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Break The Habit Cycle: The Brain’s Reward System

The brain labels our actions and behaviour as ‘rewarding’, usually in our formative years. We need to review our behaviour and habits and update the brain’s reward system.

Example: We may be having a habit of eating a lot of cake, since our childhood. Now as an adult, the habit is resulting in a high intake of sugar, without our realizing it.

If we use this method to review and update our reward system, the brain will naturally lose the urge to take the habitual action, something much more powerful than using willpower, which only suppresses the urge.

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@camille_aa

created an idea from a article:

BERKELEY

How Anxiety Hides in Your Habits

greatergood.berkeley.edu

MORE IDEAS FROM THE SAME ARTICLE

Anxiety Is In What We Do

A new book by psychiatrist Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety, proposes that anxiety exists in our daily habits, and is not something that simply goes away by breathing exercises.

Break The Habit Cycle: Creating New Habits

Creating healthy habits requires mindfulness, so that new habit loops can be inserted when a trigger surfaces in your mind.

The Anxiety Merry-Go-Round

Anxiety triggers habit loops, but can also be the result of a habit loop (like reading the news online). Constant worrying is also a reinforcing pattern of habit loops.

Break The Habit Cycle: Map Out The Habits

We are struggling with anxiety as our habits don’t let us part with it, with the pleasure and pain coming in a package. The habit loop of any habit cycle is:

Break The Habit Cycle: Creating Space

Label each experience and witness it from a distance, creating space between you and the sensation.
Practice kindness and love towards yourself and others.
Review and update the brain’s reward system in a positive way, inserting good behaviour and positive habit loops.