THE MIND
To understand how the MINDCODE method works it’s useful to have an understanding of the basic workings of the human mind. We have one mind, however our mind works on two levels; the conscious and the unconscious.
The unconscious mind is the automatic mind and is programmed from birth to respond automatically to the world, in five ways; through repetition, through peak emotional experiences, direction from authority such as parents and teachers, a desire for identity and through our imagination.
You can think of the unconscious mind as the automatic pilot of the mind. It runs all the things we don’t need to think about, including our breathing, heartbeat and immune system, as well as our automatic emotions and our habits, both good and bad habits. The right-brain left-brain model in psychology suggests that the right side of the brain is the seat of the unconscious mind.
And we also have a conscious mind. It is the part of the mind where we tend to live. It is whatever we are aware of in any given moment. We think, we make decisions, and we are motivated to act on those decisions with our conscious minds. It is suggested that the left side of the brain is the seat of the conscious mind.
Both levels of mind are contributing their part to the smoking habit and so to stop smoking permanently both levels of mind must be attended to. Each level of our mind has a different mind language, a different code, if you will. And this is the basis of the MINDCODE approach. It is a whole-mind approach to stopping smoking.
THE HABIT
The conscious mind is the thinking mind. It is where a smoker’s perception of smoking is held, the belief that smoking is enjoyable and that there is some kind of benefit to it, and is from where the motivation, or WANT to smoke, is generated.
Another way to describe this, which is quite easy to relate to, is that when a teenager starts smoking they don’t yet have a craving or NEED to smoke. And that is because the smoking habit has not yet been trained in at the unconscious level of mind.
What a teenager does have when they start smoking, is a very strong conscious motivation or WANT to smoke, based on beliefs, among others, that smoking is cool and that they will be cool if they smoke. And that motivation is so strong that they force themselves through the unpleasant experience of starting smoking.
And so smokers that have smoked for some time have both an unconscious NEED to smoke, based on cravings that have been trained in over time, as well as a conscious motivation or WANT to smoke, based on beliefs that smoking is enjoyable or beneficial in some way.
In order to stop smoking permanently one has to change one’s unconscious habit of smoking, and the resulting craving, as well as one’s positive perception of smoking, and the resulting motivation to smoke. When a person that has successfully stopped smoking relapses after some time, it is a result of a conscious decision to smoke again, because they had not yet completely changed their perception that smoking is enjoyable or beneficial in some way.
THE PROGRAM
Other methods, such as NLP and hypnosis, focus primarily on the unconscious mind. These methods are very effective at removing unconscious cravings, but, of course, they don’t remove the conscious motivation to smoke. And so, after hypnosis one can still decide to smoke, if that is what one wants to do.
The MINDCODE method is different from other methods. We work with both levels of mind, by combining the best of both approaches, to make your transition to a freer healthier lifestyle as easy as possible!
Firstly, the pieces of the smoking puzzle are revealed to your conscious mind, assisting you in changing your conscious perception of smoking, so that you are able to see smoking the way that a non-smoker does. The goal is to change your beliefs about smoking and increase your conscious motivation to stop smoking, so that you WANT to remain a non-smoker for life.
Secondly, we communicate with your unconscious mind. Using advanced NLP and hypnosis techniques that have been selectively designed, based on years of experience, to assist in making stopping smoking as easy as possible for you. We appeal to the unconscious mind’s prime directive, which is guarding your health and survival, to cease the smoking habit and adopt a healthier way of living.
Lastly, we practice a breathing technique. Unfortunately, most smokers that stop smoking experience a 3-day nicotine detox. The effect of the detox can include a sensation of anxiety. Fortunately, with the assistance of the unconscious mind, the detox effect can be completely overridden, or at the very least drastically reduced. And the breathwork assists in alleviating anxiety, within a few breaths.
Following the session, if you are not finding it as easy as you think it should be, you have telephonic support for a period of 7 days. This is to ensure that you do successfully make it through the detox period without smoking.
The stages that were identified are (1) Pre-contemplation – Not thinking about change (2) Contemplation – Thinking about change (3) Preparation – Planning the change (4) Action – Making the change (5) Maintenance – Keeping the change.
The behavioural scientists found that those that complete each stage in a more thorough way are more successful at maintaining the change than those who don’t.
When one fails to maintain the change in their lifestyle a relapse takes them back to an earlier stage. It will either take them back to pre-contemplation, where they just go back into the old behaviour and back into denial. Or it takes them back to contemplation, where they learn from the relapse.
And this cycling through the stages continues until decisional balance is finally achieved. Decisional balance simply means weighing up the cost of making the change versus the cost of not making the change.
So if a person is stopping taking a drug like cocaine, for instance, the cost of making the change might be that they will no longer enjoy the cocaine high and no longer see their cocaine-taking friends. But if they don’t give that up it will cost them their job and their marriage, or whatever it might be for that person.
Simply put, for someone to stop smoking permanently the cost of continuing to smoke must, at least in their own mind, outweigh the cost of stopping smoking. And similarly, the benefits of stopping smoking must outweigh the benefits of continuing to smoke.
When decisional balance is weighed in favour of stopping smoking the whole process of stopping smoking becomes a lot easier. Methods such as NLP and hypnosis have an affect on only the fifth stage, which involves the unconscious work of forming a new habit. They don’t affect the first four stages, that involve the conscious work of achieving decisional balance and convincing oneself that the change is something they want to do.
The MINDCODE method affects all five stages and is designed to assist you to achieve your decisional balance in favour of stopping smoking and staying stopped.
FAQ
Is nicotine a drug like heroin?
Humans have been aware of and used the known psychoactive plant poisons like marijuana, cocaine from the cocoa leaf and heroin from the poppy flower for thousands of years. And nicotine has never been sold on the street as a drug. Nobody would buy it, because you can’t get high from it. In fact it is quite unpleasant to consume nicotine. If a non-smoker, without a tolerance to nicotine, were to use a nicotine patch, within a short period of time they would experience the side effects of poisoning, including elevated heart rate, nausea and anxiety.
What are the effects of nicotine?
When nicotine is first inhaled it can cause nausea, anxiety, headache, increased heart rate and sweaty palms, which are symptoms of poisoning. Over time a smoker gradually builds a tolerance and they no longer experience the poisoning symptoms, only the adrenal response. Heavy smokers, that smoke 40 to 60 cigarettes a day, may eventually experience adrenal fatigue and will no longer experience the adrenal response due to exhaustion of the adrenal glands.
Is smoking really a habit?
Most compulsive behaviours express a physical craving, including “addictions” to watching television and playing internet games. Almost any behaviour that is repeated consistently, where there is also an anticipation of a reward, will eventually develop a physical craving.
Prior to 1993 the definition of compulsive behaviours was distinct from the definition of addictions. The word addiction used to refer to a substance dependency. Now the word addiction applies to any behaviour that is repetitive in nature over which we feel we don’t have control.
What is a craving?
The reason most of us don’t have a craving for driving a car, is because there wasn’t that anticipation of a reward from driving when we learned to drive, that there was from smoking when we learned to smoke.
An unconscious craving is a physical sensation in the abdomen. It can be described as an empty feeling that needs to be filled. It is often referred to as a physical urge to do something. It usually lasts 3 to 5 minutes and if one is distracted by something else, it simply disappears.
Will I experience withdrawal symptoms?
Smoking “withdrawal symptoms” are a combination of detox symptoms, conscious thoughts of smoking and unconscious cravings. The extent to which a smoker experiences one or all of these varies from person to person. The MINDCODE method is designed to address all three of these “symptoms” related to stopping smoking.
Most smokers that stop smoking experience a 3-day nicotine detox. The detox can include symptoms of anxiety. Fortunately, with MINDCODE the detox effect can be overridden or drastically reduced. And the breath-work that is included in the program assists in alleviating anxiety.
What if I relapse?
The person may have stopped smoking for months or even years, and really enjoyed the benefits of being free from smoking, but if at the time they stopped smoking, they believed that a cigarette relieved stress, that could be the reason for a relapse in the future.
Relapse is one of the stages that a person goes through on the journey to stopping smoking permanently. The experience can be used to convince oneself that being free from smoking and living a healthier life is a far better way to live.
ABOUT US
Craig Evans, the principal of the MINDCODE practice, initially began helping his clients quit their smoking habit primarily using hypnosis.
Over time Craig noticed a corresponding pattern with clients that struggled with thoughts of smoking after their hypnosis session and those that relapsed after some time. Many of those same clients experienced no physical withdrawal symptoms.
A search for an answer through the literature ensued. A number of books and articles provided pieces to the puzzle, but there were pieces to the smoking puzzle that were either missing or didn’t make sense.
And so through a number of years of feedback from clients, as well as continued reading through various fields, Craig discovered the missing pieces of the smoking puzzle. And the MINDCODE method evolved into the highly effective program it is.
Craig is a licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Ericksonian Hypnosis and is an expert in the area of smoking cessation. He completed his NLP training in London with Dr Richard Bandler, the founder of NLP, and is a member of the Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Craig furthered his studies in the application of NLP and hypnosis to smoking cessation through Clinical Hypnotherapist and trainer, David Botsford, also based in London. David developed a very successful smoking cessation method that consistently delivers results within one session.
Craig also received certification in the South African Institute of Hypnosis (SAIH) smoking cessation method, and has received training in the hypnotherapy technique of Parts Therapy. Craig is certified as a Parts Therapy Facilitator with the Charles Tebbetts Foundation, in the USA.
Craig Evans
MINDCODE PRINCIPLE
Craig Evans
MINDCODE PRINCIPLE
TESTIMONIALS
COST
R23
R690
R2,070
R46
R1,380
R4,140
R69
R2,070
R6,210
* Least costly and most costly cigarettes averaged from 5 stores
Investment or Expense? Being freed from the habit of smoking is an investment in one’s health and wellbeing for the rest of one’s life. And on average the investment pays for itself within six weeks from savings of money you used to spend on cigarettes! And if you choose our PAYFLEX payment option you can PAY IN 4 EASY INSTALMENTS OVER 6 WEEKS! So your session can pay for itself!
Online Session
R2450 R1950
EARLY-BIRD PROMO!
- Three hour ZOOM or SKYPE session
- Telephonic support for seven days
In-Person Session
R2450 R1950
EARLY-BIRD PROMO!
- Three hour stop smoking session
- Telephonic support for seven days
BOOKING
PLEASE NOTE: From 1st April 2024 we are relocating our Hout Bay office to Paarl
ONLINE
R2450 R1950
EARLY-BIRD PROMO!
IN-PERSON
R2450 R1950
EARLY-BIRD PROMO!
CONTACT
PLEASE NOTE: From 1st April 2024 we are relocating our Hout Bay office to Paarl
If you would like to go ahead and book your session to stop smoking, please feel comfortable using our Booking page. We have the PayFast, Payflex and Snapscan gateways available.
If you have any questions before making your booking, we will be happy to chat with you. We look forward to helping you become free of your smoking habit.
7 Van der Poelsdoordrift Street
Paarl
Western Cape
Contact Email
info@stopsmokingmindcode.co.za
4316 Hout Bay Main Road
Hout Bay
Cape Town
Contact Telephone
076 983 6384