EXPOSITORY ESSAY: “What can you do to quit a bad habit?

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Donadío, Iara

Habits are patterns of behavior that play an important role in our health and so they
are difficult to erase. These can often be a good thing or lead people astray when it
becomes a daily habit, such as smoking, nail-biting, or even poor posture, that can
be harmful to people. Nevertheless, some common strategies were mentioned by
behavioral coaches and psychologists to help quit them.

As habits can arise through repetition, being developed when good or enjoyable
events trigger the brain’s “reward” centers, it is common for people to fall into
overeating, smoking, drug or alcohol abuse, gambling, and even compulsive use of
computers and social media. For this, as there are parts of the brain working against
persons when they try to overcome bad habits, after deciding to quit the behavior it is
essential to track the habit, trying to find patterns and, in consequence, knowing
what triggers it and staying away from triggering environments. Equally important, as
the “reward” centers of the brain are still involved during this process, people must
set personal and realistic goals.

In addition, once the goals are set, people must be aware of their limits for them not
to take more than they can handle as regards physical and mental health. Along with
this awareness, people must find an alternative or replacement to the old habit as it
was shown in many studies that replacing a bad habit with a good one instead can
lower the chances to get a behavioral rebound effect. Therefore, as this process
might get tough sometimes, everyone needs to be surrounded by a supportive
environment.

Although it is important to keep the eye on the objective, if someone feels they’ve
done the best they can and are still struggling, they should consider seeking support.
This may be a therapist who can give support, a doctor who can prescribe medicine
to deal with anxiety, some peaceful practice such as meditation, running, or praying,
or just a friend who you can trust and feel comfortable with through the process.
People need to recognize it is a journey and everyone can take different paths to
reach the goal.
All things considered, as habits are considered patterns of behavior, it can get
difficult to quit them. Half of the battle consists of persistence and commitment,
focusing on better control of life which is one of many worthy goals in breaking a bad
habit. Nevertheless, it is not impossible once people are aware of them and the effort
it takes to change.

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