INTRODUCTION
Alcohol consumption is a commonplace practice in many climes and has long been on an upward trend. According to the United States 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over 80% of young people aged 18 and above have had at least an episode of alcohol consumption in their lifetime - meaning if you randomly hand-pick 10 people aged 18 and above in the US, at least 8 of them would have a positive history of alcohol consumption; no doubt, this is quite unsettling, but what is more worrisome is the habit of binge drinking—the exercise of frequently consuming alcohol in unusually large quantities – exhibited by many alcohol users.
Binge drinking is a habit/disorder that evokes concern and because of its attendant consequences to those who indulge in it and their societies, the need for evidence-based and effective strategies for mitigating its rising prevalence becomes important. And this is where hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming come in.
Hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) are empirically effective techniques for addressing a myriad of medical symptoms and conditions, including binge drinking. If you have been caught in the web of binge drinking and you seek an escape, hypnosis and NLP can help you and, in this article, you will discover how both therapies can expedite your journey to sobriety.
BINGE DRINKING
What you need to know
A lot has been written about binge drinking, its cause, and its consequences, but only a few facts about binge drinking are important for you to know. Topping the list is the definition of binge drinking itself, which is the consumption of 5 or more drinks in one sitting for men or 4 or more drinks in one sitting for women.
For lack of accurate knowledge, a good deal of people confuse binge drinking with alcohol use disorder but you should also understand that, although binge drinking and alcohol use disorder are characterized by a psychological necessity to consume alcohol, binge drinking differs from alcohol use disorder as a person who engages in the deleterious habit of binge drinking does not automatically suffer from alcohol use disorder. However, binge drinking, just like alcohol use disorder, is an increasingly serious public problem with grave consequences for both the individual indulging in it and society at large.
What are the consequences of binge drinking?
As earlier mentioned, binge drinking is a public health problem and everyone bears the cost. The consequences of binge drinking are many, however, this composition will highlight a few. Binge drinkers are at risk of various health problems, some of which are
· Alcohol poisoning
· Unintentional injuries, including fatal motor vehicle accidents
· Violence, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault
· Sexually transmitted infections
· Malignancies of various parts of the body
· Chronic diseases involving the heart and blood vessels, such as high blood pressure, the liver, and sometimes the brain, such as stroke.
· Unintended pregnancies to mention but a few.
Societies also bear the consequences of their members’ indulgence in binge drinking, and these consequences include:
· Diminished work productivity which precipitates diminished revenue
· Elevated criminal justice cost
· Elevated health care expenditure etc.
But you can save yourself and your society the stress of dealing with these consequences because binge drinking as a health issue is not invincible.
Can you overcome binge drinking?
You guessed correctly; the answer is YES. Admittedly, binge drinking is a serious problem, but it is not insurmountable. It is possible to overcome binge drinking. Thanks to evidence-based studies, the knowledge of some very effective therapeutic interventions for overcoming binge drinking and other addictive behaviors has increased. If you couple the use of these interventions with a potent implementation of recommended binge drinking preventive strategies, the journey to the end of binge drinking for you will be significantly shorter.
These interventions are none other than neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis.
NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING AND HYPNOSIS
What are they?
Both are tested and proven therapeutic interventions for wide-ranging disorders and their clinical manifestations. They are techniques that can help an individual lead better lives if their benefits are effectively appropriated. Neuro-linguistic programming, on the one hand, uses our neurologic and communication systems, through conscious modeling, to calibrate our minds to overcome addictions and achieve success. Essentially, neuro-linguistic weaponizes our thoughts, feelings, and actions by positively altering them for us to lead better lives and achieve better results.
Hypnosis, on the other hand, is a state of deep focus. It is a normal state, but that of heightened awareness and attention wherein a person has control over his/her subconscious mind. And because our subconscious mind has more influence on our conscious mind, and consequently our actions, hypnosis essentially allows us to stuff our subconscious mind with positive constructive, and powerful information and rid it of negative beliefs and feelings. Overall, this leads to the manifestation of healthy habits and actions, as through hypnosis we rid ourselves of the harmful feelings precipitating unhealthy behaviors for better ones.
Many misconceptions about these therapies fly around. It is essential to sieve every piece of information we read or encounter about both therapeutic techniques as they are evidence-based and effective.
Are NLP and hypnosis effective as therapies for binge drinking?
NLP and hypnosis are powerful techniques. Though doubts surrounded their relevance in the early days of their introduction, because they work–with existing pieces of evidence and testimonies - there has been a gradual introduction of the therapies into several therapeutic programs for diverse conditions including but not limited to addictions. They have been used by people repeatedly and effectively to break addictions. And there is no doubt both therapies are effective in overcoming binge drinking as binge drinking falls conveniently under addictive behaviors.
How NLP works for binge drinking
Neuro-linguistic programming is a practical technique for surmounting the urge to gulp down an excessive amount of alcohol down the throat. While it combines different techniques into one to produce a maximal result, its main underlying principle is that it uses carefully constructed language to program or re-program the mind and the body to yield themselves to positive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings.
Unhealthy habits and addictions, more often than not, manifests when the body surrenders to negative feelings and notions in the thought realm. Little wonder the number of people resorting to excessive use of alcohol to drown their worries, fears, anxiety, and other psychological symptoms is significant. However, with NLP, these negative feelings and symptoms can be conquered and freedom from binge drinking is achieved. One way NLP helps people to conquer their negative feeling and be free from binge drinking is to linguistically program their minds to replicate the thinking, behaviors, beliefs, and actions of people who have successfully overcome unhealthy behaviors in the past. NLP further makes it possible to replicate one’s successful break away from the prison of addictions for the sake of perpetuity.
How can hypnosis help you overcome binge drinking?
Hypnosis grants you easy and uninterrupted access to your subconscious mind. And because of this, hypnosis makes it possible for you to replace negative thoughts and feelings that trigger your habit of binge drinking with positive ones. In the hypnotic state of heightened awareness, you can also visualize yourself using various ways to master your urge to resort to binge drinking and this thought will be easy for you to implement and turn to positive actions because they are being registered in your subconscious mind which has more power over your conscious mind.
Essentially, hypnosis helps you to access the habits storehouse in your brain and subsequently delete the negative ones by replacing them with thoughts of positive ones which will resultantly manifest as actions after you have left the state of hypnosis. With hypnosis, you break addictions, including binge drinking, by empowering your subconscious with positive thoughts and the willpower to make life-changing transformations.
AND WE CAN HELP YOU WITH ALL THIS.
OUR SERVICES
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At Matthew Tweedie Hypnosis, you can readily access hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming services that will help you overcome your binge drinking habit. Our services are delivered by experts and custom-made to suit your need. And they are equally affordable. Reach out NOW!