
By PATRICK BARON
Patrick is a Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnotherapist with HOLISTIC LONDON. For information about his work, visit here.
In my recent blogs, I have presented ways to break the hold that certain tempting foods can have over us.
This week, I am sharing a tip used by a good friend of mine. He sees junk food or drinks as false friends who take advantage of him. He imagines that they are selfish and can't care less about him. They use him and that's it. This form of "personification" can be a powerful tool for breaking addictions.
Imagine how you feel when you discover someone has been using you all along. How gutted you feel, and how you don’t want anything to do with them anymore.
Then, pick an item, for example chocolate. You can do it in your mind or you can put an actual item in front of you.
Imagine that the food item is enrolling you into consuming it. Cajoling: "You are going to have a good time," or, "You deserve it," or “I will help you to relax”... Experience what that thing is promising you.
Now think of the morning after. How it left your mouth in a real state. Your tongue is covered and your breath is horrid. You feel used and abused. Come to realise they are not your friend after all. Stay with that thought, feel it.
If you have a representation of someone like that, real or fictitious, associate the food and them. And then, the next time you go to the shop, and you see the junk food or booze, superimpose the image of the selfish person who took advantage of you. Consider that the food is enticing but that it does not have your best interest at heart and will leave your body in a mess.
As with the previous tips, the more you practice, the more automatic it will become. You will gradually err on the side of healthy and nutritious food that contributes to the well being of your body and you will stop choosing foods that have a secret agenda that will betray you.
Patrick is a Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnotherapist with HOLISTIC LONDON. For information about his work, visit here.
In my recent blogs, I have presented ways to break the hold that certain tempting foods can have over us.
This week, I am sharing a tip used by a good friend of mine. He sees junk food or drinks as false friends who take advantage of him. He imagines that they are selfish and can't care less about him. They use him and that's it. This form of "personification" can be a powerful tool for breaking addictions.
Imagine how you feel when you discover someone has been using you all along. How gutted you feel, and how you don’t want anything to do with them anymore.
Then, pick an item, for example chocolate. You can do it in your mind or you can put an actual item in front of you.
Imagine that the food item is enrolling you into consuming it. Cajoling: "You are going to have a good time," or, "You deserve it," or “I will help you to relax”... Experience what that thing is promising you.
Now think of the morning after. How it left your mouth in a real state. Your tongue is covered and your breath is horrid. You feel used and abused. Come to realise they are not your friend after all. Stay with that thought, feel it.
If you have a representation of someone like that, real or fictitious, associate the food and them. And then, the next time you go to the shop, and you see the junk food or booze, superimpose the image of the selfish person who took advantage of you. Consider that the food is enticing but that it does not have your best interest at heart and will leave your body in a mess.
As with the previous tips, the more you practice, the more automatic it will become. You will gradually err on the side of healthy and nutritious food that contributes to the well being of your body and you will stop choosing foods that have a secret agenda that will betray you.