A Call From London
The only phone call I got yesterday (it goes a bit quiet as Christmas gets this close) was from a client I saw two months ago who just wanted to give me an update. This guy owns a coffee shop in London and you might wonder why he came all the way up to Manchester to see me about his gambling habit when they have hypnotherapists down there too! The answer is, he liked what he read on the website and decided to have a day out on the train.
The fact is, I like doing the Quit Gambling session. I enjoy most sessions but I particularly like doing that one. Gamblers can end up very miserable indeed, and often I am not only saving the gambler money by shutting down that habit, but saving their relationship, their marriage, their family life and saving them from losing their home. And I do that in a way which leaves them feeling much better about themselves, too – so it begins the process of rebuilding self-esteem.
The chappie who came up from London, though, he didn’t lack self-esteem. He was doing okay with his coffee shop, and the money he was losing was his – he could “afford” to lose it. He also clearly enjoyed the racing scene, and I remember he commented during the session that he didn’t want to give up studying the gee-gees entirely, just the bit that involved the cash. And I remember thinking: “Huh? How’s that going to work then?”
Usually, if you’re going to quit something, it is best to avoid it wherever possible. This minimises the number of opportunities for relapse. In hypnotherapy we can fix relapses, so they’re not a serious problem but they’re best avoided, obviously. Having said that, when I shut down a cocaine or an alcohol habit I don’t tell that person to avoid the pub. With smokers, I tell them to go with their mates on the smoke break, have a chat, don’t miss out on the company. And of course, you cannot walk down any high street without passing a betting shop. So avoidance isn’t really an option anyway.
What we get rid of, with hypnotherapy, is the impulse to act. The urge to ask for the cigarette, to buy the coke, to place the bet. The craving system prompts all these compulsive-habitual behaviours, and the Subconscious controls the craving system. So we ask for the impulse itself to be shut down.
That is exactly what happened. I took my client’s preference into account, and I drew a very clear distinction between studying the form and guessing which horse or jockey is going to win – which is a harmless game – and the involvement of money, which can lead to some very serious consequences and often does. I spent about an hour presenting these detailed explanations to the chappie’s Subconscious mind.
The feedback? Never felt the impulse to place a bet since that day, but still keenly interested in horse racing. He has friends who own racehorses, he likes going to the track. I asked how the coffee shop was going. “26% increase in turnover in the last two months” was the answer to that one – which proves that gambling had been more of a distraction than he was prepared to admit to himself at the time.
But the best bit, he said, was spending Christmas without the stress and anxiety of not having as much money as he should have, and hoping it didn’t cause a row like it usually did. Instead he has more money than usual to spend during the festive period, and no stress or anxiety at all. Just his gambling mates asking him: “Where did you go for the hypnotherapy?” Call Chris now, on 0161-474 8120 (Office Hours) Mobile: 07748 838 644 (any time, including evenings & weekends)
Tags: compulsive, gambler, gamblers, Gambling, habit, hypnotherapist Chris Holmes, hypnotherapy