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Break Addictions & Compulsive Habits
Most “Addictive” Behavior Isn’t a Chemical Problem
It’s an emotional dependency problem.
A lot of bad habits, compulsions, and addictive behaviors are driven more by emotions than chemicals, including patterns around alcohol, gambling, smoking, and sex.
Most of the time, the habit is helping you to reduce stress, distract yourself, or feel good, until it starts creating bigger problems with sleep, health, money, and relationships.
Have You Been in This Trap Before?
You already KNOW it’s not helping long-term, but in the moment, it feels like relief. It's like there's an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other one, each telling you to do the opposite thing.
That's why an addiction or compulsion usually comes with a specific kind of internal conflict:
“I know I should stop, but I can’t.”
That’s Why “Just Use Willpower” Fails So Often
Willpower is a conscious tool (which runs out), and compulsions tend to be driven by something stronger and faster: the subconscious thoughts and feelings underneath the behavior. You're not weak – you've just been using the wrong tool to change your habits.
Why You’re Stuck in the Loop
A compulsive behavior is something you choose (subconsciously) to change your emotional or physical state, even when you know it’s unhealthy or causes other problems.
It’s often an attempt to distract or feel pleasure to ease emotional discomfort.
And when the behavior reliably creates temporary relief, the subconscious starts running it as a habit triggered by an emotional urge or craving.
So the behavior your mind learned as a "solution" to one problem becomes a new problem by itself.
Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Even When the Consequences Are Real)
From the subconscious point of view, the habit is “good” because it accomplishes something in the short-term: safety, relief, comfort, numbness, escape.
From the conscious mind’s long-term view, it’s self-destructive.
That mismatch or internal conflict is what keeps the cycle alive. "I know I should do that, BUT I keep doing this."
You Need a Deeper Solution
The key to breaking an emotionally compulsive habit is fixing what the behavior was trying to solve to begin with.
The framework is actually pretty simple. When you deal with what makes you feel bad at the subconscious level, the urge loses its purpose and then disappears. Willpower is not required.
Using hypnosis, NLP, and other targeted methods, we help to establish a “mental handshake” where your subconscious stops fighting you and finds better ways to meet your emotional needs while addressing the core discomfort.
- In practice, that often means:
- Identifying the emotional driver behind the craving (stress, anxiety, unresolved emotional pain)
- Breaking the emotional dependency on the substance/behavior so you're not using it to feel better
- Replacing the old "relief-strategy" with something that actually works long-term
And yes, emotional trauma and identifying with your behavior contribute to the problem, and it’s a common cause we’ll address too.
We've had hundreds of clients who overcame their struggle with self-control or unwanted habits. In most cases, when we addressed the underlying cause (thoughts or feelings), the habit itself began to dissolve naturally. Remember this...When you think and feel better, you can do better.
Your Next Step
If you’re ready to stop fighting yourself, regain self-control, and release your emotional dependency, schedule an initial consultation. We’ll figure out what's been driving your unwanted behavior and outline a clear plan to resolve the issue at its root.
Take the first step toward freedom
This process begins with you.
We'll guide you the rest of the way.
"My personal issue before meeting with Gina was excessive alcohol consumption, drinking heavily for the past 30 years. It affected me personally, made me anxious, depressed, low self-worth, and [affected] my relationships with family and friends. I would drink more because I'd feel guilty and then shame.
Then I would try to stop off and on for the past probably 10 years with little to no success trying to white knuckle my way through it. I went through several therapists online, was diagnosed with PTSD from a traumatic childhood between my two alcoholic parents. But I felt like therapy was just rehashing the past and actually made me drink heavier after those sessions, just getting all those negative feelings back up. Somebody had referred me to hypnosis just because they noticed how much I was drinking and blacking out.
I had an initial consult with Gina, and I felt like it was a good working relationship. I will say, when I first came into it, I had my doubts, but working with Gina exceeded my expectations. Getting to the root of the problem and chipping away at it through the different sessions, something just clicked. It didn't really hit me until probably three or four weeks into it, then one day I didn't have the urge to drink anymore, going from 8-10 drinks a night to one or two. But then it really, really stuck.
These past few weeks I have had no urges or even temptation to drink. I haven't had anything to drink. It's hard to describe. I just feel normal without drinking. I don't feel like I need it. I feel more confident, able to talk to people without drinking, not getting socially anxious and awkward. Also, the anxiety is pretty much gone. My relationships have gotten better. I'm more present with my wife. I've been a lot more productive.
I would highly recommend it. I know at first people might be skeptical, like I was. Be skeptical if you want, just have an open mind going into it. And then, if you do that, just trust the process and follow instructions, and I guarantee you'll be successful."
Chris S.
“I never thought I’d quit and it would be so easy!!!! When I met Todd for the first time, I was so nervous I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve gone to hypnosis shows and have seen what hypnotist can do (If any of you have been to a Vegas show you know what i mean :).
Todd is very detailed and explained the entire process and really just made me feel at ease. I LIVED a very unhealthy life style that consisted of heavy drinking, smoking, negative thought process and was in a deep depression. I tried everything in order to quit…but nothing worked and hypnosis was my last hope.
My first day with Todd I cried my eyes out to him just telling him my story. He gave me numerous tools to reduce stress and continues to be a positive influence in my life. [Before hypnosis], I would allow myself to smoke while drinking or at social settings. Todd told me the more and more I go without smoking the less I will want it.
I have no urges to drink or smoke! I’m proud to say Thank you Goodwin Hypnosis!!! Todd you’re amazing!!!”
Michelle Hageman
“I had some problems with sweets and alcohol, and after the very first sessions I had big improvements. I was really happy to work with Todd.
I think his method is the most effective from any others I tried and what is the most important.
You can feel Todd really cares about you and the result you are getting from working with him!”
Anna
Hypnosis can be a powerful tool to help you:
- Stop Fighting Yourself
- Regain Self-Control
- Improve Your Self-Respect and Self-Worth
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Take the first step toward freedom
This process begins with you.
We'll guide you the rest of the way.
984-733-6733
984-733-6733
Serving Raleigh, Durham, and Cary, NC
and clients nationwide via Zoom
Serving Raleigh, Durham, and Cary, NC
and clients nationwide via Zoom
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DISCLAIMER:
DISCLAIMER:
Testimonials by former clients of Todd or Gina Goodwin are true and factual. Goodwin Hypnosis, its officers, and personnel, do not imply or claim that these comments represent typical results. Results vary depending on age, gender, lifestyle, motivation, and individual commitment to achieve a desired result. These clients voluntarily offered their feedback and were not compensated in any way. Each comment is the opinion of one person at a specific time and should be considered only in that context. Comments may reference conditions or medications in the client's own words; see our Scope of Practice.
Copyright © 2007-2026 Goodwin Hypnosis LLC
Goodwin Hypnosis LLC
Copyright © 2007-2026