Habits & Addictions
Hypnosis to stop drinking
Become a non-drinker, free and clear, one steady day at a time.
Stop Drinking is a session for the time when the urge arrives and the usual answer is not an option.
It settles the body first, then spends the middle of the track on one specific idea, repeated in one of three ways you can choose between. The aim is to sit still while the urge rises and falls.
The glass is often in your hand before you have noticed the decision to pour it. The day ends with the usual plan to stop tomorrow, but that plan does not survive the six o'clock feeling.
The problem is not the decision in the cold light of day, but the speed of it when the evening actually arrives.
What’s in it
A calm way to let the urge to drink rise and pass on its own, and the clear, free feeling of a non-drinker.
Why do it
Riding out the wave is a skill the mind rehearses here, so each session makes the next clear day easier to keep, one steady day at a time.
- Theme
- Habits & Addictions
- Delivery styles
- 3
- Lengths
- Quick ~26mStandard ~27mDeep ~29m
- Ends
- Calm and present
- Stages
- 4
- On this shelf
- 23 sessions
Perfect use-case: Stop Drinking — hypnosis session
The drink is often in hand before the decision to pour it has even registered.
What you’ll hear in the Stop Drinking session
The urge to drink is a fast, automatic sequence. The session teaches a way to notice the moment before the glass is filled, pause, and let the impulse pass on its own.
You are now discovering a calm method to handle the urge as it begins to rise within you
This is a skill you are learning, a gentle way to create a quiet space where the impulse can simply be noticed and then allowed to pass on its own, leaving you feeling more in control and more at ease with each passing moment
The decision to pour a drink happens in a sequence, often so fast it feels automatic
You are learning to notice that moment before the glass is filled, to gently pause and observe the thought
In that small, calm space, the pattern begins to lose its power, and you find you have a real choice, a new freedom to decide what you truly want for yourself right now
The six o'clock feeling is a familiar sensation, a wave of anticipation that can arrive with force
Instead of being carried away by it, you are now able to see it coming
- a calm method to handle the urgethe calm is a landing page, not a promise
- to gently pause and observethe pause breaks the fast, automatic sequence
- a wave of anticipationthe six o'clock feeling named plainly, not euphemised
Timeline: Start to Finish
The build practises an alcohol-free response as something available now. You listen to the version of you who lets the urge rise and pass, without doing anything else.
3 of the 4 stages are named techniques with a published origin, credited under each.
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InductionStage 16 min
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
A classic head-to-toe relaxation. Tense and release, or simply soften, each muscle group in sequence.
After Edmund Jacobson PMR (1929); Dave Elman Hypnotherapy · what progressive muscle relaxation is
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DeepenerStage 23 min
Staircase Descent
Visualized stairs descending into a deeper level of trance. Each step takes you down.
After Ledochowski, Deep Trance Training Manual
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Suggestion ScriptStage 310 min
Stop Drinking — Balanced
Rehearsal for sitting still while the urge to drink rises and falls without acting on it.
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AwakeningStage 42 min
Calm Alert Awakening
Awake and present, but calm rather than energized. Good for evening or pre-meeting use.
After Yapko, Trancework
Why this works — and what the research actually says
Group-level, not session-level: no study has tested this exact session, and we will not pretend otherwise. Every source below was opened and read on 2026-08-25 before it was quoted.
Why do it as hypnosis?
This is not about arguing with yourself when you are tired. It is about rehearsing the moment the urge arrives and letting it sit there without acting on it.
Hypnosis creates a quiet space where the habit loop can be observed and interrupted at leisure, without anything else demanding your attention.
It is a practice of watching the feeling rise and pass, without needing to fix it immediately.
Quitting smoking: the honest answer is that nobody knows yet
Cochrane grades medical evidence for a living. It reviewed 14 trials of hypnotherapy for quitting smoking, covering 1,926 people followed for at least six months.
Its verdict was not that it works, and not that it fails — it was that there is not enough good evidence to tell. If there is a benefit, they say it is small at most.
- 14 randomised trials, 1,926 people, followed six months or more
- Verdict: insufficient evidence either way
- Only 1 of the 14 trials was judged at low risk of bias
Worth knowing: The review rates its own evidence as ranging "from low to very low certainty, as there was not enough information and many of the studies had issues with their designs".
One study was judged at low risk of bias overall, ten at high risk and three unclear. On safety, most studies did not report whether adverse events were even collected.
The exact wording and figures
A Cochrane review pooled 14 randomised controlled trials with 1,926 participants.
Its conclusion: "There is insufficient evidence to determine whether hypnotherapy is more effective for smoking cessation than other forms of behavioural support or unassisted quitting.
If a benefit is present, current evidence suggests the benefit is small at most."
We sell sessions for this. We are showing you the review that declines to endorse them, because you should know what the evidence says before you decide.
Barnes J, McRobbie H, Dong CY, Walker N, Hartmann-Boyce J (2019). Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD001008.
plain-language summary free to read
Three ways to say it
The same clear day, written three ways: pick the voice you would actually believe at six o'clock.
Balanced
Let the urge rise and pass on a slow breath, and grow the clear, free steadiness of a non-drinker. The default.
The urge rises on a slow breath and passes, leaving the steadiness of a non-drinker.
Future self
Picture the free, clear version of you a week, a month, a year on, with the drinking quietly behind you.
You picture the version of you for whom the drinking is quietly behind them.
New identity
Step into being a non-drinker now, free and clear, with the drinking a closed chapter and no shame to carry.
You step into being a non-drinker now, the drink a closed chapter, no shame carried.
Questions people ask about Stop Drinking
What if I fall asleep during the session?
Drifting off is fine. The session is made for relaxed listening. If you miss parts, you can play it again when more alert.
Do I have to believe in hypnosis for this to work?
No. The session is designed to help you sit with the urge, whether you’re sceptical or not. It’s about practice, not belief.
How is this different from just trying to stop on my own?
It gives you a quiet space to observe and interrupt the habit loop without distractions, making it easier to ride out the urge.
Is this safe to use alongside other methods to stop drinking?
Yes. It’s a practice that complements other approaches, but always consult a professional if you’re unsure.
How long before I notice a change?
It varies. Some feel calmer right away, but the skill builds with repeated practice over time.
Where it sits
The things you keep doing, and stopping doing them.
Before you press play
- This one asks for a bit of care. In the app it opens with a consent step before anything plays.
Hypnosis is not for everyone. If you have epilepsy, a psychotic illness, or you are under psychiatric care, talk to your clinician before using this — here or anywhere.
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