SCIENCE, HEALTH
*Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash
Last week we talked about awareness and how this simple state of mind can awaken us to the habits or addictions we partake in.
Using the tool of awareness, we can begin to get curious about what is really going on when we have urges towards addictive behaviors. We can then begin to understand WHY we partake in certain habits that we know are not supportive for us.
If you missed Week 1 in this blog series, I recommend you check it out first, as each week builds on the previous one.
>> You can find it here <<
This week, we’re going to go a little deeper and build even more awareness about our addictions and cravings.
To be able to change addictions and habits, we have to know how they work. Practicing the art of ‘Habit Mapping’ can help you understand how habits work in your brain, so you can work to change them.
Addictions and habits have 3 different parts:
An example of this could be binging on cookies. I used to partake in this one regularly, so I’ll use my experience as an example:
Trigger= grief, emotional unrest. Tightness in my chest.
Behavior= ordering 10 giant cookies from Uber Eats delivery, and eating them one after the other.
Result= immediately, it numbed out the pain and I felt good from a dopamine rush. Afterwards, feeling very sick, bloated, sluggish, and engaging in extreme negative self-talk, or punishing myself for doing it. Over time, weight gain, a cycle of negative self-talk, and a raging sugar addiction that drove me to keep repeating the action.
It wasn’t until I became aware of this process happening, that I realized what was going into my penchant for binging on cookies. After doing a little Habit Mapping, I was able to gain insight to what was driving my compulsion to binge, and now I don’t partake in this behavior anymore.
I never thought I’d be able to stop as I felt out of control. In reality I was just mindlessly answering my emotional triggers with sugar. This made me feel good in the moment, but like absolute crap later.
Once I became aware of this, I was able to replace the binging with therapy and self-care acts that dealt with the emotions in a much healthier way.
The new behaviors don’t have any negative long-term results, in fact they actually have the opposite effect. The results are much more supportive and rewarding, so become more ‘addictive’ than the previous binging action. Win:Win!
That’s my story, but what about yours? Let’s do some Habit Mapping.
If we begin to ‘break down’ our addictive behaviors or habits into their three parts, then we can start to understand how the habit or behavior starts, and what it truly does for us.
Gaining awareness about these things is like new information for our brain. This is how we start to break our addictive behaviors or habits.
Procuring insight is actually very simple.
Check out this Habit Mapping formula:
Use the following steps to start mapping your habits:
Next time you have the compulsion to do the thing, your brain will have more information. The awareness that you are building might make you question whether you want to partake or not. It drives the behavior into your awareness, so it becomes less mindless.
Over time this gently helps to break down the behavior or habit.
This may sound like a simple exercise, but my goodness is it powerful! If I was able to break down my wild cookie binging addiction using this technique. I know you can break your habits too!
Have a go and see what comes up for you. Remember that repetition is key to train your brain, so place this somewhere you will be forced to read it every day!
Next week, we will go over another “hack” to help manage addictions and cravings- stay tuned!
Check out this video for more information on Habit Mapping: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.waugh.77/videos/681280529887918
In the meantime, if you feel like you are suffering with addictions that you can’t manage. Know that you aren’t alone. Talk to a licensed Therapist, or look up community support groups in your area.
Here are some groups that can help-
Here at Relish Life we work with some of our members to tackle cravings and addictions. We have Health Coaches and trauma-informed Therapists that specialize in this area.
We have an abundance of free resources that you can tap into, including our free Facebook group, our Blogs and our Weekly Newsletters. If you’re ready to take the next step, join us on the other side and start Relishing Life.
Melissa is a British-born Health Coach who knows firsthand how difficult it can be to manage the emotions that surround weight. After decades of weight control and yo-yo dieting, Melissa studied to become a Health Coach and effectively coached herself through the process. Through learning how to eat intuitively, Melissa gained a new perspective and shifted her focus from ‘dieting’ to nourishment. She also learned how to recognize and address trauma and stress in her life. The stubborn weight she had held onto for years just melted away.
Melissa LOVES to help others figure out and conquer their own personal health and wellness goals. Following a life-long enthusiasm for alternative medicine, Melissa trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she received in-depth training in nutrition, health and wellness, and coaching skills.
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