Having recently moved here from New York, a client brought a laundry list of issues he was dealing with.

1) Depression and anxiety.
2) Overeating.
3) Wanting to quit smoking.
4) Lack of motivation.
5) Insomnia.
6) Constipation.

He related a life story so I could understand how he became this way. I began to focus not on what he was, but what he wanted.

Image is crucial. We have an image of the person we are. Rarely do we see the person we want to be. To achieve that, we would need a crystallized vision of what we want, and a map on how to get there. It helps if you act as if the transformation has occurred.

Not just words. Live that way.

My client’s self-image was all of those things listed above. Smoked too much. Ate too much. Nervous all the time. Did not want to do anything or go anywhere.

A recovering alcoholic, he has 16 years of sobriety.

He was surprised his issues were easily traceable and resolved.

The Route Is Direct

As a child, he would listen to his parents arguing late into the night. It was obvious he was unable to sleep because he had been accustomed to parental disputes keeping him awake.

With his childhood security threatened, he would worry what would happen to him with his parents fighting.

In his early teens he began to drink, do drugs and smoke.

His issues were interrelated, causing stress and wildly fluctuating sugar levels.

Being a drinker and a smoker meant he would severely spike his blood sugar levels, since alcohol quickly breaks down to sugar and also dissipates just as fast. When smoking, he would put a shot of sugar to his brain within seven seconds of his first inhalation, spiking his sugar levels.

His brain was hyper vigilant for nutrition. Not finding it sparked anxiety attacks to produce adrenaline to feed the brain. This compounded his problem because the adrenaline depleted his already volatile sugar levels.

Not So Sweet

Since sugar was his issue, he would need to modify his sugar intake. He began by following a protein-rich diet, a small amount of protein every two hours to steady his blood sugar level. His brain no longer needed to be concerned where the nutrition was coming from. His hyper vigilance declined. Now he was sleeping through the night.

His panic and anxiety soon disappeared. He was asked to change his brand of cigarettes. He did. Cigarettes contain 190 chemicals, including cyanide, formaldehyde, nicotine and sugar. So-called healthier brands exist, sugarless, and with fewer chemicals.

Changing to a sugarless brand helped him become used to a different reaction to the cigarette. The idea is that the subconscious is not receiving the same satisfaction from the new cigarette. This causes the smoker to re-evaluate. It is among the first steps to quitting smoking.

Other things need to happen, but the changes we have discussed were his answers. His nicotine and sugar addictions ended. His new diet helped him to lose the extra pounds he had put on with junk food. Anxiety evaporated. Motivation returned as he gained energy and confidence. He exercised more. The discomfort of constipation dissolved into a former problem.

As a good friend once said, “Simple solutions to complicated issues.”

Do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net