Can you treat your addiction with hypnosis? Addiction treatment often requires a multifaceted approach that incorporates counseling, lifestyle changes, and a new vision and goals. Where does hypnosis or hypnotherapy fit into your treatment plan?
What is Hypnosis?
Bark like a dog. Run around the stage singing opera. While you might think of popular hypnotists who bring people on stage to act in strange ways, hypnosis is not only smoke and mirrors. There is the hypnosis that you see on stage, and then there is hypnosis that is used in therapy. The two are very different.
According to Psychology Today, “hypnosis is a state of highly focused attention or concentration, often associated with relaxation, and heightened suggestibility.” During this focused state, people are given suggestions that are supposed to come into effect after the session is over.
It can be difficult to respond to suggestions that you find challenging. Under hypnosis, people seem to be more susceptible to acting on these suggestions. People under hypnosis are in control of themselves, so hypnosis will not make you do things that you would find disturbing, but it could help you break down the barriers that prevent you from trying something that is positive.
When you are moving back into your old family dynamics, you need support for behavior change.
Does Hypnosis Help You Change Behavior?
Addiction treatment and recovery are about long-term behavior change. It can be hard to change your behavior, particularly if you are returning home to relationships, jobs, and financial worries that are the same as when you left. You need a support structure in place, but you also need to form strong habits that protect you from addiction. That is where hypnosis could come into play.
If you are having trouble getting together with a sponsor in a 12-step program, avoiding social situations that involve drinking, or generally supporting your recovery, you could turn to hypnosis to help you change your habits.
Will it work? Not everyone responds to hypnosis. Some people are able to put their mind into a trance-like state easily, while others find it more difficult. For a small percentage of people, hypnosis can be life-changing. However, a single session does not generally change behavior. Just like other healing methods such as counseling, you will likely need to try several sessions before you see the impact of hypnosis.
You can also try hypnosis on yourself. By sitting down, getting comfortable and relaxed, and putting your mind at ease, you can create positive suggestions for behavior change and see if they stick.
Hypnosis Can Relax You
According to the
College of Hypnotherapy, there are relaxation benefits to hypnosis as well. “By introducing relaxation therapy along with imagery, hypnosis can help remove physical barriers to recovery, such as the body’s symptoms of withdrawal, anxiety, muscle tension, spasm, and pain.” By managing the physical symptoms of recovery, you can make it easier to achieve your goal of remaining drug and alcohol-free.
At Advanced Recovery Systems, we are dedicated to your recovery and addiction treatment. Talk with us about your options for treatment and the ways that we can support you in long-term recovery.
Contact us today.
