Addictions

People can become addicted to almost anything, from certain foods, drinks, legal and illegal substances to behaviours and situations. Addiction can take the form of shopping, sex, gambling, drugs and many others.

Often the purpose of an addiction is to temporarily 'anaesthetise' our pain or negative feelings about an issue in our life. The addicted person sometimes starts by developing a habit which later becomes an emotional / psychological and even physical dependence.

Although people normally believe to be capable of stopping the unwanted behaviour or habit at will, when they try they often find themselves failing repeatedly.

However, not everyone who experiments with substances or new behaviours becomes addicted but for those that do, there is normally a feeling of needing to repeat the behaviour or take more of the substance regularly in order to feel pleasure, happiness or ability to cope. The individual sometimes develops a compulsion which can go as far as performing actions which normally the person wouldn't do in order to get the object or feeling they desire regardless of any adverse consequences for themselves or others.

In many cases the consequences of addictive behaviour affects not only the individual but also the family and even society in general. From changes in brain function with substance abuse, disease of the liver with alcohol and domestic violence, to unemployment, debt,  relationship problems, child abuse, property crimes,  and many others.

Addictions are an enormous social problem, they are certainly difficult to break if the individual is trying to do it alone, however with the right frame of mind, professional help and support it becomes just a matter of time.

When addictions are explored in a caring, non judgmental environment, clients develop awareness of under-lying issues or past 'unfinished business' which have consciously or unconsciously contributed to the problem.

During consultation clients can experience powerful techniques designed to promote reduction and abstinence of addictive behaviour.  Techniques such as 'six-step reframing', 'parts integration' and the 'meta model patterns' from NLP can help to resolve self-sabotage while hypnotherapy sessions can help identify the emotional cause of the problem as well as reinforcing positive behaviour.

This techniques can be delivered alone or in combination with other services/therapies and help or medication from your general practitioner - GP.

Comments

[Trish Kelly]

An inspring web page. Well done Sonia