How Hypnotherapy Can Help Eliminate Cravings and Beat Bad Habits

We’re all guilty of reaching for that extra biscuit or saying “just one more cigarette”.

It’s a comforting thing to say because it reassures us that “one more won’t hurt”. The truth is, it’s never just one more. One more biscuit leads to another and before you know it, you’ve eaten the whole packet. The goal of losing weight drifts further and further away until it is almost impossible to achieve your targets. 

Little actions can lead to big consequences. Although we quantify our occasional habits as one more little thing, they soon build up. Making time to address the wider problem can help kick the habit for good. So how does one do this? It takes practice but with time and effort, you can manage your habits by controlling your cravings. 

Addressing cravings can help us stop these small actions altogether. If we don’t crave a cigarette, we won’t smoke one. The same goes for food, craving a little something sweet after dinner is something we’re all guilty of but cutting out dessert can help us on track to losing weight quicker. 

How hypnotherapy works 

Hypnotherapy places us in a relaxed state, enabling complete focus so that we can address unhelpful ways of thinking. A therapist will use spoken word to calmly place you into a trance-like state. This process then allows the therapist to guide you through different thought processes around your cravings, imagining ways in which to target the issue. For example, a person desperate to kick their sugar habit may seek therapy as a way to stop snacking. Self-hypnosis can help the individual to visualise how refined sugar is processed in the body and understand how constant snacking is damaging the quality of their health. 

Changing attitudes 

By changing the way we think about food, we can change our behaviours accordingly. What was once the most delicious cake could potentially turn us off after therapy. The aim is to instill healthy attitudes so that anyone thinking of picking up a cupcake will think twice. Hypnotherapy conditions the mind in believing that sugary foods are bad and that foods with natural sugars are a much better alternative. 

A study looked into the benefits of hypnotherapy in people who smoked. They found that this therapy was far more effective at helping people kick their nicotine cravings than using nicotine replacement products. The researchers believe that hypnotherapy improves self-confidence and motivation while weakening the desire to smoke. All are vital in helping people to achieve long-term success. 

Hypnosis can also help with the withdrawal symptoms that come when you quit smoking. Since hypnotherapy enables you to be in a relaxed state, gives you the strength to manage mood changes and cravings better. It’s important to note that hypnotherapy isn’t for everyone but it is certainly better than no intervention at all. 

Targeting impulses 

We develop bad habits either out of boredom or stress, some people bite their nails whereas others stress-eat. It is these coping mechanisms that make it so difficult to kick a habit since these behaviours provide some sort of temporary comfort. In order to understand how habits begin, we must place our thoughts into one of two categories, mindfulness and mindlessness. The former controls our decisions based on active thinking whereas the latter controls actions we do without thinking like doodling on a piece of paper during a meeting. 

In order to target those unhelpful behaviours, we need to recognise what it is that drives us to have these habits. By noticing these patterns of mindless behaviour and the impulses that initiate them, only then can we change that way of thinking and stop the habit for good. Hypnotherapy works to address those impulses by reducing the desire to act on them. 

Home sweet home 

Nowadays, therapy has never been more accessible. With the tap of a button, you can download hypnotherapy sessions right to your phone. Listening in your own time, you have complete control over how often you do your sessions. There are tracks for almost everything, from building confidence and improving sleep to cutting down on sugar and booze. It’s the perfect tool to make your journey easier and help you achieve your goals faster. 

If you’re feeling tempted to try self-hypnotherapy, make sure you can do it in a peaceful environment where you won’t be disturbed. It’s probably easier said than done if you spend most of your day trying to control screaming children but dedicating those 10 minutes each evening might be the missing ticket you need to kick the habit for good. 

 Repeat affirmations to yourself daily and allow yourself to fully open up to the process of self-hypnosis. With each day, your small victories will eventually add up until you can say that you’ve beat your habit for good. 

The magic about self-hypnosis is that it’s just as effective as having an in-person therapist but without the cost. In a 2017 study, researchers compared recovery rates in children with IBS and abdominal pain undergoing therapy. Half of their cohort had in-person therapy whereas the other cohort had a hypnotherapy mp3 they would take home to listen to. When looking at the two groups, they found that the mp3 group was just as likely to recover as the first group was. 

This shows that it doesn’t matter how much money or time you have to dedicate to hypnotherapy. If you are determined, you can find support almost anywhere. The benefits are clear and have helped so many people tackle their habits and fears. There are only benefits to self-hypnosis so try it today, what have you got to lose? 

To Download a hypnotherapy session today that will help you overcome burdensome habits an help kick those deadly cravings visit our online store by clicking the link below.

Clear Minds Hypnotherapy Audio Store - Click Here 

References: 

• Hasan, F. M., Zagarins, S. E., Pischke, K. M., Saiyed, S., Bettencourt, A. M., Beal, L., ... & McCleary, N. (2014). Hypnotherapy is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Complementary therapies in medicine, 22(1), 1-8.
  
• Ramírez-Vizcaya, S., & Froese, T. (2019). The enactive approach to habits: New concepts for the cognitive science of bad habits and addiction. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 301.
  
• Rutten, J. M., Vlieger, A. M., Frankenhuis, C., George, E. K., Groeneweg, M., Norbruis, O. F., ... & Benninga, M. A. (2017). Home-based hypnotherapy self-exercises vs individual hypnotherapy with a therapist for treatment of pediatric irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain, or functional abdominal pain syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA pediatrics, 171(5), 470-477.