Struggling with bad habits and addictions?
Beat addictions and habits at Fantastic Day Hypnotherapy
Specialist hypnotherapy and coaching in Spalding, Lincolnshire and online.
Habits and addictions aren't just about smoking and alcohol.
People can find themselves with bad habits or addictions to food, alcohol, soft drinks, social media and even toxic partners.
Are you an addict, or is it a habit?
There are many different definitions of "addiction" and "habit". Both habits and addictions involve repeated behaviour.
After that, things get a bit hazy.
Spotting a habit.
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 the behaviour.
For the smoker, they might feel calmer.
For the biscuit eater, they might have not been bored, or felt happy eating the biscuits.
Repeating the habit makes it stick.
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 becomes a fully formed habit.
Recognising an addiction.
Addictions are often described as behaviours that involve the reward and motivation centres of the brain. They can make you feel good. Over time, this means people will behave in a way that damages them over 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 feelings 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 is possible - for instance not letting yourself get bored, but sometimes it isn't, especially when it involves other people or situations outside of your control.
The second is to change your behaviour in response to the cue. People who are trying to lose weight will often paint their nails when they are bored rather than eating, and smokers will often chew gum. This can be very successful, but requires the ability to separate the cue and the behaviour, which many people find difficult.
For instance, the bored eater will often find themselves half way through a packet of biscuits before being fully aware of what they are 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 a feeling of shame or regret, which triggers more difficult emotions which in turn 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 hopeless.
Hypnotherapy to 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 you with this, too.
Want me to help you break your habit or addiction?
Vic does not work with drug addictions or alcoholics because these require physical interventions. Please speak to your GP.
If you require help with a habit or addiction, you're welcome to book appointments one at a time. Appointments cost £80 and last about one and a half hours.
A habit may only take one appointment, but addictions are likely to need two or more appointments depending on the addiction.
You'll get even better results if you do the exercises I'll teach you between appointments.
With one in three people struggling with mental health issues, you're not alone if you are!
Anxiety
Anxiety is common and nothing to be ashamed of - but it can also feel like it's ruining your life.
If you're one of the 37% of women or 29% of men who have reported having high anxiety at some point in the last year, hypnotherapy with Vic at Fantastic Day Hypnotherapy in Spalding can help you escape your anxiety - for good.
Depression
Many people find they just don't feel as happy as they used to.
They feel like life doesn't seem as good as it should, that smiling is hard and laughing seems impossible.
If you're one of these people, there might not be a specific reason why you feel like you do, but you know you feel down. Hypnotherapy at Fantastic Day Hypnotherapy and Coaching in Spalding can help you find your happiness again.
Click here to find out more about feeling blue and how you can beat it with hypnotherapy.
Stress
Stress is becoming more and more common. There's two main types of stress: acute stress and chronic stress.
Acute stress happens when there is a significant event that causes stress.
Chronic stress happens in response to a series of events, or a situation that it seems like you can't escape from.
Sometimes, stress can occur when you put too high expectations on yourself.
Vic at Fantastic Day Hypnotherapy uses a variety of hypnosis and coaching techniques to help you defeat your stress and develop your resilience.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
About one in three people will develop PTSD after a traumatic event.
That trauma doesn't have to be life threatening, like being in a car crash or being attacked.
It can come from being bullied, or even from giving birth!
Vic at Fantastic Day Hypnotherapy understands that PTSD is your mind's reaction to a trauma, and can use hypnotherapy to help your mind realise it is safe to move on.
