Riva was twenty-nine and addicted to cake. Actually Riva was addicted to any thing sweet but cakes were her favorite. She would go to Ralph’s, Vons, and Albertsons her local grocery stores, and buy several cakes every other day. She made sure that she went on odd then even days and at different times of the day and to different check out stands to avoid being seen as a familiar face. Then she would store one cake and eat the other. Riva was so ashamed of her addiction that she didn’t tell her family or even her best friend. When she entered therapy she didn’t tell her therapist, me. Her addiction was a secret. I knew that Riva had something to hide about her addiction to food. I did not press her but allowed her to reveal what she could when she could. Eventually with hypnosis and counseling Riva began to show signs of raised self esteem and a willingness to take responsibility for her life challenges. She began to lose weight, exercise, and find pleasure in new activities. Riva was on her way to a healthy life. It wasn’t until after six months of Riva completing her therapy that I received a phone call from her. In the call she said, “Thanks for never pushing me about my food addiction. I used to buy cakes and eat one a day. Chocolate was my favorite. Then after we had done therapy for a while I work up one morning and didn’t feel the need to go shopping for cakes. Thanks. Therapy works.” I knew that if you look at the cause of a problem, the original and deep down cause, that you can change your life and rid any addiction. Good for Riva.
To learn more about how counseling and hypnosis can help with food and other addictions go to wendyhill.com.