete Guide to Improving your Grades Through Self-Hypnosis. In this new book, self-hypnosis again plays an important role.

"People are most suggestible to their own voice," says Alderson. "The program gives step-by-step instructions for readers to self-hypnotize. Feeding our mind with positive suggestions is one of the best ways to accomplish a goal."

Combining fiction and non-fiction is one of the unique aspects of the book as is Alderson's BAMM! approach. It includes four steps in overcoming a craving:

B (Breathe) - deep abdominal breathing

A (Affirmations) - telling yourself a positive affirmation for example, the reason for quitting smoking

M (Massage) - massage the hand used to smoke with or the ear

M! (Muscle contraction) - contract all muscles at once

"When people quit smoking, it's the first two weeks that can be the hardest," says Alderson. "They're dealing with both a psychological habit and physical addiction. The BAMM! approach relaxes and shifts the focus of a craving to something else, something positive."

The Breathe Freedom program is based on Alderson's review of 4,000 journal article abstracts from 1967 to present, and picking the best 100 articles in the psychological literature about quitting smoking. It also includes practices from Alderson's 20 years of experience as a psychologist and hypnotherapist.

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Source: Veronica Hoskins
University of Calgary

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