Client stops chewing tobacco, and more….

I contacted Erika at Cascade Hypnosis Center during one of the darkest periods of my life. My 22-year marriage was ending; my 14-year-tenure with a large software manufacturer had been cut during a massive reduction in force; and my father died unexpectedly – all of this within a span of 3 months. By the time I called Erika, I had increased my consumption of loose leaf chewing tobacco to about one pouch per day. It was a tool for numbing my mind and my senses. It was – I’m now certain – a way of poisoning myself as I pursued some kind of death wish. (Note, a pouch of loose leaf chewing tobacco costs about $10, depending on where you buy it. This wasn’t a cheap addiction.)

I had tried to quit chew several times because I was intellectually aware of the possible dangers (mouth cancer and heart disease) but it was all too easy to pick up another pouch and put off the task of quitting for another day. A trip to Fred Meyer for groceries meant passing three places where I routinely purchased chew…three places where I could easily succumb to temptation.

I knew it was essential to quit if I wanted to watch my son grow older. I knew it was essential to quit if I wanted to be a good example for my son. So I contacted Erika. Erika has a calming and empathetic presence. Working with her involved one part counseling session and one part hypnotic reprogramming. We talked extensively about how I got started chewing, how I felt when I chewed, and how I wanted my life to change. She is an active listener with a deep understanding of what it means to fight addiction. The hypnosis sessions felt like peaceful, guided meditations…meditations that went very deep into my subconscious mind. After each session, I eased back into the conscious world with a sense of joy that absolutely felt like it was radiating from within, a sense of joy that forced a simple smile onto my face and lasted for hours.

As a result, I am tobacco free. Those trips to Fred Meyer now include this curious thought process of remembering how I used to be and a sense of awe that I feel absolutely no temptation. On several occasions I have found myself looking at my brand of chew over a clerk’s shoulder in a store and thinking, “Wow! Nothing. I feel nothing. No craving.” It’s almost as if hypnosis resulted in the excision of some weaker, sicker part of me. I am grateful for this change in my life. I am grateful for Erika’s help.
-Jim B., Bellingham, WA*