You know the drill. As each new year dawns, most of us make resolutions — and almost none of us keeps them. It’s not that we don’t want to change;the problem is that we try to tough it out alone, using sheer willpower. However, many resolutions involve long-term, ingrained habits that are difficult to change without help. So if you resolved to quit smoking or lose weight on January first, and have since lost sight of your goal, there is help, through hypnosis.

Hypnosis is an effective tool in modifying behavior. It works through an alpha state of mind, a dreamlike state similar to those achieved in yoga and meditation. Once clients enter this relaxed state, the hypnotist can then plant positive suggestions for change. In addition, customized CDs listed to daily reinforcethe hypnotic suggestion and enhance chances for permanent success.

Does everyone who undergoes hypnosis succeed? I wish they all did, but a great many do. A commitment to change is the first and most important step: Nicotine addiction and poor lifelong eating patterns weren’t created in a day, so sometimes multiple attempts are required.

The Hypnosis Counseling Center, with offices in Bloomfield, Flemington and Frenchtown,  has offered private sessions and groupclasses for smoking cessation and weight loss for more than 30 years. Groups meet at a variety of adult schools, YMCAs and fitness clubs and corporations throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The group classes are less expensive but not quite as effective as individual counseling, but they are a good introduction to hypnosis and what it can do.

For more information, contact Barry Wolfson at 908-996-3311 or visit HypnosisNJ.com.