Understanding Compulsive Behaviours And Disorders

You would normally hear about compulsive behaviours and disorders being linked with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However, in the IAEBP, we have found it more helpful to separate compulsive behaviours from obsessive behaviours as their impact upon people’s lives and the way in which they are experienced is very different.

As a rule of thumb, a compulsive behaviour is one that is undertaken, often with little thought, on impulse or with a sense of having been ‘driven’ to it, and instant relief is felt. There may be some feelings of guilt or shame felt afterwards, but immediate gratification is felt at the time.

For obsessive thoughts and behaviours, this sense of relief is often never achieved. The person is likely to focus excessively on the issue at hand, often becoming totally preoccupied by it. They can find themselves involved in repetitive cycles of behaviour which provide little or no relief, and sometimes activities are carried out to ensure something else (often something bad) does not happen.

Types of Compulsive Behaviours and Disorders Treated

Compulsive behaviours can range from simple everyday behaviours such as shopping to more reckless behaviours such as self-harming.  One of the issues with compulsive behaviours is that most of them undertaken to excess can have very damaging impacts on people’s lives. For example, the compulsive shopper may find themselves heavily in debt or even bankrupt, while the compulsive self-harmer may place their life in jeopardy on a regular basis.

The following list is not exhaustive, but covers the more common compulsive behaviours that have been treated successfully using pure hypnoanalysis:

  1. Excessive shopping
  2. Excessive drinking
  3. Addictive behaviour (e.g. gambling, misusing drugs or other substances, eating disorders such as bulimia)
  4. Sexual behaviours (e.g. having numerous sexual partners, having regular unprotected sex)
  5. Lying and/or cheating
  6. Nail biting
  7. Self-harming
  8. Hair twiddling and/or pulling (known as trichotillomania)
  9. Smoking (For more info on stopping smoking with hypnotherapy click here.)

Please do not be put off if your particular issue has not been identified in the list above. Compulsive behaviours and disorders are so varied and often specific to the individual that it would be impossible to list them all here. What is important to realise is that it is the underlying reasons for the behaviour that is significant. And it is this that is treated with a combination of Hypnotherapy, CPI and the Thrive Programme rather than the precise behaviours themselves. If you have any doubts, please contact me for an informal discussion.

Types of Obsessive Thoughts and Behaviours Treated

Obsessive thoughts and behaviours can range from simple everyday behaviours such as tidiness (e.g. placing all food tins in the cupboard with the label facing outwards) to counting numbers or doing sums in their head to the point that they can think of nothing else.

With all obsessional thoughts and behaviours, it is the degree to which the issue is preoccupying your time and/or limiting your life that is important. For example, someone who worries about dirt or contamination may simply wash their hands carefully, maybe try and avoid using public toilets, or perhaps ensure they do not touch doors or handles in public toilets even if this means waiting a long time for someone else to open the door so they can nip through ‘untouched’. However, place this same person under stress and they may begin to wash their hands obsessively and for some people this may become ritualistic to the point that their hands are never clean enough to leave their house.

The following list is not exhaustive, but covers the more common obsessive thoughts and behaviours that have been treated successfully using pure hypnoanalysis:

  1. Being overly jealous or possessive over a partner
  2. Eating issues (e.g. avoiding certain foods, anorexia)
  3. Constant worry about something
  4. Sleeping problems (e.g. insomnia)
  5. Paranoia
  6. Excessive exercise
  7. Continual negative thoughts
  8. Intrusive thoughts
  9. Constant counting
  10. Excessive tidiness
  11. Rituals (e.g. ‘if you don’t walk on the cracks in the pavement, nothing bad will happen’, if you bump one side of your body you have to match it in the other to ‘even yourself up’, always checking locks a certain number of times)

Please do not be put off if your particular issue has not been identified in the list above: obsessive thoughts, behaviours and disorders are so varied and often specific to the individual that it would be impossible to list them all here. What is important to realise is that it is the underlying reasons for the behaviour that is significant and it is this that is treated with hypnotherapy, rather than the precise behaviours themselves. If you have any doubts, please dont hesitate to get in touch

How Hypnotherapy And Mind Management Coaching Can Help

Many people who have compulsive and obsessive disorders and behaviours find themselves feeling a little out of control or driven by factors they can not understand. Sometimes people may feel a little ashamed or guilty about their behaviours and therefore avoid seeking help.

However, help is at hand and you can rid yourself of these unwanted thought patterns and behaviours successfully through a course of hypnotherapy combined with some psychological well-being coaching (between 4 to 6 sessions)

As an added bonus, in addition to be free from your obsessive and or compulsive behaviours, after a course of treatment you will also have a greater sense of self; increased self-confidence, self-esteem, and belief in yourself; AND of course hypnosis is wonderfully relaxing and reduces stress levels.