A Mindful Approach To Breaking Bad Habits

A SIGHT THAT STOOD OUT TO JUDSON BREWER DURING HIS FIRST TRIP TO PARIS WITH HIS WIFE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO: THE TOURISTS.

Brewer, a psychiatrist who studies behavioral change, noticed visitors snapping photographs, posting on social media, and then spending the rest of their time checking their phones for likes and comments instead of enjoying the Louvre Museum.

So, what’s going on there?

It turns out that talking about ourselves is rewarding – much like eating a cupcake makes us happy or smoking a cigarette helps us destress.

This cyclical pattern of reward-based habit is about as primitive as it gets for humans, explained Brewer, who was in Dallas recently to speak during the Center for BrainHealth’s annual lecture series.

For example, let’s talk about those cupcakes. We see food that looks good, and our brain says, ‘Calories! Survival!’ So, we eat the food, and our brain remembers how good it made us feel and uses the same process to deal with emotions like being bored or sad.

See food. Eat food. Feel good. Repeat.

“Mindfulness is about changing relationships with thoughts, not freeing the mind of thinking.” -Judson Brewer

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Published on PrestonHollwPeople April 2019

PrestonHollwPeople > 2019 > April

The post A Mindful Approach To Breaking Bad Habits appeared first on Center for BrainHealth.

from News Coverage – Center for BrainHealth http://bit.ly/2IJaF0K

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