How Self-Hypnosis Can Help You Break Habits and Addictive Patterns

Most of us have at least one habit we would rather be without. It might be smoking, biting your nails, reaching for sugary foods, spending money impulsively or automatically pouring a drink at the end of the day.

The frustrating part is that knowing you want to stop doesn't necessarily make stopping easy.

You can be completely aware that a behaviour isn't helping you and still find yourself doing it almost automatically. That's because habits aren't simply a matter of willpower. Over time, repeated behaviours become associated with particular situations, thoughts and feelings, until the response can start to feel almost automatic.

Understanding how that happens is an important first step towards changing it.

Why Are Habits So Difficult to Break?

Think about something you do regularly without much thought.

Perhaps you reach for something sweet when you're tired. You bite your nails when you're anxious. You check your phone whenever there's a quiet moment. Or maybe sitting down after dinner automatically makes you think about having a drink.

Repeated often enough, a particular situation can become linked with a particular response.

Eventually, you may barely notice the decision being made. There's a trigger, an urge and then the familiar behaviour.

This is one reason simply telling yourself I'm not going to do that anymore can work for a few days but then become much harder when you're tired, stressed, bored or distracted.

The old association is still there.

Start by Identifying Your Triggers

If you want to change a habit, it helps to become curious about what happens immediately before it.

Ask yourself:

When am I most likely to do it?

Is it when you're stressed? Bored? Lonely? Tired? Socialising? Watching television? Driving home from work?

Then consider what the behaviour gives you in that moment.

It might provide distraction, comfort, stimulation, relief from tension or simply something familiar to do.

This doesn't mean the habit is good for you. It means it probably developed for a reason.

Once you understand the trigger and what you are getting from the behaviour, it becomes much easier to think about what could take its place.

Breaking the Trigger-Response Cycle

Trying to remove a habit without changing anything else can leave a gap.

For example, imagine that every evening you sit down to watch television and automatically reach for chocolate. If you simply decide that chocolate is now forbidden, you may spend the evening thinking about the very thing you're trying not to have.

A more useful approach is to change the routine.

You might make a drink, move to a different chair, have something else available or begin doing something with your hands while watching television.

The replacement doesn't need to be dramatic. What matters is interrupting the familiar sequence.

Even a short pause between the urge and the behaviour can help. Instead of reacting immediately, give yourself a few minutes. Notice the urge without assuming you have to act on it.

An urge is not an instruction.

Why Willpower Isn't the Whole Answer

People often blame themselves when they struggle to change a long-standing habit.

They assume they simply don't have enough willpower.

But willpower varies enormously throughout the day. It's much easier to make a good decision when you're rested and relaxed than when you're exhausted, upset or under pressure.

That's why changing your environment and your routine can be so helpful.

If something repeatedly triggers an unwanted behaviour, make that trigger less accessible where possible. At the same time, make the behaviour you want easier.

Someone trying to stop buying things impulsively, for example, might remove shopping apps from their phone and unsubscribe from promotional emails. Someone trying to reduce sugary snacks might stop keeping them immediately within reach.

Small practical changes reduce the number of occasions when you have to rely on willpower alone.

Where Can Self-Hypnosis Help?

This is where self-hypnosis can be a useful additional tool.

In more than 25 years working as a clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist, Sharon Shinwell has worked with many people who understood perfectly well what they wanted to change but found that their automatic reactions kept pulling them back towards old behaviour.

Hypnosis isn't about taking away your control. Quite the opposite.

During hypnosis, you are deeply relaxed but remain aware of what is being said. The aim is to work with the thoughts, associations and responses that have become attached to the unwanted behaviour.

Rather than repeatedly thinking I mustn't do this, hypnosis can help you mentally rehearse responding differently.

You can imagine encountering an old trigger and remaining calm. You can picture yourself making the choice you actually want to make. You can begin strengthening the association between that new response and feelings of satisfaction, confidence and control.

Self Hypnosis UK has a range of professionally created Habits & Addictions self-hypnosis recordings for specific problems including smoking, gambling, shopping, alcohol, sugar and nail biting.

What Happens When You Practise a New Response?

Changing a habit usually isn't about making one enormous decision.

It's about making a different response often enough for that response to become more familiar.

Suppose you normally reach for your phone whenever you feel bored.

The first few times you deliberately leave it alone, you'll probably be very conscious of the urge. But each time you notice the impulse and choose something else, you're practising a different response.

The same principle can apply to many unwanted habits.

Progress may not be perfectly linear. You can have a difficult day or slip back into an old behaviour without everything you've achieved suddenly disappearing.

Instead of thinking I've failed, it is far more useful to ask:

What triggered me this time?

The answer gives you information you can use next time.

Habits and Addiction Are Not Always the Same Thing

It's important to make a distinction between an unwanted habit and a serious addiction.

Self-hypnosis can be used alongside practical behaviour change and may help some people manage triggers, strengthen motivation and feel more in control of their choices.

However, if you are physically dependent on alcohol or drugs, experiencing withdrawal symptoms, or an addiction is causing serious problems in your health or daily life, seek appropriate medical or professional support.

Stopping some substances suddenly can be dangerous.

Hypnosis should not be used as a replacement for appropriate addiction treatment or medical care.

Give Yourself Something to Move Towards

One final question can make a surprising difference:

What do you want instead?

It's easy to concentrate entirely on what you want to stop.

Stop smoking. Stop gambling. Stop overeating. Stop biting your nails. Stop spending.

But lasting change also needs something positive on the other side.

Perhaps you want to breathe more easily, feel financially secure, feel calmer, improve your health or simply experience the satisfaction of knowing that you are making your own choices rather than being controlled by an old habit.

Keep that reason visible.

Changing a long-established behaviour can take patience, but every time you respond differently to an old trigger, you're practising the person you want to become.

Want to understand self-hypnosis in more detail?

My Complete Guide to Self-Hypnosis explains how self-hypnosis works, what it can help with, what to expect during a session and how to use it safely.

Try Self-Hypnosis for Yourself

If you've never experienced hypnosis before, you can listen to Sharon Shinwell's free 10-minute self-hypnosis recording on the Self Hypnosis UK About page.

It's an easy way to discover what hypnosis feels like and hear Sharon's voice before choosing a full-length recording.

You can also explore the Habits & Addictions collection for recordings designed to support specific areas such as stopping smoking, reducing alcohol, gambling, shopping, sugar cravings and nail biting.