We can become addicted to pretty much anything but some of the most common problem behaviours include:- Alcohol addiction
- Drug misuse
- Compulsive shopping
- Sex or pornography addiction
Whatever the scenario, addictions are notoriously difficult to overcome and many people find that conventional treatments don’t help them to make permanent changes to kick the habit.
If this has been the case for you, hypnotherapy could be the answer – either as a standalone treatment or part of a wider treatment plan.
Why Do We Develop Addictions?
There are a few different reasons why addictions can develop and factors can include genetics, mental health, stress, and trauma/abuse (particularly in childhood).
In some cases, addiction to a particular activity is an attempt to deal with negative emotions such as stress, anxiety or depression.
Ironically, this can actually make these feelings worse and a vicious cycle develops in which you feel compelled to engage in the behaviour as a coping mechanism against the feelings.
Experts have suggested that some people who experience addiction triggers may be more vulnerable to developing an addiction due to them being wired “differently” in the orbital- frontal cortex.
This may explain why some people can engage excessively in activities without it affecting their day-to-day life while other people become addicted to the activity when it does have negative effects for them.
How Hypnotherapy Works for Addictions
Many people who are excessively engaged in a particular activity to the extent that it is having a very negative effect on your life (and the people around you too) have already tried and failed to stop the problem behaviour in question.
This is where hypnotherapy can be a game changer as it encourages long lasting changes to your behaviour that have a permanent effect.
It uses the power of the mind to overcome the problem and can, therefore, succeed where other treatments for addiction have fallen short.
Hypnotherapy works to change the beliefs that are linked to addiction and can also shape your identity of who you want to be in the future i.e. not an addict. It puts you in control of your life, rather than feeling that your addiction is in control of you.
By bypassing the conscious mind altogether it removes most of the potential for it to outright reject suggestions made by your hypnotherapist or doubt them enough that they don’t “stick”.
Technically, this can still happen if you are not fully committed to overcoming your addiction but assuming that you are wanting to do this, hypnotherapy is an ideal way to take potential objections from the conscious mind out of the equation and tap into the unconscious part of your brain instead.
What Can I Expect From Addiction Hypnotherapy?
Initially, you’ll be asked to talk about how the problem began and how it has then developed into the issue that it is today. This is likely to form the basis of the initial consultation with your hypnotherapist before the real work begins in subsequent sessions.
This helps to establish what you want to gain from hypnotherapy and how your hypnotherapist can work with you to best achieve it in future sessions.
Your hypnotherapist will then work with you to change your beliefs and even your identity of yourself to enable you to get back in control.
Does Hypnotherapy Work?
Because hypnotherapy taps into the power of your unconscious mind, it can be hugely successful for overcoming addictions. It can also reduce the chances of a relapse further down the line.
It doesn’t matter how long you have had the problem prior to accessing hypnotherapy treatment. Change can often still be achieved in just a few sessions even for problems that are long standing.
The key is for you to be totally committed to overcoming your addiction. If this isn’t the case, your mind won’t be fully open to the ways that hypnotherapy can tap into your unconscious mind and it’s a lot less likely that you’ll see much success from hypnotherapy sessions.
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