Hypnotherapy for Addictions & Habit Control
Habits and routines are essential for structure and stability. However, in our fast-paced, ever-changing world, certain habits can easily become unmanageable and start to control us.
Habits & Addictions: Find Freedom with Hypnotherapy
Habits and routines provide us with structure and help us navigate daily life smoothly. In a balanced state, they allow us to carry out tasks efficiently, giving us stability and predictability.
Our brains are wired to create habits as a way to conserve energy, automating actions that help us achieve our goals and meet our needs. However, in today’s world, it’s easy for certain habits to spiral out of control, becoming addictive or maladaptive.
When habits or addictions take over, they can leave us feeling trapped and out of control, disrupting relationships, well-being, and our overall sense of freedom. The subconscious mind can hold us in this loop, making it difficult to break free and live life to the fullest.
A solution-focused hypnotherapy approach can help you regain control over habits and break free from addictive cycles, empowering you to create healthier patterns and move forward with clarity and balance.
Types of Addictions & Habit Control We Can Help You Overcome
Types of Addictions
Substance Addictions: Alcohol, nicotine, drugs, prescription medications
Behavioral Addictions: Gambling, gaming, shopping, internet and social media
Food Addictions: Overeating, sugar cravings, unhealthy eating habits
Work Addiction: Excessive working or workaholism, avoiding downtime
Exercise Addiction: Compulsive need for physical activity, over-exercising
Relationship & Love Addiction: Codependency, addiction to relationships or romantic attachment
Habit Control Challenges
Procrastination: Difficulty starting or completing tasks, leading to stress or missed deadlines
Nail Biting, Hair Pulling, Skin Picking: Compulsive physical habits, often triggered by stress
Technology Overuse: Excessive phone, internet, or screen time interfering with daily life
Smoking or Vaping: Habitual tobacco or nicotine use for stress relief or routine
Negative Thought Patterns: Persistent negative self-talk or thought loops affecting mental health
Unhealthy Sleep Habits: Inconsistent sleep patterns or reliance on stimulants like caffeine
How Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy Works
Solution-focused hypnotherapy blends relaxation techniques with a positive, goal-focused approach, helping you:
Identify your desired outcomes
Break negative thought patterns
Increase resilience and mental clarity
Sessions focus on the future you want, rather than past problems, creating a tailored plan to help you move forward without anxiety.
How Can Hypnotherapy Help With Addictions & Habit Control
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help break free from the grip of unhealthy habits and addictions. We'll explore the underlying reasons for these behaviors and identify practical steps to overcome them. Together, we’ll create an empowering alternative narrative, helping you visualize a future where you’re in control, and take small, manageable steps toward that vision.
For specific habits or addictions, we use quick, safe techniques to address the emotional triggers that fuel them. Finally, through hypnosis, we engage the subconscious mind to reinforce positive, lasting change.
These techniques are based on proven neuroscience, utilizing a natural process to reprogram the brain and neutralize the compulsive urges associated with addiction and habitual behaviors.
Stephen Hardy
DSFH, HPD, AfSFH, MNCH Reg.
I’m a clinical solution-focused hypnotherapist and coach.
My mission is to help people have more fulfilling, fun lives and careers.
As a clinical hypnotherapist, I work with both the conscious and subconscious minds, using a combination of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, CBT, and Neuroscience, mixed in with my experience of working in senior corporate positions.
The goal is to enable rapid positive change, through helping clients reframe their thinking, and creating new patterns of behaviour. It’s a positive, fun approach.
Testimonials
Free Discovery Call
We'll spend 30 minutes exploring your current challenges and establishing whether Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is a good fit for you.
The relationship between a therapist and a client is fundamental to the success of any engagement. This is an opportunity to get to know me and find out if my style of engagement would work for you.
You will gain a fresh perspective on what's been holding you back, and confidence in your ability to move forward in life.
An opportunity for you to ask me any questions or address any concerns you may have.
FAQs
What is Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy? How does it differ from more traditional therapy?
Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is a proven, fast and effective agent for long term change, and has been successfully deployed in several organisations including Northumbria Police.
I take a holistic approach to supporting clients, addressing the cause of their problems, not just the symptoms. Unlike some other therapies, I don’t focus on a client’s issues beyond gaining an initial understanding. I also don’t perform any regression work or focus on past trauma. Sessions are conducted in a solution-focused manner, helping clients move forward with their lives. I use a combination of NLP, CBT, neuroscience, and hypnotherapy to facilitate rapid change in our clients. The goal of solution-focused hypnotherapy is to enable rapid, sustainable change.
Is Hypnotherapy safe? Will I lose control?
I use an element of trance in sessions to accelerate the therapeutic process, with solution-focused hypnotherapy being a core element of sessions. Trance is a very familiar state. All of us go into trance many times every day, for example, when we’re focusing on something we love doing, driving a regular route, or jogging. Trance is when the conscious and subconscious minds come together in focus, allowing you to access the vast resource library in your subconscious and helping you to get the very best out of yourself. It’s a myth that anyone can make you do something against your will in trance. You’re always in control, and your mind will “wake” you if it doesn’t feel safe or if there’s something you need to address. Typically, clients find this part of the process very relaxing and enjoyable.
Do you provide online sessions, and if so, are they as effective as in-person sessions?
Yes and yes!
Since Covid, many people have developed a preference for online interactions. The bulk of my sessions are now conducted over Zoom, giving clients the opportunity to relax within the comfort of their own homes.
The only request is that you ensure you have access to decent WiFi and are in a place where you can comfortably relax with minimal distractions.
Are there any conditions you can’t treat?
I specialise in working with clients who have mild to moderate anxiety or depression and related disorders. As a solution-focused hypnotherapist, I also work with individuals with high levels of anxiety or depression; however, clients need to be aware that this can be a longer process, and they may need to do this in conjunction with taking medication as diagnosed by their medical professional.
Suffering from a psychotic episode can mean that hypnosis is contraindicated, therefore hypnotherapy should not be received in that scenario. Those with a history of psychosis but who aren’t currently suffering from a psychotic episode can benefit from hypnotherapy to help address anxiety-related disorders.
Some physical ailments can be psychosomatic, but it’s important that they are properly assessed by a medical professional.
How many sessions does it take to overcome anxiety?
Everyone is different and I take a client led approach. You know how you feel and how many sessions you need to get to where you want to.
From experience, roughly 10-12 sessions is probably a good rule of thumb, however some people have significantly less, some a few more.