The first phase of withdrawal from an addictive behavior or substance may only last from a few days to a few weeks. The second phase lasts several months to a year and the symptoms and discomfort are more emotional and psychological. It can be tough not to reach for the quick fix since we are so accustomed to dulling uncomfortable feelings and haven’t yet learned the tools to deal with them in healthier ways.
Hypnosis can be very helpful during this critical time:
- Your hypnotherapist will ask what your triggers are and about the roughest times and events for you and then desensitize you to them with visualizations and breathing techniques.
- The affirmations that you need the most to build self-esteem, confidence, hope and more . . . become more deeply ingrained in your psyche when you are in an altered state.
- You can be guided to a special place in your mind and while you imagine and sense actually being present there, your brain chemistry shifts and releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals to create a natural sense of peace and joy.
- By learning self-hypnosis, you learn to mitigate stress and many of the uncomfortable feelings of anxiety, insomnia, etc. that come after detox-PAWS (post-acute withdrawal syndrome). They can last for months and are the cause of most relapses.
- As you leave your self-deadening substance behind, the imagery and visualizations can help you recover lost parts of yourself, talents and suppressed desires. So, you start to create the life that you’ve always yearned for and still deserve.
You learn tools to use your own mind to self-sooth and move through cravings, so it’s very empowering. You feel more in control than ever, because you now have so many resources and your brain structure actually changes as you create new neural pathways and create healthier alternatives.
There are a number of pre-recorded programs available to order online, but individualized sessions are much more effective. Look for a hypnotherapist with specialized addiction training. There are several hundred of us now, across the US.