Irish Hypnosis: Taking the mystery out of hypnotherapy... and breaking your bad habits

Do you want to give up smoking, lose weight, overcome a phobia or stop panic attacks? Irish Hypnosis, in Belhavel, Golden Island, Athlone, can help you make positive, lasting and successful changes to your life, breaking bad habits and giving you a sense of freedom. And who better to treat you, than a man who used hypnosis to give up smoking himself. "I had it done over 20 years ago myself, I wanted to quit smoking," said John Connelly, a professional hypnotist. "I was smoking over 80 a day, it was when you could still smoke at work and I'd wake up at night and smoke two or three. I tried everything, patches, acupuncture, it lasted for a little while but I always went back on them. A friend said to me why not try hypnotherapy. I was living in England at the time, so I thought I'd give it a go, I've nothing to lose. The first time I got the hypnosis, I didn't want to smoke." It took John one session and since then, he hasn't smoked. The benefits were obvious; John had a sense of freedom, a healthier lifestyle and a few extra euro in his pocket. Giving up smoking literally changed his life and it was thanks to hypnotherapy. A few years later John started to consider hypnotherapy as a career, because he wanted to help other people. He opened Irish Hypnosis in Athlone two and a half years ago and recently his colleague Matt Hartley came on board to cope with a surge in demand due to the clinic's success rate and increasing popularity. Matt is from South Africa but moved to Ireland last year. As a child he was fascinated by hypnosis, loved watching the stage shows and read books about it from a young age. Hypnotherapy was always something he wanted to get into. He said that the training he received with Irish Hypnosis was the best he'd had and after his internship, he was delighted to be offered a job with John who needed someone good to come on board in Athlone. There is a certain fear about hypnosis for many people, because the process can seem mysterious or they think there's a loss of control. However, the work John and Matt do is the polar opposite to the entertainment shows that have people dancing around like chickens.