Copd: Beating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a long-term illness that occurs because of damage to lung tissue. This term is utilized to describe three lung problems classified as COPD. These are emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis.

Asthma develops when the body sees something in the environment, like chemicals, tobacco smoke, or foods, as dangerous. The body activates the immune system to release biochemicals called histamines. These proteins produce inflammation in the lungs so the body can ward off invaders. This tightens the lungs and impairs breathing.

Persons can be diagnosed with asthma at any stage of life. One of the best ways family members or friends can assist a person with asthma is to quit smoking cigarettes, because secondhand smoke is deadly. If a person just diagnosed with asthma does smoke, he or she should quit smoking immediately.

Physicians also classify chronic bronchitis as a type of COPD. This disease develops in people who have smoked for a number of years. Tobacco smoke results in chemicals and bacteria becoming trapped in the lungs. This bacteria cause recurrent inflammation of the bronchi, or airway tubes, of the lungs.

Chronic bronchitis scars and stiffens the lungs. Individuals who have this condition have difficulty exercising or taking deep breaths. Because their lung tissues are damaged and scarred, they develop shortness of breath with even a small amount of exertion. Often, if they stop smoking, many of their breathing difficulties will lessen.

The final lung condition classified as COPD is emphysema. The lungs have air sacs at the very ends of the bronchi. These grape-shaped sacs, called alveoli, inflate and deflate when an individual inhales and exhales. Persons who have emphysema develop shortness of breath and are unable to take deep breaths or exhale completely because air remains trapped in these sacs. If they find ways to stop smoking, these symptoms sometimes get better.

Medications and breathing exercises may help people diagnosed with COPD. In spite of these treatments, however, such individuals continue to demonstrate high anxiety levels. Having COPD is like trying to breathe underwater. Although you try to remain underwater longer, you feel you must breathe - immediately! So you swim toward the surface and take a deep breath. Unfortunately, people with COPD are not able to swim to the surface and take a deep breath.

Some stop smoking programs treat people who have COPD. The majority of COPD patients understand that smoking increases their breathing difficulties. Most have smoked for many years, however, which can make trying to quit very hard.

Numerous stop smoking programs are available. Most assist clients to utilize conscious effort to stop smoking. Since the dependency on smoking is etched strongly in an individual's subconscious, few people who quit smoking with the help of approaches stay quit without making changes at the unconscious level. Moreover, the majority of these programs focus on the smoker's physical dependency on nicotine, which addresses approximately 10 percent of the addictive behavior.

Many stop smoking programs advertise that they assist persons to relax better. The ones that get the best results employ Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. Polarity responses often happen with conventional hypnotherapy and direct post-hypnotic suggestions.

Ericksonian hypnosis employs metaphors, which relay suggestions that promote peace to the subconscious to assist clients to conquer the tendency to do the opposite of what is suggested. Many people who learn to relax using the NLP Flash technique can manage anxiety and panic attacks better. Thus, they breathe better.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapy offers an exciting alternative way to help people learn how to stop smoking. Trained individuals who practice Ericksonian Hypnosis understand that the main issue lies in the subconscious. For this reason, they assist clients at this level, through stop smoking hypnosis. Unlike conventional approaches, hypnosis to quit smoking centers on decreasing stress, psychological dependency, and the habit, which altogether make up nine-tenths of a person's smoking habit.

With Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP, COPD patients are able to have a higher quality of life. These approaches teach individuals who have breathing difficulties to control anxiety. In addition, they assist remove subconscious associations between cigarettes and the environment. This extinguishes nicotine cravings. These treatments offer hope for persons who have COPD.

Summary: Three chronic lung conditions are classified as COPD. These are asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Controlling anxiety that occurs because of breathing problems and finding ways to stop smoking are two of the best ways to help people who have COPD experience a higher quality of life. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP strategies assist people to reduce their anxiety and quit smoking.