Break Addictions & Compulsive Habits

We don’t get hung up on the exact definition, which changes depending on the source. Most people do agree that an addiction is a compulsion or bad habit that someone keeps doing although it causes significant harm to themselves or others. We think that definition is too vague and arbitrary, since “significant harm” means different things to different people. Almost all human addictions, no matter how bad, involve a compulsion. This means there’s strong internal pressure to act in a certain (harmful) way. Most compulsions involve an inner conflict (“I know I should stop, but I can’t”). Instead of focusing on how “bad habit” and “addiction” are defined, we solve the problem at its subconscious root.

A compulsive behavior is one that people choose (subconsciously) and use to change their emotional or physical state. This happens even though they know it’s unhealthy or causes other problems. It’s almost always an attempt to distract or feel pleasure in order to ease emotional discomfort. When this kind of behavior consistently makes someone feel better (temporarily), their subconscious makes it a habit that gets triggered by an emotional urge or craving. The key to stopping these behaviors is to figure out and deal with what makes you feel bad in the first place.

Chemistry plays a big role in addictions, but the chemicals in the brain (especially dopamine) are mostly to blame, not the chemicals in alcohol, drugs, food, nicotine, etc. After all, getting hooked on pornography, social media, or gambling doesn’t take any chemicals from the outside world. Many things can change how the brain works, and when someone learns through trial and error how to make themselves feel good (or get rid of pain), they tend to do it more and more. This is true for both people and mice, and for everything in between. External chemicals like stimulants, alcohol, and sugar can change the way the brain works and become chemically addictive. However, most of the addiction is caused by the emotional dependency on substances or behaviors to help you feel better. Unlike rodents, humans can choose to break that emotional dependency, which is what hypnotists help their clients to do.

Our subconscious focuses on the short-term and wants us to be safe and feel good. From the point-of-view of the long-term-focused conscious mind, addictive behaviors are self-destructive or “bad.” The subconscious, however, knows they serve a good purpose and thinks they are “good,” which is why they keep happening. Someone who feels stress may eat a pint of ice cream to feel better, even if that’s an unhealthy choice. Unwanted habits, no matter their long-term cost, may develop as long as they “get the job done” temporarily. Willpower is a conscious tool, but the subconscious is much stronger, so willpower rarely changes habits. Using NLP and hypnosis, we can bring about a “mental handshake” where the subconscious agrees to stop fighting the conscious. We help the subconscious find better ways to meet your emotional needs while addressing the root cause of the discomfort. Emotional trauma is a common cause, and we know how to fix it quickly and completely.