Overcoming Coke addiction with hypnosis
I recently wrote a blog post about hypnosis in addiction treatment. While writing that blog, I came across a very interesting study about a woman who, while using self-hypnosis recordings to quit smoking, had actually managed to kick her cocaine addiction. An addiction that was costing her hundreds of dollars a day. So she really did lose out on quite a bit.
The best part was that, in just four months , she managed to quit cocaine using self-hypnosis and exercises designed to help her stop smoking.
So reason enough to delve a little further into what hypnosis can do specifically for people with coke addiction right now.
Symptoms of coke addiction
How do you know if you have a coke addiction and that now is really the time to quit? In the woman's case, at least financially, it had become too much of a noose.
Most addictions are also problematic because the addiction is so strong that it causes you financial problems and by causing behavioral problems.
If you switch from snorting coke to bashing because it's more affordable, then you can definitely say you have a problem.
If your wife kicks you out of the house and you suddenly find yourself in a building full of shady characters because they have the coke, then you can say with 1000% certainty that you have a problem.
If you lose touch with your friends because they can't level with you anymore, because they are just busy with very different things in life than you. Then it's safe to say you have a problem.
Other signs that you have a problem may include physical symptoms that trigger you to use coke. Nausea, vomiting, sweating, trembling and nervousness may have become signals for you to start snorting[1]. You then have a dependency.
When you use coke, it can have all sorts of effects that don't make your life better either. It is an "upper" that means it gives you energy, but that energy is not always positive.
For example, headaches and seizures can result from coke use[2].
For example, cocaine use can make you agitated (hyper), cause paranoia, and may even lead to hallucinations; you may develop delusions (incorrect beliefs about the world or others), become violent, and experience thoughts of suicide or even murder. This can get even worse if, in addition to using cocaine, you have other mental health issues, such as anxiety and symptoms of depression.
Or if you use coke in the form of "crack".
People who commit suicide can even be linked to coke use about 1 in 5 times[3].
Physical withdrawal symptoms coke
In coke withdrawal, you have both physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. Physically, you may suffer from:
That psychomotor agitation is a combination of mental agitation with movement. You may then suffer from agitation, hallucinations and paranoia combined with movement. For example, you cannot sit still, will run, jump, even hide yourself, tremble or may even suffer from seizures.
This also brings us to the psychological withdrawal symptoms. Vivid nightmares, for example, are also a withdrawal symptom when you quit coke.
You may also suffer from depressive symptoms.
The amount of coke you've used says nothing about the withdrawal symptoms you get. On the contrary: the "higher" you feel because of the coke, the more you may suffer from withdrawal symptoms[5].
Help with quitting coke
If you want to quit coke, it is important to do so in consultation with your doctor because you can become physically addicted to it. You may be given medication for a while to ease the physical effects and make quitting cocaine easier.
However, there is a risk of becoming dependent on drugs again.
Psychosocial treatments often include cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing[6].
In addition, then, hypnotherapy can also be used[7]. In fact, hypnotherapy can solve the underlying problem causing someone to reach for coke. This is done with "magic" and a friendly form of "authority"[8].
Research also shows that people addicted to stimulants, such as cocaine, can use group hypnosis to prevent relapse, reduce their impulsivity, and decrease their “craving” for the drugs[9].
A case study (and the experiences of our hypnotherapists) shows that regression, breaking patterns, and symbolism during hypnotherapy help people quit drugs and avoid relapse for at least the first six months[10].
What to expect when you go into hypnosis?
So if you’re struggling with a cocaine addiction, hypnotherapy can be very helpful. Essentially, hypnotherapy isn’t very different from regular psychotherapy, but there is one key difference: you close your eyes and enter a state of hypnosis.
So, in addition, sometimes you can do exercises that are just a little bit different from reminiscing and now with your adult self you can make up your mind about that.
When you see a hypnotherapist you are first explained what hypnosis is and what to expect. Misconceptions such as not remembering anything are then corrected.
Only after you consent will you be put into hypnosis. There are a variety of ways to do this. The hypnotherapist will make an assessment of which induction is best for you.
Usually, hypnosis is deepened by promoting your relaxation. This can be stimulated, for example, by visualizing a safe place where you feel completely well and relaxed. The hypnotherapist will help you with this.
Linking unpleasant feelings
They then apply techniques that help you quit coke. For example, unpleasant feelings, such as nausea, can be linked to using coke so that you feel much less "like" using coke.
Pattern Breaking
Or you can completely shake up your pattern of coke use. Chances are you have developed some kind of ritual with the drugs. There is a certain trigger and then you go through a series of steps before snorting your first line.
Mixing up those steps in your mind can also already help you stop completing the "ritual" in your daily life. This is because the steps then no longer feel logical. This allows you to break the pattern in time, so you can stay off coke.
Finding and changing root cause
At the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands, we always assume that you do something because it gives you, or at least has given you, a benefit. So coke was once a solution to something. Maybe that's not the case now, but it once was.
With regression, we can find out what actually benefited from coke. For example, what beliefs caused you to use coke to feel good.
Maybe you've tried using coke to take away a certain feeling. With regression, you can go back to the first moment when you got that "unpleasant feeling." In fact, this is often a moment when a limiting belief was created.
Usually this is a moment from your childhood, because that is the period of your life when you determine how the world works and how you are "supposed" to function in it.
Generally, we don't evaluate these types of beliefs and so they stay nice and active in your subconscious.
With regression, you can correctly repair such a belief[11]. This can be done, for example, by revisiting it with your current adult knowledge, just as you do in normal therapy.
This may be enough in some cases.
Inner child
But other things may also be needed. Like changing the moment in mind. For example, if someone has done something to you, you can take revenge in your mind.
Or you can have your inner child engage in a conversation with that person to see where certain problems originated. To gain an understanding of the situation and to forgive that person. This doesn’t mean that what that person did was right. It means you’re bringing closure to it so you can move on with your life without those unpleasant feelings.
To get all this done, a hypnotherapist will help you with the steps you can then take.
When something is resolved and you feel like you can move on - or at least move on until the next hypnosis session - you are taken out of hypnosis again. The therapist makes you feel clear and refreshed again.
You can also be given homework in the form of self-hypnosis to maintain or reinforce the effects of therapy.
Quitting coke with hypnosis
So as a hypnotherapist, you can help people quit coke. As with many other problems, 3 sessions are often used for this, but in severe cases it may take a few more sessions of effort to help the person overcome trauma and other causes of coke addiction.
Initially, you conduct an exploration conversation with each other. In this conversation, the addict can talk about the addiction, its effect on life and what he thinks is causing the addiction.
This gives you tools you can use to determine which techniques you can best help the person with.
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