This is how hypnotherapy helps with sex addiction
In a person with sex addiction, the need for sex is excessive. The person has a high libido, you might conclude. Wrong! Libido nothing to do with the addiction. The difference is in the motives why sex addicts seek sex: they often do so (unconsciously) to suppress stress, anxiety or trauma. Hypnotherapy can cleanse this path of suffering.
This is how hypnotherapy helps with sex addiction
Zooming in on thoughts
Frequent cheating during a relationship, paying for sex, watching porn, doing it unprotected with unknown people and on top of that often not being with your full attention during sex: a list of signs that may indicate sex addiction. People with a sex addiction do not just crave sex a lot, but actually always have an underlying problem. These problems may include:
- stress;
- anxiety;
- depression;
- shame.
Scientists are still not entirely sure how the brain activities of a sex addict compare to other addictions, but do indicate that it is important to scrutinize the thoughts that lead to the behavior.
"I don't have a fun and exciting life until I have sex regularly."
"I am ugly but during sex I am seen and I get confirmation that I am beautiful after all."
Hypnotherapy offers the solution to these types of beliefs. It looks for the cause of an addiction; it is not always obvious to the addict. Then the therapist can use various techniques to change and eliminate the addiction.
Regression with hypnosis
During hypnotherapy, you can figure out the moment that caused you to become more susceptible to addiction. Regression is a companion technique for this, allowing you to look at that moment with different eyes: you can now consciously look for a suggestion other than the "now let me go have sex with whoever" behavior you have become accustomed to.
Hypnotherapy can be a great support to take a look at the beliefs that lead to actual sex without love - Edwin Selij
New ritual
Most addictions involve an unconscious ritual before, during and after the act of addiction takes place. During hypnotherapy it is possible to find out what this ritual looks like. Then the hypnotherapist can give a new suggestion that replaces the old ritual. In NLP, this is done with the Swish pattern.
If the ritual is to meet a person immediately after work to have sex with, the new ritual may be to exercise for half an hour immediately after work. By doing so, you still retain part of the ritual, namely physical exertion, but no longer suffer the risks.
Finding out triggers
In doing so, hypnotherapy can also help determine the triggers of this ritual, as stated earlier, stress, anxiety, depression and shame can be an underlying problem of a sex addict. For example, if stress at work or in the relationship is a trigger for seeking sex, this can be found out. Then the hypnotherapist can provide tools for the addict to better cope with stress. As a result, sexual release is no longer necessary to provide stress reduction.
Empowering Ego
A negative self-image can cause you to seek sex as a sex addict. A hypnotherapist works with the client to find out what fear is causing this self-image. For example, if a fear lies on physical attractiveness, causing the person to seek validation from others rather than from themselves, the hypnotherapist can help you get a better view of your body. Another cause is shame that may arise from sex addiction: perhaps, as a sex addict, you blame yourself for having had sex for the umpteenth time and you get all kinds of thoughts that reflect negatively on yourself. In order to stop an addiction, a healthy belief in yourself is the foundation.
See a video showing an ego-boosting exercise here: