About Steve Gardiner

Stephen Gardiner originates from Rhodesia, (Zimbabwe) then working around the globe before finally settling in Brisbane Australia. As a scientist, Steve always had an interest in human development, especially Mind Plastisicity and how we cope with stress, anxiety and addictive behaviours. Over the past 15 years Steve has assisted many clients to transform their lives by resolving the obstacles holding them back.

Entries by Steve Gardiner

It doesn’t control me

Just recently at Quit Smoking expert in Capalaba I conducted a survey on clients to see if they thought that smoking and cigarettes controlled them. only about 30% of people thought that smoking controlled them which was quite surprising.

If you think about it the act of smoking cigarettes these days is very inconvenient. There are fewer and fewer places to smoke and it is more and more anti-social. People have to go out in all sorts of weather to smoke and interrupt what they are doing to smoke.

You […]

What’s Down Under?

At Quit Smoking Expert we sometimes get people who believe that they want to quit smoking cigarettes but there is something else going on underneath it all. Quitting smoking in 60 minutes requires all of your focus and attention to succeed. If you have something going on down under then the chances of you quitting smoking are significantly reduced.

I had someone come to me to quit smoking. During the initial questioning some of his answers lead me to ask the question, “what’s going on in your relationship?”.

This […]

Plain Equals Pain

Not long ago we at Quit Smoking Expert in Capalaba looked on in bemusement as the Australian government introduced plain packaging with horror photos for cigarette packs.

The fact is that if you want to smoke cigarettes then you will smoke cigarettes and no amount of changing the packaging will stop it. It certainly did not cause people to beat a path to our door to quit smoking. In fact it was quite interesting to see what people did.

At first there was a rush to buy cigarette holders which […]

What’s that you said?

At Quit Smoking Expert we are always looking at better ways to help people to quit smoking cigarettes and in pursuit of this we come across some interesting research. It makes sense that if you have a habit that affects your circulation then you can expect to have problems.

It appears that there is now more and more evidence that smoking can affect your hearing. I came across some recent research done in America and it makes interesting reading.

After making adjustments for other factors the results of the study showed that current smokers were 1.69 times as likely to have hearing […]

I messed up

I had a lady come to me at quit expert to quit smoking in 60 minutes. With this program I use a mixture of hypnotherapy and NLP to help people to stop smoking cigarettes.

One of the keys to success is that you have to want to, but you also have to have good reasons to quit. In other words you have to want to but you also have to have a why!

In the course of the discussion before starting the process of quitting smoking I asked her why she wanted to quit smoking. She gave me her reasons and at […]

The Trap

How dare you sneak up
Lured me with your scent
You have imposed a false lifestyle
And stolen my health
Big man, tough man, standing so tall
Glamour in adverts and movies
With your taxes and all

I saw you from childhood
I was conditioned to see
That this is the coolest
The best way to be
Dragged kicking and screaming
No will to resist
Into Venus flytrap I gradually slipped

Two dozen years later
Already tired and sold
How did it come to this
With your uncompromising hold
I can’t even work or answer the phone
Without reaching for a smoke
How am I so prone?

Ink now to paper desperate to stop
Smoke surely billowing
As these words are being cropped
With […]

Tune In and Tune Out Pain

Pain relief has been one of the most researched aspects of hypnosis and there are now many studies to prove that it is very effective. Among the benefits associated with hypnosis is the ability to alter the psychological components of the experience of pain that may then have an effect on even severe pain.
Hypno-analgesia is the term given to the reduction of sensitivity to pain using hypnosis. There are many studies to back up the findings that hypno-analgesia does give relief to pain. In experiments and studies it has been found that hypno-analgesia is associated with significant reductions in: ratings […]

I can’t make you

Recently I was talking to a friend who said he would never allow himself to be hypnotised as he was putting control of his life into the hands of the hypnotherapist.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that you cannot be made to do something that you do not want to do. A lot of us perceive hypnosis from stage shows and TV. Let’s make one thing clear here, stage hypnosis is different from clinical hypnosis. In the case of stage hypnosis, there are always people willing to do outrageous things as they are out for a […]

Can I trust You?

The other day at Quit Smoking in 60 Minutes, I had an email from a lady who asked if she came to me to quit smoking cigarettes, could she trust me?
That is a really important question because if there is no trust, the process of stopping smoking will not work. When you think about it, it doesn’t matter what it is because without trust there is no safety, no connection, no relationship!  In a lot of cases, people who come to see me have never experienced hypnosis before and therefore need to trust that I will do the right thing […]

False Expectations Appearing Real

I’m doing a walk on the top of the highest building on the Gold Coast in Australia. I’m attached to the building by a strap and harness that can lift 2.5 tonnes; I know this because I read the label on the harness. My guide now says go to the edge hold onto the strap and lean back outward from the building. I am immediately assaulted by fear, s..t what happens if I fall? Logically this is impossible, but I have fallen into the trap of fear. Playing out what could happen if I fall. I reassess and think I […]