Changing
our Habits
A behavior is anything we do automatically, or without
intention. Our posture, walking gait, speech, and driving
habits are behaviors. There are also behaviors that we
eventually find disruptive, like hair pulling, nail biting,
food, cravings, compulsions, addictions.
Modifying behavior is the basis for the more commonly thought of
hypnosis uses - smoking cessation and weight management.
Modifying behavior is a useful technique in changing habits. It can help you stop doing something you want to
stop or create motivation for something where there was
previously none. Ending an addiction and replace it with
positive action. Behavior modification with hypnosis can
"neutralize" old habits and help you create a new habit of
your own choosing.
In
understanding hypnosis and behavior modification, it is
important to see the similarity of habits, fixed ideas, beliefs,
and reactions. They all have a base or trigger that can
create strong emotional reactions. This strong emotional
reaction can be experienced as a craving, addiction, urge,
anxiousness, compulsion, desire, wanting, fear, anger, joy,
happiness, anticipation, feeling nervous, etc.. In working with the
emotion attached to a specific trigger you can increase or
decrease the strength of the resulting action.
A benign
example of this would be how the smell of fresh cut grass makes
some people feel happy and "good". It could be the result
of the smell triggering the emotions connected to a past
situation where that smell was present. i.e. a summer day
when very young while playing with friends outside and feeling
particularly good.
Another
example of this could be a young child at a family gathering
where the grown-ups sit around smoking and drinking. They
are laughing and having a good time. In this situation a
child may create the connection of smoking and drinking with
feeling good. With repeated similar situations while
growing up, this connection strengthens. When this person
is older, they may have good experiences because of this
connection. But, it may also lead a person to go to this
connection when they are feeling sad or down resulting in a
continued search for happiness in this way. This person
may never consciously understand why they have such a strong reaction for
that situation. Their behavior has been modified by their
experience and they now have a habit.
If a, traumatic experience creates an
emotional association, it can result in a person feeling sad,
tired, depressed, just feeling bad. If this happens, it
can increase the motivation to feel good in ways your mind as
previously experienced. This can be a foundation for
addictions like drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, smoking.
When using hypnosis for something like a
gambling problem, it is effective to look for the feeling
associated with the gambling activity, then change or remove
that emotional association.
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Check Here for Clinical Study Abstracts
Concerning this Subject.
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