Stoptober: Could October Be the Month You Change Your Relationship with Smoking or Alcohol?

October is often associated with Stoptober – the annual opportunity to stop smoking and make a positive change to your health and wellbeing.

But what if you don't feel ready to say, "I'll never smoke again"?

Or perhaps smoking isn't your issue at all. Maybe alcohol has gradually become something you rely on more than you'd like – to relax, manage stress, switch off at the end of the day or feel more comfortable socially.

October can be a good time to pause and ask yourself:

"What would I like to change?"

What is Stoptober?

Stoptober is an NHS campaign encouraging people to quit smoking during October. The idea is simple: make a commitment to stop smoking and aim to get through the first 28 days.

According to the NHS, if you manage to stay smoke-free for 28 days, you are five times more likely to quit for good.

Of course, stopping smoking isn't always easy.

Smoking can become closely associated with particular situations, emotions and routines. You may automatically reach for a cigarette with your morning coffee, during a stressful day, after a meal or when you're having a drink.

Over time, these associations can become deeply established.

That's why quitting isn't necessarily just about nicotine. For many people, it's also about changing the habits, routines and thought patterns surrounding smoking.

What about cutting down on alcohol?

Although Stoptober is primarily a stop-smoking campaign, October can also provide a useful opportunity to look at your relationship with alcohol.

Perhaps you don't consider yourself to have an alcohol problem. You may simply feel that you're drinking more often than you'd like.

Maybe your evening drink has become a way of:

- switching off after work

- dealing with stress

- rewarding yourself

- helping you feel more confident

- filling an empty evening

- managing difficult emotions

- getting to sleep

- socialising or feeling part of a group.

If alcohol has become your automatic response to certain situations, simply deciding to "drink less" can sometimes be harder than it sounds.

The NHS recommends practical strategies such as setting a drinking limit, having several alcohol-free days each week, choosing lower-strength drinks and keeping track of how much you drink.

And if you experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking, it is important to seek medical advice before attempting to stop or significantly reduce your alcohol intake.

Why can changing a habit be so difficult?

Habits aren't simply conscious decisions.

A behaviour can become linked to a particular time, place, person, emotion or situation.

For example:

Stress → cigarette

Friday evening → wine

After dinner → cigarette

Feeling anxious → drink

Finished work → drink

Eventually, the response can feel almost automatic.

This is one reason why simply telling yourself, "I must stop" doesn't always produce the change you want.

The more useful question can be:

"What is this behaviour doing for me – and what could I do instead?"

Hypnotherapy and changing habits

Solution-focused hypnotherapy can be used to explore the thinking, habits and automatic responses that may have become associated with smoking or drinking.

Rather than focusing solely on what you want to stop doing, we can look at what you want to achieve instead.

That might mean feeling:

- more in control

- calmer without reaching for a cigarette or drink

- more confident in social situations

- less dependent on a particular habit

- better able to manage stress

- comfortable saying no

- free from the feeling that you "need" something to relax.

Hypnotherapy isn't a replacement for medical care or established stop-smoking or alcohol-support services. Instead, for some people, it can form part of a broader approach to changing established habits and behaviours.

You don't have to wait until you're desperate to make a change

One of the biggest misconceptions about changing a habit is that you have to reach a crisis point first.

You don't.

You can decide that something simply isn't working for you anymore.

Perhaps you've smoked for decades and are tired of feeling controlled by cigarettes.

Perhaps you've noticed that your drinking has gradually increased.

Perhaps you've tried to stop before and found yourself returning to the same pattern.

A previous attempt doesn't mean you can't change. It can give you useful information about your triggers, your habits and what you might need to do differently next time.

Make this October about you

Whether your goal is to stop smoking, cut down on alcohol or change an unhealthy habit, Stoptober can provide a useful moment to draw a line in the sand.

You don't necessarily need to think about the rest of your life.

Start with the next step.

Ask yourself:

What would be different in my life if I no longer needed this habit in the way I do now?

And perhaps even more importantly:

What would I like to put in its place?

If you'd like support with changing your relationship with smoking or alcohol, I offer confidential, solution-focused hypnotherapy from my practice in Sussex.

My Rethink Your Drinking Program is designed for people who want to explore and change their relationship with alcohol, while hypnotherapy can also be used to support people who want to stop smoking.

Get in touch to find out more about my approach and whether it may be suitable for you.

Important note

If you drink heavily or experience withdrawal symptoms when you reduce or stop drinking, please speak to your GP or an appropriate alcohol-support service before attempting to stop suddenly. Alcohol withdrawal can require medical support.