When I was in college studying the theories and ideas behind Chemical Dependency, and what makes a person addicted, I recall being taught about a famous experiment done in the late 1960(s), early 1970(s) in which a rat was placed in a cage alone. with nothing to distract it. It was given two water bottles, one with water laced with cocaine, and one without the cocaine.  The experiment was run many times, and almost ever time the rat would choose to drink the cocaine laced water, over and over again, until it kills itself.

The results of this experiment were used to prove that once the subject is introduced to the chemical substance, in this case cocaine, it would become addicted to the drug, and nothing else would matter, it would ingest the cocaine until it died.

Now mind you, this was not the only experiment that was used to prove how addictions work, how it takes over your life, and how the drug becomes the only thing that the addict cares about, but it became one of the better published experiments, and it was promoted as proof as to how we must fight drugs as the evil, awful, enemy, and how only through constant vigilance against the drug, can an addict become free.

In the mid 1980(s), a professor in Van Couver, by the name of Bruce Alexander, started questioning this experiment. He thought about the fact that in the original experiment, the rat was put in a cage, alone, with nothing to do. He decided to add to  the experiment. He took a whole group of rats, put them in a cage with many distractors, such things as running wheels, tunnels to run through, other rates to interact with. Then he put in the two sources of water, the one laced with cocaine, and the one without.

It turns out that the rats in the plush cage, tried the cocaine laced water a few times, but then left it alone. They preferred the clean unlaced water.

Now what can this mean”

All treatments for drug addiction must first look at a detox period of some sort. This can be done in your own home, in a hospital, or a detox center, It depends upon the type of drug, how much has been used and over how long of a period.

Once this is done, the subject must look at their life, their cage. Are they comfortable? Are they focused on what they really want, or are they focused on the negative emotions, images, and messages of their lives?

It is important to know what you were feeling when you decided to ingest the drug. Like the rat in the first experiment, where you alone, anxious, stressed,  unhappy, and feeling depressed about your cage / life. If you were feeling these things, what were you doing, or what were you focused on that brought these types of feelings up. What, if any, past or current trauma, or past or current situation, was creating such feelings?

Over the years as a counselor, and hypnotherapist I have worked with clients who have come to me with various claims of being addicted. Some are addicted to food, some are addicted to smoking, some are addicted to drugs. What ever the complaint, the therapy is same. Some form of detox is called for, and then you must change your focus. You must release what ever emotional anchor you have to a past or current trauma or situation, so you can develop new, positive, emotional anchors, images, and messages.

The quickest way I know of, to accomplish this is through Emotional Release Therapy. Emotional Release Therapy is the Foundation of what I teach and use in Foundations Hypnosis North Seattle “Everett”.

These clients have moved on to new positive behaviors, new positive activities. Don’t delay; call Foundations Hypnosis Seattle “Everett”, (206) 417-4900 today. You WILL be glad that you did.