Want to really change your habits? Well, it’s as simple as managing your anxiety and calming your mind. Here, courtesy of Comfort Talk CEO Elvira Lang, M.D., is an easy self-hypnosis technique that will help you do just that:
1. Whenever you feel your anxiety rise, the urge to smoke—or any behavior you’d like to counteract or do more of (such as hitting the gym)—sit down, pick a spot in front of you at eye level, and focus on it.”
2. “While keeping your eyes focused on that spot, take a gentle breath in. Feel yourself grow tall as the air streams gently into your lungs. Hold your breath for a moment and then relax, breathing out all your tension with it.”
3. “With your next breath in, gently push your feet against the floor, tensing your ankles, calves, and thighs. Become tall in your chair, hold your breath, and breathe out, focusing your eyes on the spot.”
4. “Now tense your entire body. Hold your breath for a moment and then breathe out, releasing all the tension along with your breath.”
5. “Keep focusing on your spot as you breathe, taking in strength and clarity with each breath in and releasing tension with each breath out. You may feel yourself swaying a little and sense your focus shifting.”
6. “Now engage in any pleasant scenario that comes to mind—a wonderful place, a beautiful day, or just an imagined pleasant sense of floating somewhere safe and comfortable. Enjoy it with all your senses and bring to mind your goal. Think about the positive emotion that will come from achieving it.”
7. “You can then quickly come out of this eyes-open self-hypnosis simply by blinking your eyes. If you wish, you can always re-enter it quickly by performing the breathing steps listed above while focusing on your preferred spot.”
