When you hear the word “addiction,” the “… too much” behaviors always to come to mind. Right?
Like smoke too much, eat too much, drink too much, gaming too much, shop too much, sex too much…. But, addiction can be defined in many ways.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) has specified three main types of addiction.
Substance use disorders include addictions relating to substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, cocaine, and the like. Impulse control disorders is characterized by failure to resist a temptation, urge or impulse that may harm oneself or others. Kleptomania (compulsive stealing) and gambling belong to this type of addiction. And, behavioral addiction involves a compulsion to engage despite any negative outcomes to the individual’s physical, mental, social or financial well-being. Food, pornography, video games and shopping are examples of behaviors that have been noted to be addictive.
A range of addiction treatments are available, including both medical and mental health treatments as no one treatment is right for everyone. Addiction treatment plans often include multiple forms of treatment for the best results.
The Addiction Cycle
All human behaviors are movements motivated towards pleasure and away from pain. Immediate gratification gives rise to negative consequences which in turn trigger further need for gratification. That is the underlying basis for the addictive cycle.
For example, when a smoker inhales the smoke of cigarettes, the nicotine goes deep into the lungs. Nicotine is a stimulant. It makes the smoker feels more alert or awake. But after about 45 minutes when the level of nicotine in the blood goes down, he starts to feel withdrawal symptoms. He may feel tired and irritable (angry, impatient, nervous). He slowly increases the number of cigarettes he smokes to prevent the bad feelings of withdrawal. He keeps increasing the number of cigarettes until he reaches a certain level of nicotine in his blood.
How to detect addiction
Early signs of addiction can be difficult to determine because, at the beginning, the behavior of an addict is often seen as harmless and normal. For example, an alcoholic can be viewed as someone who just enjoys alcoholic drinks. A compulsive shopper or gambler might be viewed as someone who can afford and enjoy spending their money.
However, when these behaviors start to affect their day-to-day lives negatively, they will suffer both physically and emotionally and will eventually impinge on their work, family and people around them.
Common signs and symptoms of addiction are:
- Craving
- Compulsivity
- Negative behavioral changes
- Fixation
- Loss of self-control
- Psychological or physiological withdrawal
- Feeling a need to engage
- Secretiveness
- Low self-esteem
- Extreme mood changes
- Change in sleep pattern
- Financially unpredictable
- Changes in social groups
- Weight loss or weight gain
If you feel any of those symptoms in yourself or notice those signs in other person, it is recommended to seek help right away. Early detection of the issue greatly increases the chances to obtain an effective resolution.
Hypnosis as an addiction treatment
There is no quick fix for addiction, but for many people hypnosis is one of the valuable tools in the fight against addiction. There are often underlying emotional difficulties that the addict will need to resolve before resolution of the addiction, and hypnosis facilitates this.
In 2003, a group of German scientists had found that hypnotism was almost twice more effective than therapy alone for psychosomatic illness, test anxiety, and nicotine addiction. Based on their research, the success rate increased from 37 percent to 64 percent in patients that underwent hypnotherapy as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Hypnosis can be a very useful adjunct in the treatment of addictions (Katz, 1980; Manganiello, 1984; Potter, 2004), smoking (Ahijevych et al., 2000; Barber, 2001; Carmody et al., 2008) and alcoholism (Wadden & Penrod, 1981).
It has been demonstrated that stress and anxiety (Coman et al., 1998) and past traumatic and emotional difficulties (Raylu & Oei, 2002) underpin much addiction. Using hypnosis to improve self-esteem, self-control, positive mental attitude and resolve emotional difficulties is hence an important part of working with any addict.
Negative emotional states may trigger relapse, using hypnosis to help resolve anxiety, anger and other negative emotions may be useful in reducing potential triggers to relapse, and self-hypnosis can be learned and applied to engage calmness and positive emotional states when in high stress situations and prevent the vicious cycle back to the addiction.
Yes, there is hope!
YES, there is hope in overcoming any of your addictions very easily and quickly.
Don’t let it ruin your life and the lives of the people around you. Seek to be more optimistic. It’s never too late to reset your goals and restore wellness into your mind and body.
Act now and book your hypnotherapy session with MindLife Hypnotherapy Singapore.
Or, you might want to book a FREE initial consultation.
You may visit www.mindlifehypnotherapy.com for more details of services you are looking for.
Also, Mindlife Hypnotherapy regularly conducts Hypnosis training courses:
- National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) Hypnotists Certification Course
- 7th Path Self-Hypnosis Course
Mind your Life, Live your Passion!
