Last week it was revealed that the UK is the substance abuse capital of Europe.
This includes the use of legal substances, mainly alcohol, and the use of Class A drugs, that include heroin, cocaine, meth, and hallucinogens. £36 billion is spent by the nation every year on treatment relating to drug and alcohol abuse. The report also found that the UK had the highest rate of addiction to opioids and the highest lifetime-use of amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy across Europe.
International hypnotherapist Helen Birch has helped many people become addiction free and is keen to get people off to a good start in developing a better lifestyle and becoming substance free, and hopes to influence the minds of those wanting to quit with a few hints and tips to how they can change how they think about drugs and in turn become drug free for good.
Addiction is not a case of willpower, as many users have tried in the past to quit but the cravings and associations formed, making it a constant battle. Many ex addicts report that stopping was relatively easy, it’s the staying stopped that’s hard. Changing how somebody thinks can make it a far easier battle to win by altering the perception of the substance and breaking that psychological addiction.
The following tips can influence your mind with clear signals that substance use is negative, and drug free is positive.
1. Record
Write down all the reasons you want to quit in your own words, and read the list you make many times a day.
2. Control your thoughts.
What goes on in an addict’s head is key to staying stopped, so mental changes are also key to that long term success. To an addict the substance or drug is associated with relaxation, having fun, getting out of your own head, taking a break, taking time out; it is associated with something positive.
Take alcohol as an example: People will say ‘its time for a drink after work’’. Alcohol equals relaxation in the person’s mind. From now on remove the word ‘drink’ (or whatever your addiction is) from your vocabulary.
Instead of saying “it’s time for a drink” change it to “it’s time to go and increase my chances of getting cancer” or “it’s time to go out and poison myself again” therefore associating it with a negative instead of a positive.
Enjoy breaking these associations; make a point of finding any associations and destroying them with negatives. When you start talking and thinking like this, you create a different set of associations. Habits are borne out of repetition, so you can easily install new habits by that same repetition.
3. Visualise
Take a few minutes to sit somewhere quietly, close your eyes and focus just on your breathing for a few moments, then see yourself in your mind’s eye drug-free.
See yourself in situations you would have previously taken drugs, acting just like a non user.
And finally, you are NOT alone.
Help is right here.
Hypnosis is a natural evidence based treatment for a number of issues. And IT CAN positively address your addiction issues. Hypnosis works with the subconscious mind to help develop strategies and behaviours to combat addictions. Allowing you to break free from the grip addiction can have.
So CALL now , because nothing changes if nothing changes.
Helen Birch- Hypnotherapy
Call 07414022240
Email: hypnosisinyorkshire@gmail.com
Visit: www.hypnosisinyorkshire.com