Habits and Addictions

Erika Slater headshot photo 300x300Bad habits and addictions can range from holding us back in achieving our goals to being life-threatening and impacting those we care about.

Habits and addictions, except in a few cases, are learned. This doesn’t reduce the challenge in overcoming them but emphasizes that the same mind and body that created them can be used to overcome them. You learned to have them so you can “unlearn” to have them.

It starts with recognizing there’s an issue – why you are here – and proceeds to be ready and open to making a change no matter what difficulties lay ahead.

The selection of materials you’ll find here cover challenges related to quitting smoking, losing weight, belief change, self-esteem, stress, phobias and many more.

Enjoy the articles.

Stop Worrying How Others See You and Be an Effective Communicator

By Erika Slater
Man looking into mirror on self-reflection

Do you spend time thinking and worrying over how others see you? Does it impact your job or relationships? Friends, family, lovers? Paying attention and understanding what others think about you is important and healthy. It allows us to grow and mature. But it can also get in the way of who we are and what we can become. So, finding an equilibrium between watching for how others perceive you and focusing on being who you are is a tricky balance. In this short article today, I’m going to explore some simple ways you can reduce the impact of other’s perception of you on your life. Read more…

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Why is it So Darn Hard to Overcome Sugar Addiction?

By Erika Slater
Girl grabbing sugar candy from jar at office

Many people are addicted to sugar – the white, refined, crystallized sugar often times found in junk foods, or added to coffee and soda, or to carb-loaded foods such as pasta and breads known as complex carbohydrates. If that isn’t enough, people are also addicted to products containing corn syrup, which have high amounts of sugar. When you speak to people about sugar most know, and admit, it’s one of the unhealthiest substances they could consume, but they still use and over-indulge in it. Many just can’t seem to break free from their addiction to it! There are a few reasons why sugar can be highly addictive for some individuals. Let’s look at how folks end up addicted to sugar and the impact it has on your body…

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The Opioid Epidemic and the Way Forward Out of the Crisis

By Erika Slater
Opioid pain killer tablets

Over the last decade North America has seen an increase in the number of individuals using and abusing opioids – pain relief medications. Many of the individuals using opioids have had them prescribed by their physicians to help alleviate the pain associated with injuries they’ve suffered to their bodies. So far, so good. After all, if you’ve had surgery of any type you’ll normally be given pain killers by the hospital to get you through the first few days after your operation. Unfortunately, what is happening is some individuals are getting addicted to these pain killers, namely codeine and morphine, even though they no longer need the medication for their injuries. Furthermore, they’re using a drug intended to alleviate or mask physical pain, to now mask their emotional and psychological pain. This short article is here to recognize we’re dealing with a problem that impacts all walks of life. From the mum you talk to at your kid’s soccer game to your neighbor’s gran who just needs to get through a day pain-free. Read more here…

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Stop Smiling Nervously – Why You Do It and How to Overcome It

By Erika Slater
Girl with nervous life and a little shy

They say it’s difficult for most people to hide what they’re feeling when it comes to their facial expressions and body language. Your spoken words may say one thing, but your facial expressions may mean and say something altogether entirely different. Often times, when people become nervous or apprehensive in certain situations, or when around certain kinds of individuals, they start to smile nervously. It’s a forced smile to hide the fact your uncomfortable inside. It’s aimed at conveying everything is fine when in fact you have a “knotted stomach.” In this example we all do it at times and to a certain extent its not inappropriate even if in fact we are hiding our true feelings. The fact is, it’s unlikely to get us in trouble. But what are instances where a nervous smile can get us in trouble and what’s going on? Read more…

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Why is it So Darn Hard to Quit Smoking and Ways to Make it Easier

By Erika Slater
cigarette with words over it "why is it so hard to quit smoking"

Are you a smoker? More to the point, were you once a smoker and quit, but now find yourself being a smoker all over again and wanting to quit again? Do you find no matter what you try or do, you seem to always revert back to smoking? Why is it so darn hard to quit smoking? On the other hand, you may be reading this but not a smoker but have a spouse, family member or a friend that smokes and you’re doing research for them, or want to understand just why they can’t seem to quit, or have trouble staying a non-smoker when they do. Regardless of your circumstances I’ve got some answers for you today on “why it is so darn hard to stop smoking.” Discover them here…

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Stop Dating the Wrong Person Using Online Dating Services and Your Life Experiences

By Erika Slater
sad and unhappy man staring at self in mirror

Are you single and find it difficult to meet the right person… you know that elusive soulmate? Are you always dating the wrong kind of people, and your ‘dating’ inner-soul feels like you’re received a blood-spattered battering from a decade in the UFC machine! It probably seems hopeless at times as no matter how many stones you turn over or how many ponds you dip your fishing pole in, you seem to keep landing snakes, toads and sharped fin fish. Enough is enough already! What’s going on here you may be thinking? As difficult as it may be to confront it, have you ever considered the problem isn’t necessarily with whom you’re meeting, but rather with the “bait” and your method of meeting new folks? Find out more here…

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Expectations Versus Reality – Setting the Right Intentions

By Erika Slater
Woman feeling disappointed or sad

Are you a person who aims high – shoots for the moon and hopes to at least land among the stars? Do you believe you deserve the best life has to offer you? That’s a wonderful way to think about yourself, and about getting and being your best self. But if you don’t set the bar high for yourself, then you’re more likely to aim way too low. And when you aim low, you ‘ll most likely achieve your goals because they’re much more easily achievable. How to deal with this choice? Read more here…

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Overcoming and Dealing with Guilt and Shame So You Can Get On with Life

By Erika Slater
Woman feeling guilt or shame

Are you an individual who carries around the burden of feeling guilt or perhaps even shame from something that happened to you recently, or even long ago? Do you believe you need to keep this guilt and shame as a scar, perhaps serving as a reminder to never let anything like this experience happen to you ever again? Moreover, the question you truly need to ask yourself is, “What is hanging on to this guilt or shame getting you in your life?” I’m guessing there’s really nothing good coming from it other than your internal torment. Ready to give it up and move on with your life? Find out how here…

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How to Stop Negative Thought Patterns and Reprogram Your Thinking

By Erika Slater
Negative Thinking on Napkin Saying

Are you the type of person who tends to, “hope for the best, but expect the worst”? Okay, perhaps your thinking patterns are more negative than that as you mostly thinking about, and are expecting, the worst nine or ten out of ten times because you’re conditioned to disappointment, and let downs from past experiences. Do your past mistakes and experiences keep you rooted in this negativity, rendering you helpless to feel like there’s a continual ‘black cloud’ following you around? If so, then this article make help you begin to break out of this rout! Read more here…

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How to Control Hunger Pangs and Tackling Emotional Eating

By Erika Slater
Controlling Eating Concept Image

Are you an individual who is ‘always hungry’ or have a difficult time walking away from eating whenever food is presented, even though you know you’re really only eating just for the sake of eating? Perhaps the problem is all about your own ‘will power.’ Also, perhaps you’re trying to cut down on calories, or modify your eating habits due to being on a new eating program or diet but it’s making you unable to control your appetite. Many diets cause hunger pangs, which is the result of your stomach emptying after digesting your last meal, and the walls come into contact and rub against one another. Is there something you can do to control your hunger and retrain your hunger instincts? Yes, there is… read more…

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Image of iPhone and earbuds showing picture of Erika Slater

DISCOVER HOW TO START CHANGING HABITS TODAY.

In this free audio hypnosis session, you’ll experience the power of your subconscious mind to begin to change your habits. If you've never experienced hypnosis before then this is a great introduction...