The treatment of alcoholism with hypnosis in Russia was actively used in the 19th century. The well-known Russian scientist, psychologist, psychiatrist, neuropathologist and physiologist V.M. Bekhterev (1857-1927) scientifically substantiated that hypnosis can achieve not only a short-term aversion of the patient to alcohol, but also save a person from alcohol addiction for a long time. Today, the use of hypnosis to rid a person of two of his most common bad habits: alcoholism and smoking is one of the most popular and effective methods of treatment.
Benefits of hypnosis treatment
Many people who do not understand the essence of hypnosis consider the treatment of alcoholism with hypnosis akin to charlatanism. In fact, this is a scientific process based on the fact that each person, albeit to a different degree, is subject to suggestion. And this happens to us almost constantly – television, advertising, the opinions of others do their job.
Hypnotherapy is the introduction of a patient with the help of a certain psychological technique into a trance state. In such a trance, with a disconnected consciousness, a person becomes much more susceptible to suggestion, which allows the doctor to perform a kind of coding, suggesting the necessary setting at the subconscious level.
Hypnosis has proven its effectiveness not only in the treatment of alcoholism, but also in the treatment of drug addiction, smoking, and prolonged depression. Using hypnotherapy for alcoholism has a number of benefits:
- no negative impact on the body;
- treatment does not require special expensive drugs;
- long term exposure;
- the ability to relieve a person of depression, phobias and other psychological problems simultaneously with treatment.
Hypnosis today is often the only more or less effective method of combating female alcoholism, which is almost impossible to treat with other methods . And this is natural, if we remember that the female psyche is more subtle and more associative compared to the male, respectively, it is more susceptible to suggestion.
Using hypnosis for alcoholism, the psychotherapist performs a kind of coding of the patient’s subconscious, “laying” there the setting for indifference or even aversion to alcoholic beverages. Coding against drug addiction or smoking is carried out according to a similar scheme.
Treatment of drug addiction, alcoholism or smoking hypnosis has one significant advantage over other treatments. During a hypnotic session, an experienced doctor can determine the cause of drug, alcohol or nicotine addiction and remove it from the patient’s subconscious.
hypnosis treatment technique
When treating drug addiction, alcoholism or smoking with hypnosis, sessions should be held in a special soundproof room, equipped with furniture and necessary equipment. The practice of hypnosis treatment is allowed only to specialists with higher medical education, besides, they must have completed special courses.
Treatment of alcoholism with hypnosis at home is currently not officially practiced in Russia. Like any other treatment, hypnotherapy for drug addiction, alcoholism and smoking has a number of contraindications. Hypnosis cannot be used if:
- the patient refuses to undergo a session;
- he is in a state of drug or alcohol intoxication or in a state of severe hangover;
- he was diagnosed with serious problems in the work of the cardiovascular system;
- he has severe mental disorders;
- the patient is pregnant.
Immediately before the start of the session, the patient is either laid in the office on the couch, or seated in a comfortable easy chair. Hypnotic encoding can be carried out both individually and for several patients at once.
The total duration of one session of hypnotherapy should not exceed 1 hour. Before it begins, the doctor conducts a short conversation, telling patients about the essence and possibilities of hypnotic suggestion and answering their questions. Calm communication helps to establish a more trusting relationship between the doctor and the patient, which is extremely important for a successful coding session for alcoholism or smoking.
At the end of the conversation, the doctor pronounces a special suggestion formula, plunging the patient into a hypnotic sleep. After that, the main phase of the session takes place – coding for alcoholism, drug addiction or smoking. The doctor inspires the patient in a hypnotic dream that alcohol in all its forms (in the treatment of drug addiction and smoking – drugs and cigarettes, respectively) is a vile, harmful substance, unworthy of anything but disgust.
Such an attitude is clearly pronounced by him several times in an indisputable commanding tone.
In conclusion, to check the effectiveness of the established coding, the doctor may suggest that the patient sniff the cotton soaked in alcohol (in the treatment of smoking, a mashed cigarette or crushed tobacco). Based on the patient’s reaction to this test, it is easy to determine the degree of effectiveness of suggestion – if a grimace of disgust appears on the patient’s face, he tries to turn his head away from the cotton wool or perform another protective action, then we can assume that hypnotic coding was successful.
Basic methods of hypnotic coding
There are several hypnotic coding techniques well known to professionals: Ericksonian hypnosis, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and hypnosuggestive therapy. The essence of Ericksonian hypnosis is to bring a person to the shaky line separating sleep from wakefulness, and in this state to inspire him with an attitude of disgust for alcohol. Coming out of hypnosis, the patient begins to behave according to the received installation.
Hypno-suggestive therapy encoding is the most common, classic version of hypnosis. A similar technique was used for treatment by the ancient Egyptian priests. The procedure includes 3 stages: preparation for the session, the session itself and fixing the effect. Despite its popularity, this is the most unpredictable method of hypnosis – its effectiveness largely depends on the degree of suggestibility of the patient and his personal trust in the hypnotist.
NLP is the most gentle, but also the longest of all existing methods of hypnotic coding. It is aimed not only at developing the patient’s indifference to alcohol, but also at restoring the psyche damaged by alcohol. In fact, using this method, the doctor gives the patient’s subconscious an encoding no longer for an aversion to alcohol, but for the fact that it is much more pleasant to live fully and enjoy life without alcohol intoxication.