Addictions - One to one help in Bristol and Bath to overcome your addictions.

Alcohol and Drugs are covered separately on this website. Addiction however can come in many forms. Drugs, food, sex, and gambling are the most commonly noted forms of addiction, and modern addictions include internet use, facebook, texting, pornography, and gaming. Addiction is not a moral issue. It's not about whether we "should" or "should not" be doing something. It's about whether it's causing you a problem. If it is, then taking back control is vital for wellbeing in life. Even the healthiest pursuits can become problematic when practiced obsessively. It’s not unusual therefore for people to become addicted to working out, working, or studying (gaining qualifications).  In treating addiction we recognize firstly that the early “mammalian” brain seeks the comfort of repeating pleasurable experiences. We will tend more towards seeking comfort when our needs are not being adequately met in the present. We also want to figure out what you have to gain by establishing control or abstinence and what you have to lose if you don't! Hypnotherapy can help to get these factors understood at the emotional and subconscious level so that you simply don't feel the same level of attraction to the vice.

So treatment involves understanding what need the addiction is “standing in for” and how we can help you to get that need met in a healthier way.  Then we have to work together with a strong resolve and a conscious awareness of the damaging nature of the addiction to help you firmly establish a new pattern of thought and behaviour. Providing that your intent is clear, then there is every chance of success, because new behaviour and thought can literally change the pathways in the brain….effectively re-wiring the way you do things. So what might seem difficult at first, soon becomes second nature as the automatic part of the mind naturally promotes the new pattern of thought and behaviour as normal rather than the old one which was supporting the addiction. The “void” which was being filled by the addiction can be filled instead now with positive behaviours and feelings because we take steps to make sure your needs are being properly met and then you can gain pleasure in healthier more fulfilling ways. 

Ultimately, addictive behaviours are destructive even if they do seem fun and exciting in the short term, and most addicts know that at a conscious level. We aim to get that message over to the subconscious mind too so that it starts to support you properly, making it much easier to engage positively with a new lifestyle!  

If you have an addictive problem that you'd like some help with then please contact me to arrange an appointment.