Habits & Addictions

It is extremely easy for an action to turn into a bad habit or addiction. From nail-biting and hair-pulling and bed-wetting to smoking, alcohol and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), addictions can have a negative impact on your work life, your family life and your social life. Hypnotherapy can help address any unwanted habit or addiction to allow you to take control of your life.

Alcohol
Nail biting
Thumb sucking
Snacking
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Skin picking
Trichotillomania (hair pulling)
Bruxism (Teeth Grinding)
& more

Alcohol

I have worked with a variety of clients (Women in particular) who come to me becuase they are concerned about their reliance on alcohol.

Case study: Female 47 - recently divorced and living with her children, she had begun to notice that she found it hard to sleep. As a result, she was drinking half a bottle of wine every evening to help her fall asleep. After only four sessions of hypnotherapy, my client was able to sleep better at night and reduce her alcohol intake to only a couple of glasses a week as a social drink rather than a dependancy on alcohol.

Case study: Female 38 - This client came to see me becuase she could not get through the day without having a drink. She would find herself using alcohol as a reward for household chore and as a daily treat. She wanted to rethink the way she percieved alcohol and have it as a social drink only and feel she was in control. There were also some strong self esteem issues that needed to be resolved. With 7 sessions, this client had stopped drinking all together and left feeling confident and happy.

Case study: Female 16 - At 16 years old, peer pressure and a lack of self confidence had left this teenager feeling as though she had to get drunk in order to be seen to be part of the group and confident enough to interact with her friends. After regular binging sessions, several times a week, my client had enough and wanted to be able to either stop drinking all together or contain it to when she wanted to drink as opposed to feeling as though she had to get drunk. Her hangovers left her feeling guilty and depressed. After 6 sessions together, my client left therapy feeling in control of what she drinks, when she drinks, and how much she drinks.

Thumb sucking

This is something we normally associate with childhood but its not uncommon for adults to carry on sucking their thumbs throughout their life. For some, this has consequences to their dental health pushing the front teeth up. Like nail-biting, you can stop sucking your thumb in only three or four sessions!

Case Study: Female 27, came to see me becuase she had been sucking her thumb all her life. When she sucked her thumb she would also rub her face and has been left with permanent scarring as a result. Now that she was about to have a child, she wanted to set a good example. In only two suggestion sessions this client had stopped sucking her thumb completely. She is so happy with the results!

Case Study: Male 48, wanted hypnotherapy to stop him sucking his thumb in his sleep. He had always done it and felt that now was the time to kick the habit for good. After one session, my client had stopped sucking his thumb but now struggled to sleep becuase he no longer had his method for self soothing. After the second session, my client was sleeping better and not sucking his thumb anymore, and after his final session he was happy that he had stopped sucking his thumb in his sleep and was able to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Trichotillomania

Do you literally pull out your hair, rip out your eyelashes or pick at your arms & leg hairs? Technically hair pulling is a form of anxiety disorder but it can also be a habit that you can break. Through sessions focusing on reducing the anxiety and stopping the habit, you can stop your hair pulling in a number of weeks.

Snacking

We have all been guilty of snacking at one time or another. Whether you are a constant grazer or magically happen to eat a family sized bag of crisps during a good film, snacking can be a problem. Snacking too often can lead to weight gain or poor diet. Snacking is usually a habit born out of boredom, fatigue or comfort. Suggestion work is great for helping with snacking when its down to boredom. If there is any emotional link, you may find hypno-analysis is the answer. I always talk my clients through the various options available and what I percieve to be the best way forward. See the weight reduction page for more information.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Please see my Stress & Anxiety page!

Nail Biting

Nail biting predominantly happens without us even thinking about it. Clients often report biting their nails when they are deep in thought, watching TV, driving and during periods of concentration. Nail biting is a simple habit to fix and clients rarely need more than 2-3 hypnotherapy sessions to stop the nail biting habit for good.

Case study: Female 23 - Although never biting her nails to the point of being raw, this client worked as a hair and make-up artist so felt it did not present a good impression if she had ragged bitten nails. After only two sessions she had stopped biting her nails.

Case study: Male 33 - As a trainer, this client used his hands all the time during training sessions. He began to find that he felt self conscious about showing his hands off and so would stand with his arms crossed or use other methods to hide his fingers. By 3 sessions, he stopped biting his nails permanently.

Case Study: Female 65 - This client has been been biting her nails for years! When she came to see me there was still a level of doubt that she could rid herself of this habit so easily. She felt ashamed she bit her nails and thought it was a dirty habit. After the first session her nail biting had reduced, after her second session she had stopped biting them completely. After the third and final session she had beautiful nails and needed to get out the nail file! Just goes to show you are never to old to break a habit!