ARE YOU AN ADDICT, OR IS IT A HABIT?
People can find themselves with bad habits or addictions to food, alcohol, soft drinks, social media or even toxic partners.
There are many different definitions of "addiction" and "habit". Both addictions and habits involve repeated behaviour, but after that, things get a bit hazy.
A habit can be broken down into three stages.
There is a "cue" - something that makes you do a certain behaviour. This can be a physical cue, like going to a party. But it can also be an emotional cue, like being bored.
Next is the "behaviour" - the thing that you do when you are given the "cue". At the party, it might be smoking. If you're bored, it might be eating lots of biscuits.
Finally there is the "reward" - the positive result of doing that "behaviour". For the smoker, they might feel calmer. For the biscuit eater, they might have not been bored, or feel happy eating the biscuit.
The first time someone goes through the cue - behaviour - reward cycle, they will be very aware of each step. But over time, the cycle becomes unconscious and a fully formed habit.
Addictions are often described as behaviours that involve the reward and motivation centres of the brain. They can make you feel good, and over time, this means that people will behave in a way that damages them in the long term, because it makes them feel good in the short term.
Drugs and alcohol can also cause the release of chemicals in the body, that can make you feel good, or numb unpleasant feelings, as well as the good feeling that come from the reward centres of the brain.
Over time, the body needs more of the chemicals to get the same results, which can lead to more destructive behaviour.
HOW TO BREAK A HABIT OR ADDICTION
There are several ways to break a habit.
The first is to reduce exposure to the "cue", so that you don't perform the behaviour. Sometimes this isn't possible - for instance, it's not always possible to stop yourself from getting bored - especially when it involves people or situations outside of your control.
The second is to change your behaviour in response to the cue. People who are tying to lose weight will often paint their nails when they are bored rather than eating, and smokers will often chew gum rather than smoke. This can be very successful, but requires the ability to separate the cue and the behaviour, which many people find difficult.
For instance, the boredom eater will often find themselves half way through a packet of biscuits before being fully aware of what they're doing.
The third way is to reduce the intensity of the reward, so it is no longer as appealing. An example of this might be thinking about the damage cigarettes do to your lungs, or the effects of being overweight on your health.
This can sometimes work...but more often just results in feelings of shame and regret, which triggers more difficult emotions, which in turns can trigger more unhelpful or destructive behaviour.
In fact, repeatedly trying and failing to break a habit can make habits stick even more, and make you feel even more hopeless.
Hypnotherapy can help you break your habits and develop coping strategies when cues (or triggers) occur.
Defeating an addiction involves recognising that there is a problem, and changing the reward behaviour that comes from the addiction, to something more helpful.
Hypnotherapy can help with this, too.
CERTAIN TYPES OF ADDICTIONS REQUIRE MEDICAL HELP
If you are addicted to a substance that will make you sick if you reduce the amount you are consuming (certain types of drugs, large quantities of alcohol and so on), then you need careful reduction in consumption guided by a medical professional, rather than hypnotherapy.
If you think this may apply to you, please reach out for a conversation by calling me on 07912 682 412 or dropping me an email via the contact form.
Hypnotherapy can be a fast and effective way of changing unwanted behaviour.
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I appreciate that there are lots of therapists to choose from, and that it can seem very difficult to know to trust with your emotional health.
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As a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, I'm trained in a wide range of techniques to help you break free from your unwanted behaviour.
I believe all my clients are unique, so deserve the best, personalised help. I specialise in treating you, not the label your issue has been given!
Maybe we'll use classic hypnotherapy techniques, where you'll be guided in a deep state of relaxation so that you can let go of your behaviour and realise that there is a different, more helpful way of behaving.
Or maybe we'll use eye movement based techniques to encourage a state of emotional change.
Perhaps we'll use provocative questioning to help you break down your habit so that it simply no longer appeals to you.
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If you choose to come and see me for habit or addiction work, you are free to book however many sessions you like, but I recommend at least two sessions for maximum benefit.