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Escaping the Treadmill of Substance Abuse · The Hypnotist

0:05
Welcome to The Hypnotist, the show that gives you inside
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access to cutting edge hypnosis with real clients facing
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genuine. Issues.
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Brought to you by the hypnotherapist, demanded by
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celebrities, CEOs and even royalty, Adam Cox.
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These recordings took place live from Evans Clinic in London's
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world famous Harley Street, 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. Now, if you have ever had a an
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addiction or a very strong habit or a compulsion to use certain
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substances that could be recreational drugs or it could
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even be certain other things that link to alcohol perhaps or
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cigarettes or something else, then you'll get some benefit
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from this session, particularly if you're still using or abusing
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that particular substance. So in this session, I use lots
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of metaphors to highlight what it can feel like for a user of a
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substance that could keep them trapped in some way.
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And it uses this idea that they're on a treadmill, and this
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treadmill could go either faster or slower.
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And it's because they have to keep doing certain things just
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to stay exactly where they are. Now.
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The client that I was working with was a cocaine user, but it
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applies to other things as well. Now for them, they were spending
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around about £100 a day. That's the equivalent of about
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$130.00 a day. And that means that a lot of
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what they were earning just had to kind of fund their habit
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irrespective of other things like rent and other expenses.
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So it's part of the treadmill, but of course it requires a
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certain amount of time investment.
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It requires a certain amount of thinking about the thing, and
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that's all this treadmill. And behind the treadmill is a
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pit, and the pit represents the undesirable consequences of
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continue to use. That could be financial
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consequences, it could be emotional consequences, it could
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be health consequences. Obviously certain drugs might be
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more at risk of severe health consequences than others.
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Things like alcohol and cigarettes, you know, can have
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long term consequences, but less short term consequences.
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And other drugs might have more intense consequences.
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I've worked with a few people that were crack cocaine users.
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Quite often had missing teeth or missing fingernails.
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That can happen as a direct result of a habit.
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Sometimes it's linked to certain skin or with cocaine if it's
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snorted around the septum or upper palate.
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So it can have a health consequences that are either
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visible or unknown. It could lead to other health
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consequences. This is all represented by the
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pit. Many people that use have
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difficult relationships with either their partner or family
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members. So it could be that it leads to
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something where a relationship ends or the way that someone's
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perceived, maybe by a child could change.
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That's all in the pit. Homelessness could be in there.
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The client I was working with said there were two or three
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occasions that were it not for a good friend or family member
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that would have been homeless because it was an expensive
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habit that meant that they were always on the brink.
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So the treadmill also represents the financial pressure and the
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feeling of just having to kind of keep doing what you're doing
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just to kind of keep your head above water.
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So the pit represents undesirable consequences.
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The treadmill is the effort and energy and cost required just to
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maintain the habit. And then there there's this idea
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of kind of like almost like a, a child slide, one of those flumes
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water slides above. So it represents a tunnel.
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But the reason why I'm using this is to highlight that it's
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very easy to slide down the tunnel or the slide, but very
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difficult to climb up it. And that's how lots of substance
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habits are like it can feel like it's a real effort to break, you
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know, months or years of use. But they know that they're 2
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minutes away from sliding all the way back, back down back on
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the treadmill. So it's a good metaphor from
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that perspective. And then there's a particular
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person that represents someone that they really loved calling
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to their desirable future, which is beyond the tunnel.
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Now, the reason the length of this tunnel is five days is that
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this particular client said that on several occasions where they
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were a few months free of using cocaine, it took about 5 days
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for their body to adapt. And it was pretty ropy during
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that five days. So for them, the tunnel is five
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days. For someone else it might be
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shorter or it might be longer depending on what it is, but
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five days felt like a good number for this particular
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client. And then there's various
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suggestions about what it would mean for them to be on the
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treadmill, look down into the pit or climb the the tunnel.
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The threshold by the way of leaving the treadmill to the
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tunnel is certain decisions and boundaries.
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Things like deleting dealers numbers and throwing away any
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substances that they have or any paraphernalia and and setting
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boundaries with certain people they might meet.
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That's quite important because this tends to be the banana
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skins that get people relapsing into the previous habit.
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It's a better to kind of mitigate that in advance.
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This session was created for an individual.
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Some of the references might not make sense to you, but we're
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perfect for the client. But if you do like the idea of
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working with me or maybe you have a habit that you just know
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that you've been on this treadmill for a while and you
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don't want to end up in the pit. Or even worse, you don't want to
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end up just forever on this treadmill.
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Then there will be a link in the description where you can either
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do a hypnosis suitability test so you can figure out if you'd
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be a good candidate for hypnotherapy, or you can book a
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free consultation call and we can have a chat to see if I'm
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the right hypnotherapist for you.
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For now though, this session might actually be the kind of
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metaphor that really kind of connects and resonates with you.
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So find a quiet, comfortable place, the kind of place where
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you're not going to be distracted or disturbed.
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Relax and enjoy the session. Take a deep breath in, and as
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you breathe in, breathe in a feeling of calm relaxation.
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And as you exhale, feel a wonderful sense of release, as
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if tension, stress or worries are leaving your body.
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Breathing in that relaxation and and feeling your eyelids getting
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heavier and heavier as you continue to exhale any tension.
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Breathing and relaxation and releasing as each breath takes
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you deeper than the last. And maybe you notice the deeper
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you breathe, the more resourceful you feel, and the
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longer you exhale, the more you're letting go with
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sensations, stresses and worries just leaving your body in that
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outward breath. That's it.
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Because the deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you become.
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The more relaxed you become, the deeper you breathe.
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A wonderful cycle of ever increasing feelings of
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relaxation. And as your body relaxes, your
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imagination awakens. And I want you to imagine a
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strange combination of things. I want you to imagine a
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treadmill and you can see the treadmill whirring.
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It's the kind of treadmill you would see in the gym, a
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dashboard, electric powered. You set the speed and it just
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continues to spin round. But behind the treadmill, I want
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you to see a dark, deep pit. And you already get the
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connotation that if someone's on the treadmill and can't maintain
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the pace, then they would go backwards into the pit.
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But I want you to see something else above.
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The treadmill is one of those child water slides.
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You know the ones, Plastic, circular, the kind of flumes
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that you see in water parks. Now, a slide like that is very
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easy to slide down, but very difficult to climb up.
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Not impossible, but difficult. So I want you to imagine a
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brightly coloured cylindrical slide above the treadmill,
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leading like a tunnel somewhere else, and you don't know where
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that tunnel leads yet. All you know is that it's a way
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of escaping the treadmill and the pit.
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And I want you to imagine there is a voice that you can hear
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that comes down the tunnel, a voice of someone that you deeply
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love and that loves you. And you know that voice doesn't
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want you to be on the treadmill or end up in the pit, and they
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are calling you, calling you to climb up the tunnel.
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You don't know exactly what's at the end of the tunnel yet, but
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you do know it takes roughly 3-4 or five days.
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But even if you start climbing up the tunnel, that's what it
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would take to get to the other side.
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And I want you to consider that the other side is just a
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happier, healthier, more fulfilling the future with less
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stress, less worries, and less pressure.
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Because that's the key thing that the treadmill represents,
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relentless pressure. It keeps spinning and spinning
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and spinning. And if something was to happen,
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like a trip, which often happens in life, it's very possible that
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you end up in the pit. And I want you to think about
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the pit first. The pit is an undesirable
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outcome. Maybe it's long term sickness,
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maybe it's homelessness, maybe the pit represents losing a
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relationship with someone you care deeply for.
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Or maybe the relationship exists, but something is lost,
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like love or respect. Maybe the pit represents a waste
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of an opportunity of not living the life that you could have
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done. For many people, that's their
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biggest regret, not living a life that was possible for them.
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And I want you to imagine gazing down into the pit and getting an
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idea of what the pit represents for you.
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Maybe. Maybe it is financial
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destitution or poverty. Maybe it is sickness.
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Some people get sick and they have something that means that
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it becomes almost impossible to then work after that point.
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Perhaps a stroke or a fall, some kind of scare.
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And all I want you to do is to consider that the longer anyone
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spends on the treadmill, the more likely they are to end up
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in the pit. And because you get to decide
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what the pit is, I want you to make the pit as undesirable as
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it possibly could be. I want you to think of a
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combination of factors that make the pit uniquely undesirable for
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you. Maybe it's poor health, poverty,
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homelessness, unemployability, or something else, but when you
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know for sure what the pit now means for you, let me know by
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nodding your head. That's it.
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And let's imagine that certain things can speed up the
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treadmill. The more you use, the faster the
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treadmill becomes and the steeper the gradient.
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I want you to get a sense that losing an income speeds up the
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treadmill, but I also want you to think that certain things can
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help you. Finding a good, well paying job
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might slow down the treadmill. Consuming less means you're
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still on the treadmill, it's just going slower, making it
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more manageable. Not desirable, but manageable.
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And once you've figured out what speeds up or slows down the
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treadmill, then it's time to get on the treadmill.
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And once you're on the treadmill, and let's define the
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treadmill as using your substance, there is only two
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ways of the treadmill, to climb up the tube and escape the
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tunnel, or to fall into the pit. But falling into the pit means
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it's difficult to escape. But climbing up the tunnel means
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you're travelling towards a more desirable future.
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It's easy to fall into the pit, you just have to do nothing at
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all, and the treadmill will take you into the pit, whereas
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escaping through that cylindrical tunnel requires
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effort, focus and dedication. But if the future is desirable
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enough, you will unlock the resources needed to do it.
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I want you to get a sense that you're on the treadmill and
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you've been on the treadmill for a while.
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Maybe it's been months on the treadmill and maybe the
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treadmill is going faster now than it has been in the past.
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And I want you to ask yourself a question.
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How much longer am I willing to be on this treadmill now?
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That may be minutes. You might be minutes away from a
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decision to leave the treadmill. And the moment you leave, you
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will already feel better because you're already in the escape
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tunnel. Or it might be that you're
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setting the intention to leave the tunnel, but will actually do
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what's necessary to leave the treadmill into the tunnel soon.
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But don't forget, tomorrow never comes.
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And if not now, then when and why then instead of now?
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The ancient Chinese have a saying the best time to plant a
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tree was 10 years ago, but the next best time is now.
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And maybe it would have been better to escape this treadmill
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months or even years ago, but the next best time is now.
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And let's just say something needs to happen to leave the
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treadmill into the tunnel. We can call this actions and
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boundaries. The action is to throw away,
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wash away, discard. Any remaining of the substance
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you wish to be free of. Consider this a therapeutic
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symbol, washing away that which no longer serves you.
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And let's just say throwing away any paraphernalia items, perhaps
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even clothes or certain accessories used is also part of
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this symbolic ritual. Because this is a ritual, A
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ritualistic death of an old identity that no longer serves
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you. And maybe it's the identity of a
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user, but it could also be the identity of an abuser.
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Because if someone else was taking the level of money that
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you spend from you, you would consider this financial abuse.
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If another person was causing the health damage to you, you
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would consider it poisoning or assault or physical abuse.
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If someone was able to make you feel that dependent, that is a
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form of coercion of bullying, also abuse.
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So the very moment that you wash away, throw away or discard
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anything connected to that identity, you are also throwing
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away that identity. And the opposite of an abuser is
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a protector, a guardian. And maybe now is the time to
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throw away the part of you that is an abuser and step into the
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part of you that is a protector, a guardian, a protector of you,
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and a protector of all that you love.
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And when you feel ready, ready to take the next step, it would
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also be to create boundaries. Blocking, removing, deleting
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certain numbers and contacts, or setting a boundary of certain
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people you're not willing to see or places you're not willing to
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go. Consider this an access code to
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that tunnel, and only when you've done all of those,
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discarded all that no longer serves you, and set the right
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boundaries and stepped into that identity of being a protector, a
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provider, then it's possible. But the tunnel gets low enough
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so you can leave the treadmill and start the ascent.
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The moment you make this decision feels like a win,
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knowing that the next few days won't be easy.
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It's not meant to be easy. It's meant to be worthwhile.
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And I want you to hear the voice of that person calling you
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toward the end. They want you to be there.
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They want you to be healthy and happy.
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They want you to be the version of you where you are at your
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best and getting better. And I want you to imagine that
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perhaps the first two days might be the steepest, but you know
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that if you can just get through those two days, then the tunnel
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gets less steep and easier to climb.
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I want you to get a sense that you are five days or less from
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escaping the tunnel and you don't have to do too much in the
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tunnel. It's what you don't do that
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keeps you climbing. What you can do is think of the
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future that you desire. What you can do is think of
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interesting things to do stop you getting bored.
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You might even do things that make you feel healthy.
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Eat good food, move your body, go for a walk.
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But I want you to get the sense that you've done this before and
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you can do it again with the right boundaries, the right
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identity, and a feeling that it's worth it to escape this
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tunnel towards that future. You keep making progress, so
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keep making progress. Imagine what it would be like
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for day one, and you get through it.
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And that first night without using it all, you feel like a
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champion, like you've won round one of an important battle.
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And that galvanizes your energy for day 2, and you plan what
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you're going to do in advance to keep your mind focused and your
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eye on the prize, that compelling vision of your
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future. And then imagine day two turns
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to day three, and it feels easier that the hardest part is
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behind you. Imagine being tempted, having
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thoughts that come up, and feeling that even though you're
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feeling a certain way, or thinking a certain way, nothing
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is going to get you back down to that treadmill.
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So you persist, you keep climbing, keep moving forward.
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But you notice as time goes on, the voice at the other end of
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the tunnel gets clearer and louder.
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And imagine that voice telling you all the wonderful things in
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your future. You're healthier, you're
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happier, you have more money to spend on what you really want
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rather than paying for your own abuse.
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I want you to get a sense that the more you hear what that
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future is going to be like, the more your resolve increases.
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They form and you might experience some physical
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sensations in your body. Some people might call it
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cravings or withdrawals, but you consider it something else,
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evidence that your body is adapting, changing, releasing
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the need to go backwards. And then day five, you know the
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ones you get through day five. It's almost like the
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gravitational pull of this habit is losing its grip and you can
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continue forwards much easier, living life on your terms.
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So imagine that now, the end of day five, you wake up on day 6-5
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days free of this substance. I want you to feel like a free
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man being released from prison. Feel a wonderful sense that you
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are now out of the tunnel into a bright future, and I want you to
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imagine seeing everything possible in your future once
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you've escaped the tunnel. See your health improving.
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See that your finances have improved.
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See that you can be an even better provider and carer and
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guardian because your focus isn't now blurred from a
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biological habit. I want you to get a sense that
30:40
this future feels appealing. And sometimes when a major
30:48
change takes place, other changes follow, not because they
30:53
have to. But what if you step into an
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identity of being a healthy heeled protector?
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There would be other things that a healthy heeled protector also
31:07
don't do. And then your health can get
31:11
even better. So just imagine all of the
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possibilities. I want you to get a sense that
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this this is just five days away and some things would need to be
31:32
worked on, but it's the possibility that exists here.
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I want you to imagine how good it would feel to have been a
31:45
year in this future, a year of not using and a year of not
31:52
abusing. And imagine there's a full
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length mirror. See how much healthier, happier,
32:02
resourceful you look. And if you can imagine seeing
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that future, let me know by nodding your head.
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You deserve this future and you are simply one decision and a
32:20
few actions away from starting your journey from the treadmill
32:28
to the tunnel. Not because you have to, but
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because you desire not to be in that relenting pressure of
32:38
always having to move forward or you risk falling into the pit.
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I want you to get a sense that you have planted a seed of an
32:48
idea in your subconscious mind and you get to decide when the
32:54
journey from the treadmill to the tunnel begins.
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But for now, let's leave this place knowing that there is a
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desirable future just five days away.
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So take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your
33:12
nose. Wiggle your fingers and wiggle
33:15
your toes. Connect and calibrate into the
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here and the now as I now count from 1:00 to 10:00 to awaken
33:24
you. Starting to count 123 waking up
33:28
456 more alert 7-8. Open your eyes.
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Open your eyes, 910. Wide awake, wide awake, wide
33:38
awake. Thank you so much for joining me
33:42
on today's episode of The Hypnotist, and if you've enjoyed
33:46
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And if you like the stuff that I do, take a moment just to have a
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look in the show notes or the description because there's lots
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of free things that I have to offer, including free hypnosis
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downloads without the intro or the outro like I'm doing now.
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So thank you again for joining me on today's episode, and I'll
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see you again soon for the next one.