Understand how the brain creates an overwhelming emotional compulsion to reach for cigarettes.

A smokers pattern (habit) matches a strong chemical message (dopamine). That pattern match and dopamine message is what drives smokers to reach for a cigarette.

The feel good feelings of dopamine is what motivates the smoker to ACT on the impulse of lighting up, rather than listening to the voice of reason.

If a smoker has enough dopamine coming into its system from a sense of:

· Love and Connection
· Power – to make decisions about their own life
· Freedom - to feel in control of the direction of their life
· Purpose - that fulfils their needs
· Fun – smiling, laughing, positive expectation, interaction, something new.

Then the smoker can generate feel good feelings (dopamine) WITHOUT a cigarette . However if smoker in a state of:

· Helplessness
· Powerlessness
· Loneliness
· Depression
· Boredom
· Aimlessness
· Resourcelessness
· Unlovable
· Despair
· Apathy
· Resignation
· Worthlessness
· Controlled by outside forces or others

then the chemical reward of dopamine that they get from their smoking habit will continue.

Something needs to made them feel good and smoking is the quick fix.

The brain is a pattern matcher.

Habits are the short cut to get things done.

Smoking at one point in a person’s life was associated with feel good feelings and have generated feel good memories.

The subconscious mind has 2 jobs – one is to protect you and the other is to comfort you.

Your subconscious mind is trying to protect and perhaps even comfort you so it is reminding you to smoke.

Smoking can be a way OUT of uncomfortable situations.

Smoking can be a way out of a negative feeling state BUT it is only a way out as long as you continue to smoke.

If you try to stop smoking without addressing the other issues in your life, the chance of you stopping for good is low. BUT your subconscious mind is powerful and time is only an illusion.

If you are a smoker and you have read all the down to this point – I know that you are getting ready to stop smoking for good.

Your subconscious mind is already making changes.

Your smoking habit will only continue UNTIL the you discover new resourceful behaviours to feel good.

An emotion is a behavioural impulse sent by the amygdala and made stronger as it gets processed in the brain creating an urge to do something.

· Emotions are either positive or negative.
· Emotions are way to respond to our thoughts.
· Our thoughts are a result of our words.
· Our words create thoughts, our thoughts create emotions, and our emotions create our results or responses.

Information comes into the thalamus.

Flashed to the amygdala for a pattern match

The amygdala and other parts of the brain hook dopamine and other chemical messages to the information

The chemical message is then sent to the anterior cingulate to decide what to do with the information; it will give priority to anything that has dopamine tag

The anterior cingulate calls up additional information from the hippocampus to check for past similar experience, doesn’t just reply on the amygdala

The hippocampus offers up memories and the anterior cingulate adds another dose of dopamine to the information package, motivating the person to take action

So in addiction, a strong pattern match hijacks the emotional brain into expecting something good and forces the person into action.

Some of the above information was taken from a document called: The Mechanics of Addiction produced by Uncommon Knowledge LTD. This document and other were part of my training with them.

3rd Floor, Boswell House, Argyll Square, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4BD, Uk
Copywrite 2013 – Uncommon Knowledge Ltd