Changing my bad habits: I really mean it this time…I swear! Camillo Zacchia, Ph.D. Psychologist April 16, 2013

Changing my bad habits:I really mean it this time…I swear!

Camillo Zacchia, Ph.D.Psychologist April 16, 2013

The fat-man speaks

Like all of you, I have not mastered all my own bad habits!!

…nevertheless…

A Century and a half

Bad habits

• TOO MUCH

– Cigarettes– Alcohol– Drugs– Spending– Work– Food– Sex– Etc…

• NOT ENOUGH

– Exercise– Study– Fiber– Flossing– Sex– Etc…

What is Motivation?

• A circular definition: When we have the motivation to do something, we do it. When we don’t do something…well, we simply weren’t motivated.

• In other words, motivation is the force that makes us act in a certain way. (…the process by which behavior is activated and directed…(P.T. Young))

Are you thirsty?

• Very much

• Not at all

• A little

The motivation twins

Motivation = Need / Effort

The greater the need and the lesser the effort required to satisfy that need, the more likely we are to be motivated to act.

Habit begets habit

• The more you do something, the more likely you are to do it again.

– This implies that changes become strengthened over time. Unfortunately, it also implies that long-standing behaviours are harder to alter!

Need (drive)• Increases in certain areas increase

behaviour:– Internal pressure (hunger, thirst, etc..).– External pressure (social, financial, etc.)– Habit

• Decreases in factors that inhibit drives will also increase behaviour:– E.g., removing social scrutiny, striking police…


Effort

• Factors that decrease the effort required will lead to increases in behaviour:– Presence of stimuli around you (e.g., a bowl of chips

on the coffee table requires little effort to consume and therefore increases the likelihood of eating)

– Strong habits require almost no effort

• Factors that result in an increased effort will lessen behaviour


Ask yourselves

• What changes do I need to make in my life and my circumstances that will make it easier to do the things I want to…and harder to do the things I don’t?

Heart vs Mind(or more accurately, Brain

vs Brain)

• We need both emotion and reason working in balance in order to survive and function well.


Heart (emotion)

• An emotion is a call to action. Emotional responses are quick and usually meant to drive behaviours that help us survive. They are, by nature, protective.– Hunger, thirst, anger, sexual arousal, fear…

• They tend to be short-lived• When we are in an emotional state, reason

takes a back seat (often even in another room).


Mind (reason)

• Rational thought is what allows humans to plan ahead and appreciate the longer term consequences of actions

• It is our normal state of being, except at times when our emotions take over (i.e., it dominates when emotion is low)


General Principles

Be aware of principles that help you use both your heart and your mind to their fullest benefit

Stimulus Control

• Give yourself little choice• Be aware of the circumstances around you

and how you respond to them• Portions• Availability• Surroundings• Hassle

• Beware of chains of events


Social pressure

• Tell people

• Tell people

• Tell people


Goal setting

• Make them realistic• Make them incremental• Beware of perfectionnism and excessive

drive• The stepladder in the soft earth (Don’t look up too

far. Wait until the next step gets closer.)


Stop and think(Watch the auto-pilot)

• What difference would ten years make?

• What kind of old man or old lady do you want to be?

• What are the long-term consequences for that relationship?


A few problem areas!

ProcrastinationWhy put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after

tomorrow?

• “Alcohol is a motherf…er”: Skip ahead to get started

• Stop kidding yourselves (don’t go to a party and expect to work later…duh)

• Sacred rules (exceptions can trigger return to old ways)

• Don’t train yourself to hate it. STOP EVEN IF YOU ARE ON A ROLL!!!!!

• Use bits of time• Keep at it!


Overeating• Diets do not work and never will! (could you

really live without bread for the rest of your life?)

• Focus on making permanent changes• Why do cookies spoil Timmy’s meal?• Satiety, vagus nerves and time• Twice the food for only a dollar more!• How much would you pay to lose a

pound? How much do you hope to save when gaining it?

• Stuffed pantries


…overeating

• Peak Freans v. Fudgee-Os, Pudding Pops v. Fudge-Sicles, Margarine v. Butter (Find a replacement that is OK but not repulsive)

• Coffee cream, sugar and salt.– Some changes are permanent (amount of

food)– Others only require a period of adjustment

and then disappear (salt, sugar, cigarettes)


Smoking• First step: Smoke a cigarette• Step 2: Repeat 150,000 times• Social pressure: Why were you sick at

first? Use social pressure in your favour just as you did when you started.

• Cost (how expensive is that dream vacation? How about your new teeth?)

• Stop and think (connect to the helpful emotion)

• Lifesign (breaking the link between stimulus and behaviour)

• A no-brainer!


Drinking

• Controlled drinking versus total abstinence• Speed of drinking• Keeping the bar stocked• If you spend time with a drinker, don’t

expect to control yourself


Spending

• Control access to money (cash in wallet, credit cards)

• Use social pressure to your advantage (review spending with others)

• Stop kidding yourself (keep an accurate record for a month or two)


Exercise• Maintenance should be the goal (because you have all

gotten started many times!)

• Why do you want it? What will your future be like?

• Any goal is a good start (trivial steps are never trivial if they lead to bigger steps)

• Don’t wait for it to be fun, or for perfect weather• Team up• If you like high-tech, go high-tech (unless previous slide

was about you)

• Make sure you get past the second month (and the second season)

• It is better to feel good than to smell good!


What was my goal for my 51st and subsequent birthdays?

To be able to sit down once again

Mental Health Info:www.douglas.qc.ca

Blog:www.blog.douglas.qc.ca/psychospeak

Questions [email protected]

Website:drzacchia.com

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Changing my bad habits: I really mean it this time…I swear! Camillo Zacchia, Ph.D. Psychologist April 16, 2013