How Does Hypnotherapy Help With Addiction Recovery?

Addictions Hypnotherapy when combined with NLP, EMDR and TFT (EFT) has been my most effective multi skilled approach for over 24 years..

Addictions affect nearly every family in the country and beyond. There are many schools of thought and support networks to help sufferers and their families deal with addiction.

At Enhanced Life Practice, I've worked with many individuals dealing with addiction and the recovery from them and they approach me for a variety of reasons.

Some clients are already in or have been through, recovery (rehab) programs.  They see me for continued support on a personal level having identified traumas and deep rooted concerns that they recognise lead to the problems they then faced with addiction.

Some clients approach me for specific treatment in recovering from their addiction.

Clearly some addictions require medical support to detox but even then, the mind is the key to success.

Habit vs Addiction

People are often unsure of the definition of addiction versus 'habits'. 

Here's a few questions to ask yourself ...

• does the behaviour you are compelled by, affect you, your work or your family negatively?
• do you feel you have full control of the behaviour or feel it is now controlling you?
• does the idea of not having access to the object or behaviour lead to anxiety?
• have you tried to avoid the object or behaviour before?
• have others commented with concern about your activities?

You could say what it comes down to is whether you can overcome the addictive behaviour or habit because both are likely working on the same systems within the brain/body namely the 'reward system'.

However it is also true to say that a habit is generally motivated by an association between the action and the behaviour response.

Whereas an addiction almost certainly arises from substance misuse which can lead to a loss of impulse control and general inability to remain flexible with the decision to seek the behaviour.

Addictions are physiologically developed and these then become reinforced within the brain every time you use the same drug.

At Enhanced Life we take very seriously our role in supporting those in recovery and recommended medical support for specific substance addictions.  In those instances, our role is to support recovery from the mental side of the physical addiction.

There are many addictive behaviours and substances that I've helped people work in recovery from.  

Here's a list of some of those:

My role with the addiction/ habit relating to behaviours, is in  ascertaining what the behaviour is doing for you, to you and your life, how much improved your life will be without the behaviour.  

Importantly the first question to ask is about what you truly want?

Recovery is about regaining control of you, your mind, your behaviours & building a future that compels you.

Who is affected by the addiction?

Whilst families, friends, work colleagues and even our pets can be adversely affected by addictive behaviours, the important person in this - is you.

You can be motivated to improve your life because of the people in your life that you care about, but ultimately you are the one doing the work to change it for the better.

One thing I suggest you do right now - is ask yourself if there are people you know either personally or from a distance, who don't have the addiction and are living an enhanced life?

Your mind will release the need more easily when the perception that your life can and will be better, is apparent.

In a nutshell - everyone.

How does addiction affect you?

An addiction tends to control you and your decisions in life will often wrap around the behaviour.  Some addictions lead to major behaviour changes especially when substances are introduced.  In this case problems can arise such as;

• lateness at work, absences & complacency over your effectiveness
• relationships with family breaking down
• children feeling insecure around the incongruence in your behaviour
• feeling that life is outside your control
• depression and anxiety (or paranoia)
• compulsive lying
• angry outbursts
• being out of control
• ill health and eventually disease

At Enhanced Life Practice - I've learned from many hours of clinical experience aswell as specific training in addiction and ongoing study into the physiological and psychological causes and cures.

The Role Of Dopamine in Addiction

The addiction is firing off because your body/brain desires the dopamine hit.  It only needs to have enjoyed that 'hit' in combination with that 'behaviour' once.  The brain encodes that and fires of the trigger whenever there is a 'need'.

The need can be a desire to feel happy, or the desire to eliminate pain.  The desire to move away from pain is often strongest.

There is much evidence to show that addictions (especially substances) are brought on by a desire to 'escape' a painful emotion.  There being pain often caused by historical trauma.  Sadly over time, these initial triggers are overridden by the desire to move away from the craving for the substance.   It is still important to support those in recovery, by helping them reduce the effect that historical trauma has had or may continue to have over their ability to remain free from the addiction. 

You don't have to be suffering from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) to have experienced a trauma in your life. 

So whilst in our practice, we will be looking at the behaviour, the beliefs you have around the behaviour and the perceived benefits - we also will explore any traumas and deal with those to ensure that the future confidence in avoiding the behaviour continues.

Techniques That Aid Recovery From Addiction

EMDR is a powerfully simple technique, used by the military and within Psychiatry to treat trauma effectively.

Hypnotherapy works well by allowing the mind to bypass the critical function and go directly to the unconscious (source of behaviour, belief, attitude, mindset and meaning you give to life).

Hypnotherapy, Mediation and Mindfulness, are all practices recommended by the medical profession (NHS) for relaxation, reducing stress and developing happiness in the mind without a reliance on the addictive behaviour.

TFT, EFT & Havening are all techniques showing great success in helping sufferer overcome addiction.

Overcome addiction & set yourself free!

Just imagine ... you can return to yourself but as an improved version!

Meditation alone is shown to greatly enhance life, bring meaning to your day & help you develop a sense of connection to those around you.  That's just one of the techniques we employ and in more recent years, Meditation & guided meditation is shown to have very positive effects on the recovery from addictions.

At the Enhanced Life Practice, 20+ years experience of working with people from every background and at every age to manage underlying trauma, build confidence, reduce if not eliminate the compulsion for the behaviour.

Join others who've successfully regained control of their lives and behaviours.  

Client Testimonial

Karl had stopped drinking without joining a rehabilitation or support program.  He was satisfied he had disconnected from the behaviour but in doing so felt he'd lost a lot of what he previously enjoyed in life.