An addiction is defined as when you no longer have control over what you’re doing, taking or using. You don’t care how much time or money is spent or how it affects your family. Your behavior is out of control.
Typically you lie, cheat or steal. You often end up with health or money problems.
Drugs and alcohol are often used in an attempt to cope with difficult emotions, and because of the way the brain responds, people can quickly become addicted. Addictions bring with them a whole new set of obstacles, often leaving the drug user trapped in a cycle of drug abuse, trying to quit and relapsing.
Dopamine is a chemical that sends signals between brain cells. It’s called the ‘’feel-good hormone’’ and its associated with feeling of euphoria, bliss and happiness. The narcotics such as cocaine, nicotine and heroin cause huge boosts in dopamine. The high you feel when you use drugs comes partly from this dopamine spike. This is what makes you seek out those drugs again and again even though they are harmful. The lack of dopamine can also make it difficult for the person affected to feel enjoyment from other activities such as seeing friends, eating a good meal or some other previous hobbies.
Cocaine meddles with the brain's use of dopamine to convey messages from one neuron (brain cell) to another. This means cocaine stops neurons turning off the dopamine, leaving the brain thinking it's being 'rewarded' unconditionally.
In animal experiments, cocaine caused dopamine levels to rise to more than three times the normal level.
Nicotine. The addictive ingredient in tobacco. When you smoke a cigarette, nicotine is rapidly absorbed by the lungs and taken to the brain.
You’re hooked. And our good friend dopamine? Nicotine helps release it so you, the smoker, feels good.
You guessed it. Alcohol causes dopamine to be released. But, over time, you have to drink more to get that dopamine hit – causing your body to crave more alcohol. That’s alcohol addiction.
Hypnotherapy for addiction is one approach that, especially when combined with other form of treatment, can be incredibly helpful for those in recovery. Even though hypnosis is widely used to treat drug addiction we must emphasize that it’s not a cure.
Typically, hypnotherapist works with a client to look at their core beliefs: memories that make the person weak and fearful, interrogating the years of failure, fear and hopelessness.
Some studies have shown that hypnotherapy can help with addictions since hypnosis can allow certain people through the power of suggestion to strengthen their willpower in overcoming their addictive urges and cravings. The hypnotic state decreases a person's peripheral awareness, heightening attention and suggestibility to potentially effectively alter the neurophysiological networks capable of rewiring certain patterns and conditioning. This means a person's feelings and behaviors continue to be influenced even after they have come out of a hypnotic trance.
However, those who think that hypnosis is somehow magical, and will erase their addiction in a single session are likely to be disappointed. Hypnotherapy is a tool to unlock human potential through the power of suggestion, and is not a magic formula.
Drug addiction is a complicated thing and there are usually many factors at play. This means it can be difficult to overcome and usually requires the support of others, including professionals. During the recovery process it is quite normal for people to relapse (start using drugs again after quitting).
If this happens to you, it’s important to know that it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means it is time to seek help. The sooner you try to find help, the sooner you will be free to start living your life again.
