[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak|remove link|no_popup[/img]A neighbor recently asked if I could help him quit drinking.

I said I could.

Since hypnosis is a powerful tool, if you are willing to follow the suggestions, you will be successful in accomplishing the desired changes.

My neighbor 70-plus, and he recently lost his wife. Still grieving, he has realized drinking and grieving is not the recipe for him. He has been a drinker most of his life, starting in the Marine Corps. With little to do, he fell into a routine of drinking a six-pack a day with his peers.

His children and grandchildren want him to stop drinking, and now he feels the same way. Severely depressed after his wife passed, nothing consoled him. When he went to a police station to renew a license, some license or other they asked him if he had been depresse

Yes, he said, honestly, and the license was refused. Further, the police came to his home, removed all guns and took him to a mental hospital under a 72-hour suicide watch.

Too late, he realized his candid answers were not in relation to his current state. The police had taken him too literally. He is out of hospital and doing fine — other than his drinking. Soon he will regain his guns.

Sensing a wakeup call, he sought me for help. First, I asked him to go to the Getty Museum and go to the Cactus Garden. He should sit there for three hours and mull over this question: “Why can a cactus can go three years without a drink of water?”

Your Teacher

Afterward, he said, “I get it. If a cactus can go three years. I can do the same thing, because I have intelligence and the ability to choose what I want.”

That was the crux of the matter: He has a choice on everything he does.

He has chosen to quit drinking. As a person who likes to be in control of everything he and others do, giving in to a hypnotist was not easy. But he wanted to try.

Whilst in his trance, I reminded him he was not born an alcoholic. He had learned this behavior and made it a habit. He was going to unlearn these habits and create new ones, excluding alcohol.

His father was an alcoholic. So was his grandfather. it was going to take determination to conquer his habit. Should the desire to drink loom large, I said, wait five minutes before giving in. Do something to distract yourself. He found it quite hard but he did it.

I suggested the taste of the alcohol was not as nice as it used to be.

I asked him to visualize two figures. First, himself as a drinker with a liver that no longer worked, lines of strain and age on his face. Sitting alone at home with nothing but alcohol for company, no one wanted to be near him a because of his temper when he drank.

Very Different Vision

The second image — was being a successful ex-drinker, surrounded by friends and family with a youthful looking, smiling face, more energetic than before he quit drinking. He should envision himself engaged with these people, and enjoying a new life which he had created for himself.

He responded well. As his body gets better, his craving will recede. Then he has to deal with the mental aspect. of the drinking. He may now attend Alcoholics Anonymous where he can hear other people’s stories, express his feelings with people who understand his personal battle.

When attending A.A. meetings, he can learn about “One Day At A Time.” He may slip, but he knows that his goal is to be an ex- drinker.

The goal for Alcoholics Anonymous is to have an alcoholic quit drinking altogether to maintain sobriety. More often, the alcoholics who need to be alcohol-free are persons bodies are allergic to alcohol or who have a personality change when they drink.

There also is an argument that says if an alcoholic can drink in moderation, that, too, is acceptable.

Drinking in itself is not necessarily bad. Many medical reports that say a glass of red wine or other alcohol once a day can be beneficial for blood circulation.

Those who know and understand what is happening to them and their loved ones as a result of their drinking are the ones who will benefit from no longer drinking.

To all who are attempting to quit drinking or smoking or any other unhealthy habit, let me offer an A.A. prayer.

“God, grant me the serenity,
To accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

If you have any questions please 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