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Wine Into Water - Changing a Relationship with Alcohol · The Hypnotist

0:00
Welcome to The Hypnotist, the show that gives you inside
0:03
access to cutting edge hypnosis with real clients facing genuine
0:07
issues. Brought to you by the
0:10
hypnotherapist, demanded by celebrities, CEOs and even
0:14
royalty. Adam Cox.
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These recordings took place live from Adam's clinic in London's
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world famous Harley Street. This podcast features powerful
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hypnosis, so do not listen while driving or operating machinery.
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This recording is not suitable for those with epilepsy or
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severe mental health issues, so get yourself comfortable and
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enjoy today's episode of The Hypnotist.
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Hi, it's Adam here. And in today's episode of The
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Hypnotist, you're going to be listening to a an alcohol
0:48
reduction hypnosis session. And I was working with a lady
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who had got into a habit of drinking roughly a bottle of
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wine each night. And on some occasions it would
1:01
be more, but it was there or there about 3 or 4, you know,
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large glasses of, of wine. And therefore they knew
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intuitively that it was having an impact on their sleep, on
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their skin, potentially on internal organs.
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And they had an idea that it wasn't a great example for their
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daughter and it wasn't going to lead to good things to be
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drinking this much consistently. What was interesting though, is
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that their parents were very encouraging of them to drink
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alcohol very young. They could have early memories
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of being about 10 or 11 and being given even quite strong
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alcohol, like vodka, at quite a young age.
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So that would have given them a different association to
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alcohol. It was condoned.
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It was given the seal of approval.
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It was positioned in a way where it was available, accessible and
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not frowned upon at a very, very young age.
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And that would have given them different connotations.
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They had certain things that they would do around certain
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people, like friends and family, where they would drink in
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certain occasions, but they knew they wanted to make a change.
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But there was this element of partly habits.
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There was a. Specific.
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Type of wine so a Sauvignon white wine, you know, chilled at
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a particular temperature served in a particular glass.
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So it really was a habit that was becoming repeated again and
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again over around about 7 plus years and they knew they wanted
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to change that. So you're going to hear a couple
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of things. One is an element of
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disassociation uses this idea of staring into the waves in the in
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the in the sea and to highlight that change is always happening.
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A lot of people have beliefs that change is.
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Difficult or. It has to be painful or awkward.
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So you can hear some early suggestions just about how even
3:15
when things look the same, they're incredibly different.
3:18
And that sows a seed that change can be easy, it can be simple.
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It's happening all the time. There's elements of regression
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to see themselves and their early relationships of alcohol,
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but also a bit of inner child work to enable them to sow a
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seed of a different belief as to what alcohol could mean.
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So a lot of people have dominant beliefs about alcohol that you
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need alcohol to have fun, you need alcohol to have relax.
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But there are people that exist that believe that alcohol is a
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poison. Alcohol is, you know, something
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that is not good for the body. You know, it's an act of
4:01
destruction to the body rather than self love.
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And none of these beliefs are right or wrong, but they can be
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useful or not useful depending on what you want to do.
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The other thing is that because they were typically having a
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bottle a night, every night they had certain sequences, they had
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a memory of pouring wine away simply because it wasn't the
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type of wine that they like drinking.
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So that was a really important thing to harness because it
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anchors this idea of I could drink it but I didn't want it,
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and also solidifies this idea that it's a habit rather than an
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addiction because a true alcohol addict would have drunk it even
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if it wasn't the wine that they liked.
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So again, it cements that idea. But then there's a pattern
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interrupt. And the pattern interrupt is to
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do 2 things. One, to give a confusing
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association with something that's been habitual for seven
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years, but also to get a read on things like emotions and in the
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dialogue so we know what part to work with in the next session.
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And that was to replace the wine with water, but do everything
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else the same. Keep it in the same bottle, keep
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it in the same refrigerator, pour it at the same time, put it
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in the same glass, but it is now water rather than wine.
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And in doing so, what that means is that if there is in a
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dialogue or kind of imagery in their own mind's eye, we're
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going to get a really good read on that by simply doing
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everything exactly the same. And the one variable that we're
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changing is turning the wine into water.
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So there's a few things going on here.
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It uses elements of behavioral psychology, regression in a
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child work and direct suggestion.
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If you are a big wine drinker and you don't want to drink as
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much, you might get some value from this.
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The client's goal, by the way, was not to be teetotal.
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It was to reduce the drinking every night at home type of
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drinking and they calculated that was about 90% of their
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alcohol consumption was the at home drinking.
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So just that one change actually means they could still have wine
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and alcohol in their future, but not have the same level.
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Of health risks. And dependency that they were
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feeling. If you have some form of habit,
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dependency may even feel like an addiction to alcohol and you
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want to change that. And you feel like hypnosis may
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be useful to help you get to that point.
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There will be a link in the show notes.
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To schedule a free consultation, call with me.
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For now though, find a quiet, comfortable place where you
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won't be disturbed. Relax and enjoy the session.
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Take a deep. Breath in, and as you breathe
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in, breathe in a resourceful feeling of calm and relaxation.
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And as you exhale, just allow your eyelids to close with your
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eyes closed. Notice.
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You can focus. More on the sound of my voice.
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Any other sounds in your environment just enable them to
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be there, floating away like clouds in the sky.
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As you breathe in, perhaps you can feel the sensation of air
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going in through your nostrils, your chest expanding, perhaps
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even your diaphragm expanding. And as you exhale, notice your
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shoulders start to loosen, feel a wonderful feeling of
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relaxation as breath by breath, you feel like you're drifting,
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drifting to a place where we can amplify normal, natural human
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phenomenon like decision making, prioritization.
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As you breathe in and breathe out, I want you to think of just
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one time in your life that you decided to make a change.
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And you did. And perhaps it was a recent
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moment, or perhaps longer ago, but as you breathe in, breathe
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in deeper than you normally would.
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And as you exhale, exhale for longer, feeling a release of any
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tension, any stress, any worries.
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Your jaw loosens, any tension around your forehead or temple
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starts to loosen and relax. I said and think of that time
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where all it took perhaps was a thought, enough is enough, if
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not now, then when? And perhaps you thought of what
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would happen if you didn't change and all the benefits you
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would get if you did. And that's all it took.
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You made that decision and you did things differently.
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And in that moment, your life took a very slight shift in
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trajectory that in day one, not much was different.
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But after a week, you were going on a different course.
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And after a month or several months, you realized that that
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change, that decision meant that you were a slightly different
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version of you in the past. And if you can recall that
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moment of change, let me know by nodding your head.
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That's it. As you accept what we all know
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to be true, that change is constant, that you couldn't stay
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the same even if you wanted to. You wear different clothes now
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to where you wore 10 years ago, 20 years ago.
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You like different music. There's things that you do now
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that you didn't used to do. Tastes are always changing.
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I don't want you to get a sense then even things that look the
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same are always changing. I want you to imagine a beach,
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perhaps a beach that you know well.
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I want you to imagine a beach of miles of sand on a sunny day and
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maybe you can see it from a promenade or maybe your
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imagining walking on the sand and even though the beach looks
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the same, all of these grains of sand are in a completely
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different location to the last time you saw this beach.
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Things can look the same and be entirely different.
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So just imagine finding a place on this beach, looking out,
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perhaps seeing the sea, also acknowledging that the sea looks
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like the sea. And yet the waves in this exact
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sequence motion have never ever looked exactly this way.
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Things can look the same, be entirely different, and I want
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you to get a sense that, as you have done in the past, looked
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into the sea and started daydreaming.
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And sometimes that slow, regular movement of waves just enables
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your mind to drift off into a state of reverie where it's easy
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to Daydream. Suppose you stare into the sea.
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I want you to imagine what it would be like to drift back in
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time. And I want you to imagine what
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it would be like to go back in time to when you were perhaps
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just 10 or 11 years old. Go back there from the
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perspective as you and your current age, seeing that 10 or
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11 year old version of you and their experiences with alcohol.
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I want you to see the availability of alcohol, see the
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unconscious role models. Maybe you can observe as seeing
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a child seeing their parents using alcohol to signify the end
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of a working day, as a crutch when stressed or anxious, used
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to celebrate, used to medicate pain.
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Just be the observer and see how insidious it was.
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Alcohol was accessible offered. I want you to get a sense then
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that childlike version of you was very likely to try it, very
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likely to have positive associations of it.
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And I want you to get a new perspective.
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I want you to realise how much you've changed since that
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version of you. I want you to think of your own
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daughter. I want you to imagine the
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circumstances that you would offer your daughter vodka and
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Coca-Cola, wine or beers, and get a sense that your values are
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different from your parents. Your experiences were unique
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based on the time, the situation, the dynamics.
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And I want you to imagine seeing that 10 or 11 year old version
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of you when they're on their own, perhaps in their bedroom.
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And I want you to imagine meeting that younger version of
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you and asking that young girl what alcohol means to them.
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And maybe they say things like fun.
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Maybe they say things like excitement.
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Just allow yourself to hear whatever you would have said
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back then if you asked what alcohol means to you.
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Is it desirable? Does it mean connotations of
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being more grown up? Maturity.
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And then I want you to imagine being the mother to that child
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that you would be if you at that age were your own daughter.
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I want you to tell that child, based on your experiences of
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alcohol, what it really means. What would you have liked to
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have heard back then? What would have steered your
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life in a different direction? And if you could imagine saying
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those words, the words you needed to hear back then, let me
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know by nodding your head. I want you to get a sense then.
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There was no balance back then. You were told what someone
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wanted you to hear from their experiences, their value system.
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I want you to imagine what it would be like to have a
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different belief system planted in the mind of that 10 or 11
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year old version of you. Some people believe that alcohol
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is a drug like any other drug. Some people believe that alcohol
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is poison. Some people know that more
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people die of diseases linked to alcohol than die of violent
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things like being shot with a gun.
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Some people have connotations that alcohol is dangerous,
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addictive, can lead to bad sleep, bad health, numerous
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cancers and obesity. But I want you to plant a seed
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of a very specific belief in that younger version of you.
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Not that she had to believe at that time, but just.
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The seed being planted that could form into a belief later.
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And if you know what belief you would have wanted that younger
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version of you to truly believe about alcohol, let me know by
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nodding your head. That's it.
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I don't want you to imagine just giving that younger version of
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you a hug. Tell them that they are
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valuable, they are worthy, and that they don't need alcohol.
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They could choose to drink it, they just don't need it.
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And when they accept that, give them another hug and say goodbye
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and find yourself back on that beach, staring into the sea.
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And then imagine yourself in your own home, like you're still
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on that beach. But just imagine watching
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yourself, perhaps in your own kitchen, your own lounge.
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It's been a long, difficult day at work, and I want you to
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observe that version of you in the present.
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Perhaps pouring away wine like you've done before, but this
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time it has a new connotation that you don't need it and you
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don't want it. And if you could imagine
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yourself pouring away the wine down a plug hole, let me know by
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nodding your head. And then imagine filling it up
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with water and putting it back in a wine fridge.
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It now looks like wine, but you know it's water.
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And then imagine seeing yourself return from work and at that
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same time that you would normally have that first glass
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of wine, see yourself pouring water into the exact cup, the
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exact size cup from that specific cupboard.
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And I want you to imagine what you're seeing right now is the
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equivalent of corrupting data, scratching ACD so that normal
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automatic responses don't know what to do.
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See that version of you? You can't do what you normally
23:05
do because there is water in a wine glass and not wine.
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But I want you to imagine seeing yourself with an expression of
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curiosity. You are curious what you might
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think and feel that your unconscious mind might be trying
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to goad you into going to a supermarket, going to a garage
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and buying a specific bottle of wine.
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And see that version of you. That whatever comes up, thoughts
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and feelings, writing it down either on paper or perhaps in
23:52
the notes function in an app. And if you can imagine that
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version of you using a period of a few days like reconnaissance,
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just let me know by nodding your head.
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And yet you see yourself night after night, still drinking the
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water until you realise you don't need to be drinking
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anything. Before long, observe that
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element of why even open the bottle if it's just water in
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there anyway? Why pour it into the glass if
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it's just water in there anyway? And these are the exact thoughts
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that are laying the foundation of new neural pathways to break
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free of a habit that no longer serves you.
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Continue watching that version of you until there's one evening
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when there's no desire to pour the water.
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You've got all the knowledge you need from your own thoughts and
25:10
feelings, and I want you to observe what you do differently.
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No need to pour anything. No need to pour water.
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No need to pour wine. And I want you to imagine seeing
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yourself spending more time with your daughter, playing, having
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fun. See yourself having a
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conversation. See yourself walking the dogs as
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the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months.
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See yourself enjoying the beach in the evenings.
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See yourself making the most of all of that time.
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And see yourself dealing with anxiety in different ways.
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Maybe fresh air helps you deal with the anxiety better than
26:09
wine ever did. Maybe it's preparation or
26:13
planning. Or maybe it's relaxing in a
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different way, watching a good movie or listening to music.
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You keep seeing different scenarios until you come to the
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natural conclusion that you never actually needed the wine,
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you just thought you did. And when you come to that
26:36
conclusion, let me know about nodding your head.
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So imagine seeing yourself with a take it or leave it approach
26:46
to wine. No longer drinking wine in the
26:52
house, but perhaps seeing yourself the occasional glass of
26:58
wine in the pub with a nice meal and a restaurant, or catching up
27:04
with friends you haven't seen for a while.
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But imagine seeing yourself just having one or two, and that's
27:13
enough. And if you could imagine that,
27:20
extend that all the way out into the summer and see yourself
27:26
driving to the beach, meeting up with other people that are
27:32
drinking. And yet you don't need to.
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And most people are fully accepting of this new version of
27:42
you. But notice an interesting
27:45
polarity response. Those people that are trying to
27:49
go to you, encourage you, coerce you into drinking, creates
27:53
exactly the opposite reaction. Anyone trying to get you to
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drink makes you not want to drink and just see that version
28:05
of you in the future. And when you see it and it feels
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like a possibility, let me know by nodding your head.
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That's it. And imagine it's been seven
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months, but you've reduced the amount of alcohol you've been
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drinking about that 90% or more. Step into that version if you
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feel how healthy you feel, how well you've been sleeping, and
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how much more choice you have as to what you do with your
28:48
evenings and all that extra time you have to spend with the
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people you love the most. If this feels better than doing
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what you have been doing, let me know by nodding your head.
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It's time to return back to that beach, staring into the sea,
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feeling that something wonderful has changed.
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Because before any major decision gets made, it is first
29:18
considered and feel that you've considered a new future.
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And that starts with the next few days of turning wine into
29:31
water. Not to trick your brain, but to
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give yourself the opportunity to really think beyond habit as to
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whether or not it's something you even want at all.
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It's time to leave that beach, to take a deep breath in through
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your nose and out through your nose.
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Just wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes.
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Connect fully into the here and now as very soon I count from
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1:00 to 10:00 to awaken you. And you will awaken feeling
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resourceful, optimistic, feeling like you have already changed
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just based on today, and you're just amplifying those changes.
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Starting to count. 123 waking up 456, more alert 7-8, open your
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eyes, open your eyes. 910 wide awake, wide awake, wide awake.
30:47
Thank you for listening to The Hypnotist with Adam Cox, the
30:51
show that gives you inside access to cutting edge hypnosis
30:54
with real clients facing genuine issues.
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