COPD: How To Treat Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a long-term health condition that occurs as a result of damage to the lungs. This term is used to identify three illnesses categorized as COPD. These are emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis.

Asthma occurs when a person’s body sees part of the environment, such as chemicals, tobacco smoke, or dust, as hazardous. The immune system begins to emit biochemicals called histamines. These proteins produce inflammation in lung tissues to help the body ward off intruders. This stiffens lung tissues and weakens breathing.

Persons can be diagnosed with asthma at any stage of life. One of the best ways family members or friends can assist individuals with asthma is to quit smoking cigarettes, because secondhand smoke kills. If an individual newly diagnosed with asthma smokes, he or she should quit smoking immediately.

Physicians also classify chronic bronchitis as a form of COPD. This health problem begins in people who have smoked for many years. Cigarette smoke results in chemicals and bacteria becoming trapped in the airways. The bacteria cause recurrent infections in the bronchi, or airway passages, of a person’s lungs.

Chronic bronchitis scars and damages these passages. People with this condition have difficulty exercising or taking deep breaths. Since their lungs are stiff and scarred, they become short of breath with even a small amount of exertion. Sometimes, if they quit smoking, some of their breathing difficulties will lessen.

The third lung condition categorized as COPD is emphysema. The lungs contain air sacs at the very ends of the bronchi. These sacs, or alveoli, expand and contract as an individual inhales and exhales. People with emphysema become short of breath and cannot breathe deeply or exhale completely because air remains trapped in the alveoli. If they find ways to stop smoking, these difficulties may improve.

Medications and breathing exercises may help some individuals with COPD. In spite of these therapies, however, these individuals still demonstrate significant levels of anxiety. Coping with this condition is akin to trying to breathe underwater. Even though you try to stay under longer, you feel you must breathe - immediately! Therefore, you swim toward the surface and take a deep breath. Unfortunately, people with COPD are not able to just surface and take a deep breath.

Several stop smoking programs treat people with COPD. Most COPD patients realize that smoking increases their breathing problems. Most have smoked for decades, however, which often makes trying to quit very hard.

Many stop smoking programs have been developed. The majority assist clients to utilize the conscious mind to quit smoking. Because the dependency on smoking is etched strongly in a person’s subconscious, rarely do those who quit smoking with the help of programs stay quit without making changes at the unconscious level. Additionally, the majority of these techniques center on the smoker’s physical dependency on smoking, which addresses only about 10 percent of the smoking addiction.

Numerous stop smoking programs claim to assist people to relax better. The most effective ones employ Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. Polarity responses usually happen with traditional hypnotherapy and direct post-hypnotic suggestions.

Ericksonian hypnosis uses metaphors that communicate suggested thoughts for tranquility to the subconscious to assist clients to conquer the tendency to behave in a manner contrary to the suggested actions. Often, individuals who are able to become calmer through the use of the NLP Flash technique can control anxiety and panic attacks more effectively. Therefore, they breathe better.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapy provides an innovative alternative way for helping people learn how to quit smoking. Trained individuals who practice Ericksonian Hypnosis realize that the main issue lies in the subconscious. Therefore, they aid clients in the subconscious, through stop smoking hypnosis. Unlike traditional programs, hypnosis to quit smoking focuses on decreasing stress, mental addiction, and the habit, which altogether total 90 percent of one’s smoking addiction.

Through Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP, these patients can have a higher quality of life. These approaches coach individuals with breathing problems to reduce anxiety. They also help remove subconscious connections between cigarettes and the environment. This extinguishes nicotine cravings. These treatments offer hope for people with COPD.

Summary: Three chronic lung conditions are categorized as COPD. These are asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Reducing anxiety that occurs because of breathing problems and finding ways to quit smoking are probably the most effective methods of helping people with COPD experience a higher quality of life. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP approaches assist people to reduce their anxiety and quit smoking.

Alan B. Densky, CH is the developer of the best way to quit tobacco use with NLP. He now offers a potent Quit Smokeless Tobacco program based on the same methods. Learn more at his Neuro-VISION hypnosis site where you can enjoy Free NLP videos and articles.

- Alan B. Densky, CH