What’s your addiction? What’s your “drug” of choice? Is it alcohol, drugs, relationships, pornography, food, computers, work, exercise, shopping, video games, gambling, feeling bad? The list of addictions is endless.
Some addictions, such as drugs and alcohol, have both a physical and psychological component. Whereas others, such as computers, work, relationships, etc. have only a psychological component. As anyone with an addiction will tell you, the psychological component is much more powerful than the physical.
An addiction is chronic dysfunction of brain reward, motivation and memory and other related “circuitry”. Dysfunction of these “circuits” leads to characteristic social, biological, psychological and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in the person who continues to pursue reward and/or relief by using their “drug” of choice. The addiction is characterized by craving, and impairment in behavioral control, inability to consistently abstain, and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and/or relationships (denial).
One of the easiest ways to distinguish an addiction (dependence) from abuse is that the addict will continue to have recurring compulsions to use their “drug” of choice despite very harmful consequences. They will continue to use their “drug” of choice even though their health, mental state, relationships, employment and/or finances have all been significantly impacted.
Dr. Keli believes that an addiction is a coping mechanism a person uses to escape unresolved and uncomfortable emotions and feelings trapped in the body and mind. One of the most important things to realize about an addiction is that the person loses themselves in the addiction and each and every time they use their drug of choice they move further and further away from who they truly are. The more of you “entertain” your addiction the more fragmented you become. Getting control of your addiction involves moving in the direction of wholeness and getting in touch with your authentic power.
Dr. Keli uses hypnotherapy to assist the person to find the root cause of the uncomfortable feelings they’ve been trying to drink or “drug” away, reframe and heal those uncomfortable feelings, remove the desire and compulsion to use the drug of choice, and give the client positive coping skills.
Important: Dr. Keli will not remove a person’s desire/compulsion to use certain drugs or alcohol without first meeting with the client and completing an assessment. Suddenly stopping alcohol and benzodiazepines (tranquilizers) can produce very dangerous physical withdrawals such as seizures, delirium tremors (DTs), strokes, hallucinations or heart attacks (in high risk patients). A medically supervised detoxification program may be needed prior to the commencement of hypnotherapy. If Dr. Keli believes that you need to be supervised by a physician, she will not, under any circumstance, work with you until she has received written notification from a physician that you are medically cleared. There will be no exceptions to this rule. There are many times when a client does not want their physician to know that they are struggling with addiction. Although Dr. Keli can appreciate your desire to keep your addiction to yourself, there may be circumstances listed above that require the assistance of your physician to assure your safety and well-being.
Withdrawal from opiates like heroin and oxycontin is generally extremely uncomfortable, but not dangerous unless they are mixed with other drugs. Heroin withdrawal on its own does not produce seizures, heart attacks, strokes, or delirium tremens.
If you desire assistance with an addiction to alcohol or some other chemical drug, the first step is to schedule a 45 minute consultation with Dr. Keli.
DR. KELI'S MISSION STATEMENT:
"My ultimate goal is to make the world a more peaceful and happy place one person at a time. I truly believe that each and every person I empower and assist to heal adds up... and the end result equals many. Now, more than ever, we need to spread the tiding of goodwill to those around us. In order to spread peace and happiness, we must first have it inside ourselves. We need to feel good about who we are, where we are at, and where we are going. We need to let go of pain, anger, hopelessness and fear and any other feelings that are holding us back. We can't give to someone what we don't have ourselves. We may have a beautiful and perfect looking teapot on the outside, but if the inside of the pot is empty, if there's no water in it... then we have nothing to offer anyone except an empty pot. Hypnotherapy can help you fill your pot with goodness."
