Addiction is a biopsychosocial disorder characterized by repetitive engagement in a behavior. When talking about addiction, most people think about the headline categories such as drinking, smoking, gambling, and of course drugs.
Although these are the better known types of addictions, other day-to-day addictions can also become equally as damaging to individuals, their friends, and families. These are often the things that people don’t always see as a problem such as eating, mobile phone use, social media, shopping and even some things that are often thought of as positive such as exercise and dieting.
Types of Addiction
Experts generally recognise two distinct types of addiction:
- Chemical addiction: Chemical addictions involve the use of substances such as drugs, alcohol, and nicotine
- Behavioral addiction: Behavioral addictions refer to addictions that involve compulsive behaviors. These are persistent, repeated behaviors that people carry out even if they don’t offer any real benefit.
An addiction is defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you. According to the charity Action on Addiction, 1 in 3 people are addicted to something.
Can Addiction be Treated?
Addiction is a treatable condition and there are lots of ways you can seek help, no matter what type of addiction you have. Visiting your GP for advice is a great starting point as is contacting an organisation that specialises in helping people with specific addiction types. There are also hundreds if not thousands of online directories that can help to find addiction treatment services in your area.
Hypnosis downloads can also be a great tool to help break repetitive cycles and encourage new, more positive thinking patterns and behaviors.
Breaking the cycle
Although it sounds easier than it usually is, an addiction can be broken by re-training the mind and replacing old habits with new. It is a process of regaining control.
Using hypnosis to beat an addiction can be an effective tool and can be used whenever it is needed. If you suffer from an addiction, then hypnosis is worth along with other methods and techniques. Hypnosis sessions are based around a deeply relaxing experience which is the opposite physical state to anxiety. The sessions guide and encourage you to decondition yourself, enabling you to explore new possibilities, routines and behaviors to help you escape addictive behaviors.
Addiction self-help
To help, we have compiled a list of hypnosis mp3 sessions that can help towards beating addictions. We have also listed a number of addiction related, self-help book titles that have been considered as useful for understanding and dealing with addictions.
3 Popular addiction related books
- Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction: A step-by-step guide to beating addiction of any kind—from drugs and gambling to alcoholism, overeating, and sex addiction. By recognizing and understanding the emotional forces underlying addictive behaviors
- Change Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer Self-Destructive Behavior: A guide that shows how we actually have two brains – a conscious deliberate self and an automatic self that makes most of our decisions – and how we can train the latter to ignore distractions, withstand temptations, and interrupt reflexive, self-sabotaging responses.
- Overcoming Addiction Paperback: Overcoming Addiction looks at the underlying causes of both chemical and emotional addictions, and helps you to identify the real needs you are trying to fulfil underneath. It also helps you identify how you can help yourself break free from destructive habits, build self-esteem and even give up your addictions for good
Popular addiction mp3 downloads
- Sugar Addiction: Overcome an addiction to sugar with this professionally-recorded hypnosis MP3 download from Hypnotic World
- Caffeine Addiction: Overcome your caffeine addiction with this hypnosis MP3. Addicted to coffee and fizzy drinks? Reduce your dependence on caffeine
- Chocolate Addiction: No matter how hard you ‘put your foot down’, the chocolate usually finds some way to convince you to eat more. The Overcome Chocolate Addiction hypnosis session will help you gently re-educate your unconscious mind to give you more freedom to choose when it comes to chocolate.
- Energy Drink Addiction: Do you want to stop relying on energy drinks to get through the day? Do you feel trapped by an addiction to the sugar and caffeine they contain? Overcome Energy Drink Addiction is an audio hypnosis session that will help you take back control of your vitality
Beating an addiction requires several approaches including self-help, finding new ways to occupy your time and mind, and setting some goals and targets. Pursuing alternative activities that you enjoy and make you happy can also help to break addictive cycles. A little physical exercise such as a 30-minute walk, or cycle along the seafront, in a park, or in the countryside, several times a week, is a great way for the mind to heal and for you to reevaluate and focus on the way forward.
See our home page for information on other self-help books and self-help hypnosis mp3 downloads.