Article July 11, 1983 Issue

To overcome addiction: not suppression but demonstration

ROBERTA KUEMMIN BAUMANN

Have you ever heard someone say, "I could kick that habit if I just had enough willpower"? Sadly enough, this method is seldom very effective in taming permanently the beast of temptation. The use of willpower to subdue fleshly appetites and addictive habits often results in a mere exchange of habits.

In the past few years hypnotism has gained notoriety as a supposed help in breaking the smoking habit. But in this way the patient's cravings—symptoms of a deeper problem—are simply changed to another and more subtle form. The problem remains.

Human will acts in somewhat the same way as does the hypnotic suggestion, substituting one state of mortal thought for another. Even if a destructive habit appears to be overcome in this way, the person still may remain in a state of mental subservience, and sometimes years later the problem reappears.

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