From Decades of Smoking to Freedom: A Client’s Journey

For many people, smoking isn’t really the problem — it’s a solution to a deeper problem. A coping mechanism. A way to soothe feelings the mind doesn’t fully understand. That’s exactly what was happening for one of my clients.

She had been smoking for decades. And when she came to see me, she said something I hear often:

“It’s only getting worse.”

In our session together, we used regression to explore the deeper roots of her habit — and what surfaced was not about cigarettes at all. It was about safety.

The first scene her mind brought up was from childhood: growing up in chaos, never having her own room, never feeling a sense of peace or safety.

The second was when she moved out and entered an unhealthy relationship — again, no safe space of her own.

The third was when she moved countries, searching for work and accommodation, once more feeling unsettled and anxious.

Even though at the time of our session she was living in her own home and in a stable relationship, she was building a property project that wasn’t going as planned. It brought back the same old anxiety: What if I lose everything? What if I don’t have a place to live?

Her mind had been looping in that old story — the story of a little girl who never felt safe. And every time life felt uncertain, her mind sent her straight back into that old fear. Smoking had become her way to cope with that anxiety.

But the truth is: she was no longer that child. She was not helpless. She no longer had to wait for someone else to create safety for her. She could build it from within.

Once she understood this — once we worked on creating a deep sense of safety and empowerment inside her — reminding her, how much she overcome, how much she has grown since she was a child, all her achievements along the way, everything began to shift.

After just two sessions, she told me she no longer needed to smoke. Instead, she began focusing on her mental well-being, exercising, and nurturing healthy relationships.

We also worked on shifting her perspective around the project. Building anything — especially something as big as a property — is rarely smooth. Things change, delays happen, some parts fall through. And that’s okay. What’s meant to be will unfold. When she replaced scarcity and anxiety with trust and grounded action, she noticed something remarkable: things started falling into place much more easily.

Her story is a reminder that you don’t have to wait for another day, another month, another decade.

The solution might be closer than you think. Sometimes, all it takes is a single moment of awareness — a small inner unlocking — to learn how to live differently. And better.