The Steps Of Habit Reversal

Throughout our lives, many of us are presented with difficulties and experiences that shape who we are and what we believe in. Eventually, these characteristics solidify, becoming the guiding force in our decision making. Many may argue that this conditioning to a certain behavior takes away the freedom of choice; all decisions are a direct cause of our habituation. This assumption is false; every choice we make with regard to the characteristics we take upon ourselves, or rather personal virtues, is a free choice. We choose our responses to stimuli, and eventually this habituation allows us to act within a set of bounds conforming to our identity and gives us even greater freedom by releasing us from the pain of indecision. By acting in accordance with our set of personal virtues, not only is one free through their choices, but they are also happy.

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher born in 341 B.C., and he lived until 240 B.C. According to The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “He [Epicurus] claimed to be self-taught, although tradition states that he was schooled in the systems of Plato and Democritus by his father and various philosophers” (Columbia). These prior philosophers heavily influenced the ideals that Epicurus would popularize later on in life. The ideals of Epicurus went on to be known as Epicureanism, which essentially was a school of thought that recognized pleasure as the greatest virtue (James).

In behavior therapy, stimulus control is often one of several other methods that are used simultaneously to treat a patient. Although stimulus control can be used on its own, they are commonly used in treatment packages because how simple they are to implement. Stimulus control uses two main practices to accelerate desired behaviors; prompting and setting events. Prompting is performed by presenting cues that elicits a desired behavior. There are four types of prompts; verbal, environmental, physical, and behavioral. Each prompt can be used on their own, or together with other types of prompts. Verbal prompts explicitly tell patients how to behave. Verbal prompts can be administered by people—like a therapist, parents, or peers—or it can be administered electronically, such as with a MP3 player or television. For

Simplified habit reversal (SHR), a modified version of habit reversal therapy, has proven to be as effective by utilizing awareness training components, competing response and social support (Flessner et al. 2005; Miltenberger 2005). This intervention will utilize the simplified habit reversal (SHR) therapy. (try to find understandable stats)

Human habits can be explained in much the same way. Although typically unseen and unnoticed by us, our habits are powerful enough to impact our decision-making and drive our daily activities. In fact, Duke University researchers found that over 40% “of our actions are unconscious habits.” It is this idea that validates the saying “old habits die hard” and often makes new habits exceedingly difficult to establish.

Its application to the treatment of mental problems is known as behaviour modification. Learning is seen as behaviour change moulded by experience; it is accomplished largely through either classical or operant conditioning.

We all know that habitual behaviours are difficult to change (think, for instance, about how hard it is for people to give up smoking.) Habitual behaviours are those behaviours with which we are comfortable. We do not want to move out of our comfort zones to change our habits.

The intervention focuses on programs that are people oriented and environmental. These are designed to facilitate the performance of everyday tasks and adaption of settings in which the person work, live, and socializes. Example teaching new techniques and providing equipment which facilitate independence. It also reduces environmental barriers and providing resources. The three steps of the treatment intervention process include intervention plan, implementation, and intervention review.

Behavioural activation is one of the alternative treatments being used to help those in minority and lower socioeconomic groups. It allows for a flexible plan based on the unique needs of each individual with the goal of disrupting negative behavior patterns and replacing them with healthy coping

Treatment primarily consists of reverse the habit or intervention. What has been effective is helping patients become aware of their behaviors and supplying them with an alternate habit to replace their behaviors. These treatments are successful at affecting the severity

The Power of the Habit in chapter 3 by Charles Duhigg, argues that habits cannot be erased; they must be replaced. The Golden Rule of habit change is to keep the cue, keep the reward, but change the routine. Football coach Tony Dungy simplified and programmed his team’s formations by removing thinking time and shaving milliseconds off of the team’s game-playing routine. He left the same cue which is the start of each play and the reward; victory, in place. Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous came across this formula for habit change as well. He was able to quit drinking by responding to the cues of anxiety with social interaction rather than drinking to achieve the same reward. Whether the goal is sobriety, athletic victory or

Although it is not a cure to Tourette’s syndrome, behavioural therapy can reduce the severity, the impact, and the number of tics (CDC, 2016). Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is a new type of behavioural therapy including habit reversal, providing education, and relaxation techniques. This non-drug treatment provides the aid and resources for patients and their families to better cope with Tourette’s syndrome. CBIT is an evidence-based type of treatment that has three main components — make the patient more self-aware, training the patient to “compete” with their urge to tic, and make changes to their everyday lives (Tourette Association of America, n.d.). By focusing on the patient, CBIT aims to shift their self-consciousness to become more self-aware. Because Tourette’s is a neuropsychological disorder, a patient’s confidence in oneself is a step in the right direction, in hopes to reduce the symptoms.

We tend to think of habits as bad (smoking, cussing, biting your fingernails) but they can also be good (walking the dog, oatmeal for breakfast, a weekly date with your spouse). THE POWER OF HABIT shows how easily habits form. They rely on three simple things–a cue, a routine, and a reward–and don’t take long to stick. Our brains love habits. They allow us to be efficient. They help us do things like drive a car without constant self-monitoring. Once we learn where the brake pedal is and how hard to press the

What is a habit? A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Every person has a habit. From small, non dangerous, habits like biting nails or high pitched laughing, to dangerous ones such as smoking, drinking, and reckless behavior. Habits can go un-noticed by people because they vary in seriousness. Breaking habits varies greatly. It can be as simple as not doing something in the morning, to stopping drugs and alcohol.

Some people say that it takes six months to break a habit. However, I personally think it requires more of a mental change rather than just a physical change to break a behavior regardless if it’s six months or shorter. In this case, I had two weeks to change a behavior I did on a daily basis. For this paper I worked on two things that I wanted to work on. First, It was not wearing makeup for a week and second, I really wanted to subtract dairy products from my diet. After I give a reflection of my experience, I will being to talk about my internship and how we encourage a change behavior within our families.