You’ve heard it all before – “set a healthy schedule, get to bed early, eat a healthy breakfast” there’s so many voices telling us what behaviours to engage in. But sometimes, the loudest voice is that voice in our head that tells us to sleep in later, keep playing the video games or skip dinner tonight. Maybe we know our behaviours aren’t the best for us, but we feel stuck in a rut and don’t feel like changing. Let’s talk about how to break those bad behaviours.
How does changing my behaviours help me feel better?
When we talk about changing behaviours, we want to look for healthy behaviours… and that could be different for everyone! At the very least, we know that taking care of ourselves is a good place to start. Whether it be eating our vegetables, exercising, or showering, these behaviours, as simple as they may seem, are positive behaviours that actually contribute to us feeling better. As much as we know these behaviours might be good for us, it can be easy to push them aside or to be lazy in the moment. The immediate effect of these behaviours is not always positive. Last time I was running, I felt that I could never make it to the end – I wasn’t feeling it one bit . However, the impact of working out is not one that makes me feel warm, fuzzy and happy in the moment, rather the positive impact of working out is one of delayed gratification. From exercising, over time we feel healthier, stronger, we have more energy, we might sleep better, and so on. Small decisions to engage in healthier behaviours helps pull is unto what we like to call – a positive reinforcement cycle. These behaviours pull us closer to our values.
On the other hand…..
If we choose to take the easy way out and always pick the behaviour that gives us immediate benefit (like eating that bag of chips..), we get a short burst of positive reinforcement that might make us feel comfortable, safe, relaxed, or good for a brief moment. But what happens after that bag of chips is done? Sometimes, engaging in that negative behaviour can work to perpetuate a negative cycle of behaviours. In this case, maybe we’re lethargic so we don’t get exercise, we don’t get proper nutrition so we feel tired or bloated, we might have regret or thoughts of “ I shouldn’t have eaten that.” While these specific behaviours might feel good in the moment, they make us MORE likely to engage in further negative behaviours, sucking us into a negative reinforcement behavioural cycle. If you stay up late playing video games, you’re much less likely to wake up early, eat a healthy breakfast, have the energy to exercise and you’re more likely to fall into a negative sleep schedule – you get where I’m going with this. Are you getting sucked into a negative behaviour cycle?
Behavioural Activation
Therapists use a concept called behavioural activation or BA for short, to help clients to incorporate healthier behaviours into their lives. Behavioural activation is customizable and can be applied uniquely to each client. So, for one client, it can look like planning more activities while for another client, this could mean getting out of bed on time. What might it look like for you?
Take a look at this photo below to see how our behaviours influence different mental health struggles. You can replace the word “depression” with whatever you might be struggling with whether it be anxiety, stress or just a blah feeling!
Photo courtesy of www.therapistaid.comOur hope in promoting healthy behaviours stems from the need to break that negative cycle that has been holding you in the rut you might be stuck in. So how do I stay on track? Accountability! This famous word that means we need to keep track and stay responsible for our actions. Which, you guessed it, is something that takes time and practice. Does that mean I have to be perfect? No, it is about setting realistic expectations and goals that you can work towards achieving. Good thing is, we’re here to help you, you don’t have to do this alone!
A therapist is trained in helping you create and implement behavioural activation strategies, while helping you stay accountable! Beginning with behavioural activation is a great way to start the journey towards bettering your mental health. Reach out to us today to see if we can help achieve your goals and change those day-to-day behvaiours that might be holding you back. I’m here to help!
Related: Behavioural Activation and Depression: How Teens Can Beat The Blues