My First Time—Rising From the Ashes

I was a smoker for 10 years. And my mom never knew. I couldn’t bear to tell her. After all, I wasn’t happy about my “smoker” status myself. I’d tried to quit more than once—so many times, in fact, that I almost gave up. Desperate, I made a last-ditch effort and went to a licensed psychotherapist and hypnotherapist named Elinor Nygren Szapiro (aka Elinor Nygren) in Boulder, Colorado.

Going into my first session, I figured that if hypnotherapy worked at all, it would cure me immediately, like I’d seen on TV. Instead, I learned just how deep my addiction was. I talked on and on to Elly and discovered how greatly smoking impacted so many aspects of my life. I had a lot of work to do. Hypnotherapy might help me move forward, but the responsibility lay with me.
Elly and I began by identifying my triggers—the times of day, situations, or moods when I really craved a cigarette—for example, at night with friends at a bar. For each trigger, we worked to “rewire” the craving so that instead of reaching for a cigarette, I would reach for something else—a glass of water or my running shoes. I would sit in Elly’s office recliner, and she would talk slowly in a calm, soothing voice. The peaceful state I would enter felt almost like falling asleep. I would drift in and out of what she was telling my subconscious. When she asked me to wake up at the end, I couldn’t remember a single complete thought she had uttered, only fragments. At home, though, I began recognizing little changes in my behavior. The “little by little” changed into something bigger—freedom from cigarettes.

We also used EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a memory processing therapy, and guided imagery to help with that transformation. I’d picture myself moving past smoking and how I’d feel. The weekly sessions left me refreshed, optimistic, and ready for the challenge. It has now been 9 months since I’ve had a cigarette. With Elly’s help, I’ve added years to my life. For that, I’m grateful—and I’m sure Mom would be too—if she only knew.