Habit Reversal

Our habit behaviors are habits for a reason. They are adaptive behavior. These responses were initiated to solve a problem. Even unhelpful habits solve problems, even when they create new ones. Consider how you tend to respond when you are feeling tired but still have work to do. You might drink a soda, have a crunchy snack, scroll your phone, or engage with others. While all these responses may be helpful for refreshing your afternoon and finishing your work, some will be in conflict with other intentions you have for yourself, such as weight loss or maintaining a positive mood.

Using behavior analysis in everyday life is much like the game Jeopardy. The solution is revealed but the question is unclear. The unhelpful habit is an adaptive response that solves a problem but what problem does it solve? Behavior analysts uses the events that occur just before the response, and the outcome that follows the response, to determine how a behavior is playing a critical role in a person’s day.

Habits are helpful, so let’s not worry about the tendency to have tendencies. Rather, how can we allow our habit to evolve into something more useful? When a person is able to recognize an unhelpful response, and also recognize how that unhelpful response serves a purpose in their day, they have all the information they need to turn it into something useful. Snacks wake us up, and so does stretching. Ice cream distracts us from our mood, and a walk outside does too.

No Weigh users have more than an opportunity to reflect on how they engaged with their day. They also have a guided behavior analytic deconstruction of their unhelpful habits. As these revelations are accessed, the path forward reveals itself.