Hypnotherapy - Does it work?

 Today was a very interesting day.

I drove to Bangkok for a Hypnotherapy session, with the goal to get rid of my nicotine addiction.

During the first 15-20 minutes we had a short chat about my life in general, my habits and what I think the likely cause for this addictions are. I talked about how I started smoking when I was about 15-16, hanging out with new friends that were 2 years older than I and how it was a matter of fitting in with them. This continued throughout my teens and early 20s. After that, I often reached for cigarettes due to stress and emotional drama. Nowadays I smoke much less (about 6 a day), but not for the above mentioned reasons.
Now it's more of a habit when I need to take a break, either from working or when I need to be by myself.
None of my friends here smoke, so it's definitely not because of peer pressure or the need to fit in. It's also not due to emotional drama since there is none in my life currently.
During this talk we also explored ways to replace the action of smoking with another, healthier action, such as deep breaths or using a Tibetan singing bowl. These actions would replace the old action and allow me to reconnect to myself.

Then the proper session started. I was led to a small room with a very comfy recliner. All I had to do was to close my eyes, relax and listen to Roshni's soothing voice. Roshni led me on an amazing journey. I'm quite used to go within during my meditations and I could see how effortless it was to go into a deep meditative yet alert state of consciousness. I don't really know why, but after just a few minutes tears started forming in my eyes. That didn't distract me though. I just found it curious.
Then I had an old memory pop up. I was in my grandparents' house, playing with my cousin. We were about 10-12 years old when we found a box of cigars hidden under a wardrobe. They were our grand-uncle's cigars. He was a Franciscan monk and used to play a trick for us kids, where he took a deep puff from the cigar, lifted his long white beard over his mouth and then slowly released the smoke, which would then rise up through the beard. Needless to say, we kids were all very impressed.

Next, she asked me to go to a favourite place in nature. I immediately pictured a forest with big tall trees. I was alone, sitting on thick and soft green moss. I imagined touching it and loved the woody-earthy smell of the forest. I could feel the fresh air. It was a safe environment and I realized just how much I missed being there in close contact with nature. This made me quite emotional and again I shed a few tears.

Then she made me imagine talking to my younger self as if I were an older brother, or a loving parent. I acknowledged his problems and understood how he tried to solve them. I offered love, understanding and forgiveness. We embraced each other before letting him go. 

Next, Roshni asked me to picture what this addiction looked like for me. Without hesitation I saw a ball the size of a watermelon. It was completely black and covered with some sticky, putrid and smelly substance. Roshni then asked me to imagine something that could make this ball go away. The picture of a white heart came to me quickly, and this heart was able to wash away the black substance on the ball.

The whole session was effortless and natural. I wasn't trying to analyze what was going on and I wasn't distracted by unrelated thoughts. 
After the session came to an end and I opened my eyes, we talked for a few minutes where I shared my experience with Roshni. I told her about my memory and at that moment had another insight. That the need to fit in, to be good enough, to seek my peer's approval where just projections for what I was seeking from my own father. The approval I never got from him I was now seeking elsewhere. No wonder that I had my friends in much higher regard than my own family at that time. 

This realization was profound and made me shake with emotions. Roshni saw that and gave me a few minutes to be on my own, during which I was able to let the emotions flow out.

The same evening and the next day (today) I felt very tired, almost exhausted, as if I had had a full day of physical workout. Roshni told me that this reaction is very common and means that old trapped emotions are being released. I also felt very irritable and moody to whole next day.

One interesting thing happened after the session during the dinner I had at a restaurant. I was just chewing on the last piece of my steak, when a piece of my upper back tooth fell out. This hasn't happened in many years, so it's quite a funny coincidence....and perhaps there's a deeper meaning to it?