Everyone has habits, and there is nothing wrong with them. Some habits can be useful, such as waking up early or going to the gym straight after work. But other habits such as biting your nails or drinking too much coffee may not be so beneficial. There is no shortage of bad habits in humans, and they can have a negative impact on you mentally, emotionally, and physically. Behaviours that are fine in moderation can quickly become bad habits. There are numerous theories about how habits develop. A common theory is the 3 Rs:
• Reminder. This is a trigger/cue that could be a conscious behaviour such as flushing the toilet, or a feeling, such as fear.
• Routine. This is the behaviour associated with a trigger. For example, flushing the toilet cues you to wash your hands, whilst feeling afraid may trigger you to bite your nails. Repeating something over and over leads to making the behaviour routine.
• Reward. The reward associated with behaviour is what helps ensure the habit sticks. For example, if you do something that causes enjoyment or relieves stress, the pleasurable release of dopamine will mean your brain makes you want to do it again.
There are numerous habits that humans suffer from. Common bad habits include:
• Nail-biting
• Procrastinating
• Stress eating
• Social media obsessions
• Hoarding
• Overspending
Once we have learnt a habit, it can seem hard to break. Our subconscious mind begins to think that these unwanted habits are necessary for us to function. It is important to focus on why you want to change the habit. Studies suggest that it may be easier to break a habit when the change you want to make is valuable or beneficial to you. Taking a few minutes to consider why you want to break a habit and what results you will see may be beneficial to you.
What are the benefits of breaking bad habits?
The benefits vary from habit to habit. In general, here are a few benefits of kicking a bad habit:
• Be healthy - be it reducing your sugar intake or quitting smoking, it can positively impact your health.
• Be happy – With no bad habits to impact your daily life, you can calm your mind and be happier.
• Sleep peacefully – Some bad habits can impact your physical and mental health. By ditching the habit you may find yourself sleeping better
• Become successful – Bad habits such as procrastinating, being late or overspending can block you from your goals.
How can we help?
Hypnotherapy can be quick and effective in helping you break these habits. If you want to change the behaviours, we can help you by accessing your subconscious mind where these behaviour patterns are held.
