Think about your daily life and all the little behaviours that make up each day that we barely think about. Habits are all the automatic behaviours and decisions we make that are subconscious and often happen in response to a stimulus or triggering experience. 

For example, waking up might be automatically followed by the urge to drink coffee, scroll through your phone, or perhaps press the snooze button.

Of course, we want to keep good habits that are beneficial for our health and wellbeing. But often we can be plagued by unhelpful habits, those automatic responses that feel out of our control and perhaps negatively impact our lives. 

What is the habit loop?

The habit loop is a term coined by Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit. The loop has three stages: Cue – Routine – Reward. And around and around it goes. 

The cue is the stimulus which we react to; it triggers an urge to do something. The routine is how we react. The reward is how good the routine makes us feel, and it reinforces the loop.

Hypnotherapy is one way to help us step off the hamster wheel of habits. 

What habits can hypnotherapy be used for?

Hypnotherapy can assist clients with changing habits such as:

• Drinking too much alcohol
• Smoking
• Perfectionism and obsessive behaviours
• Procrastination 
• Overeating, undereating and poor relationships with food
• Physical habits such as picking at skin or biting nails

How does hypnotherapy work on habits?

Hypnotherapy can work on changing habits by relaxing your mind and reducing your critical response to images suggested by the therapist. The mind state during hypnosis means your subconscious is more open to positive suggestions.

The process can uncover unrecognised cues and root causes for habits, for example, previous emotional upheaval or deeply buried memories.

The therapy can help identify alternative behavioural responses and allow your mind to rewrite ingrained patterns of behaviour. It provides a safe rehearsal space for practising a response to a triggering experience. 

After hypnotherapy treatments, you may find your confidence and self-trust growing as you know you can positively handle your habits and urges.