Habit Summary

Final Habits Blog

At the beginning of the semester, we began a journey that started with identifying one of our own personal bad habits. This was a tough feat in itself, simply because it is hard to take a step back, and realize that there may be habits that we all do repeatedly that we may need to eradicate. For myself, my first thought was of my addiction to Chap Stick. However, I was unwilling to give this up just yet.

            Therefore, I turned to my friends to help me identify a bad habit that I did not realize I had. My roommate informed me that I incessantly play with my hair, so I decided that would be the habit I attempted to break. This was important to me because I will soon be entering the professional world, and it was necessary to attempt to break this habit for that reason.

            At the start of this little experiment, I found it extremely difficult to abstain from playing with my hair. For me, playing with my hair was comfortable, and something I did as a distraction from my homework. Since I feel as though I am constantly doing some form of homework, it was especially hard to break this habit. I had to completely disassociate this behavior from the action of doing homework. This was not an easy accomplishment.

Photo Source: www.livestrong.com

            However, after starting this experiment, I became much more aware of the fact that I played with my hair all the time. This awareness did make it a little easier to break this habit. Before the experiment began, I did this so mindlessly that I was completely unaware I was even doing it. Just knowing that I did it made it easier to avoid this habit.

            The first two weeks were the toughest, but after the initial adjustment things got much easier. Once I got myself used to avoiding this behavior, I only caught myself doing it a couple of times. After about five or six weeks I was barely doing it anymore.

            This success was due in a large part to my two roommates who are also in this class. They were aware that this was the habit I was giving up, and therefore alerted me whenever they witnessed me doing so. One of these roommates was the one who had first pointed out this bad habit of mine, and therefore really helped me to break it.

            In addition, I learned a few tactics to stop myself from playing with my hair. First, I thought it would be beneficial to make myself busy so I would not have the opportunity to do so. I did this by either sitting on my hands or doing homework. However, this proved to be slightly ineffective, so I found it necessary to come up with a new plan. Therefore, I began to put my hair up regularly, and especially when I began to play with it. This proved to be much more effective, and it ultimately worked to reduce the urges I felt to play with it.

            Throughout this assignment, I learned that I have many mannerisms and habits that I am completely unaware of. This habit had become so normal to me that I did not even realize how often I did it.

            In addition, I also learned that I was stronger-willed than I had previously thought. At the start of this experiment, I thought that I would not be able to completely kick this habit. However, using the coping mechanisms I developed along the way, I was able to eliminate this bad habit from my life. This turned out to be a very good thing that I learned about myself throughout this experience.

           

Photo Source: www.recoveryconnection.org

            In class, we learned about the twelve-step model, and which step was the most difficult. We also learned that there is not an absolute answer to this query. However, I felt as though the first step was the most difficult; the admission of powerlessness over the substance of which one is addicted. While I would not say I was “addicted” to playing with my hair, it was extremely hard to identify that this was a problem in the first place.

            Therefore, I feel as though it would be extremely difficult for someone who is struggling with addiction to change his or her behaviors. Not only is it hard to admit that one has a problem, it must also be so difficult to change the behaviors so strongly associated with this problem/addiction. It was hard enough to break my simple habit, therefore I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it must be to break an addiction with a substance that is so powerful over the people it affects.

            It is for this reason that it is extremely necessary for someone who is struggling with addiction to have a strong support system, and to attend meetings such as AA or NA. As we learned from our guest speaker Brittney, it is crucial for those in recovery to have a strong support system as well as a sponsor.

            In addition, a Narrative Therapy approach may be helpful for those battling addiction because it can help them to re-write their life story without the substance. This type of therapy, combined with the support system of a sponsor and group meetings will ultimately be extremely beneficial to someone who is trying to change their behavior.

            It is for this reason that I do believe addictions can be helped. I would not use the word “cured” simply because from what I have learned, addiction is a life-long battle. However, I do wholeheartedly believe that individuals can recover from addiction.