How to Break Bad Habits

Everybody has certain habits that they would like to quit but are often overlooked until these same habits begin to interfere with their day-to-day lives. People struggling with bad habits may exhibit behaviors like nicotine abuse, improper diet, financial negligence, and insufficient sleep. What many people don't realize is that bad habits take a toll on one's physical and mental health and can be the cause of various issues like stress, anxiety, depression, various chronic diseases, and obsessive tendencies. 

Bad habits are recurring actions that provide instant satisfaction but often lead to long-term problems (1). Unlike positive habits, these are usually performed unintentionally and are hard to overcome. 

This article will provide a step-by-step strategy to help understand and mitigate these bad habits, which can help improve one's health and reduce the risk of adverse issues. 

 

How to Identify Bad Habits?

The first step in altering bad habits is to acknowledge and understand them. Most of these habits are evident, but there are circumstances where they can go unnoticed in our day-to-day lives. Here are some ways to help you understand them better: 

Know the Trigger

Every habit begins with a specific trigger within the environment, such as a person, place, situation, or emotion. For instance, a student may develop a bad habit of procrastination due to challenging homework; in this case, the trigger is the homework. Taking notes or journaling can help identify the when, where, and why components of the habits. 

Examining the Habit Loop

A Habit loop explains how habits develop and become a regular activity through repetition. The cue (what triggers the habit), routine (activity), and reward (benefit obtained from the habit) are the three components that make up the habit loop. For example, a person experiencing anxiety (cue) could bite their fingernails (routine) to get momentary relief (reward). You must know this loop to find suitable solutions to break the habit (2).

Recognize the Fundamental Need

Many bad habits satisfy our psychological or emotional needs and even alleviate stress. In such situations, replace the habit with a healthier one rather than just stopping it. For instance, practicing deep breathing exercises can be used in place of smoking as a stress reliever (3). 

Strategies for Breaking Bad Habits 

After identifying and understanding the bad habit, the next step is to make it less appealing and substitute it with healthier options. This step helps the brain to gradually rewire to develop healthy habits that promote a good lifestyle. 

 

Avoid the Triggers

Bad habits are developed due to certain triggers within the environment. This can be a person, place, situation or event. These habits can be avoided by limiting the interaction with triggers (4).

When trying to avoid triggers, these are effective strategies to implement: 

• Modify the Environment: If there are triggers present in the environment, one can adjust the trigger and reduce the bad habit from occurring. For instance, putting the phone away in another room while studying can prevent procrastination. 
• Establish Physical Barriers: Suppose a person has a late-night snacking habit. To reduce this, they could store the snacks in less accessible locations, like on top shelves. 

Make the Habit Challenging 

A habit is more likely to persist if it's easy to follow. Making the habit frustrating or unpleasant to perform can help reduce the occurrence.  

Strategies to implement are:

• Discard the Temptations/ Cravings: If a person has a bad habit of overspending, they can limit the amount of cash they carry to reduce impulsive behaviors.
• Change the Routine: To tackle the habit of oversleeping, an individual can place the alarm clock across the room to get up and turn it off. This would prevent the person from falling asleep, hence modifying the bad habit to a healthier change. 

Substitute with Healthier Choices

Bad habits are generally formed to satisfy a need, and these needs can be used to alleviate stress. A strategy to break these habits is to replace them with healthier alternatives; this can ease stress levels and promote good mental health. 

For instance, eating flavored candy instead of smoking, replacing caffeine with herbal tea instead of taking an alcoholic beverage, drinking carbonated flavored water, and replacing habits like lip or nail biting using fidget toys and gadgets. 

Reduce the Incentives

There is always a repetition of bad habits as they feel rewarding in the moment. This cycle can be broken by adding a negative emotion to the habit that may make it less appealing or difficult to repeat. Delayed gratification is neglecting an immediate reward in hopes of getting a more valued reward in the future (5). 

Strategies to implement are:  

• Examine the Long-term Effects: Examining the long-term effects of bad habits can help acknowledge the risks or damages of engaging in that behavior. For instance, the prolonged effects of smoking are deadly. As such,  one can associate those feelings with smoking and reduce that habit. 
• Utilize Delaying Gratification: Take a break and limit yourself from checking the phone for 10-15 minutes. This helps in controlling impulsive behaviors. 

 

Long-Term Strategies to Overcome Bad Habits

Make Changes to the Environment

Avoid any situations, events, or surroundings that can worsen the habit. For example, a person dealing with smoking would have to keep their distance from pubs or other smoking zones.

Create a Negative Effect

To get rid of a bad habit, make the behavior unfavorable as a habit would be less likely to be repeated when it is discomforting. This also helps in establishing negative feelings towards that habit in the long run. 

Understand Why it is Bad For You

People are more inclined to break free from a habit when they understand its adverse effects. They become more willing to care for their health when they realize its long-term damage.

Reward Yourself

It is important to have a valuable reason to develop a good habit. Setting external rewards, like treating yourself or celebrating, can help in accomplishing small goals. 

Staying Resilient

Breaking a bad habit will always take time and effort. Even though you may experience some setbacks, this doesn't mean you should give up. It is essential to understand our goals during difficult times and achieve them until the behavior is broken (6).

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Breaking Bad Habits 

Why are bad habits difficult to break?

Bad habits become difficult to break due to their ability to alleviate stress and provide quick relief. These factors cause a repetition of the activity, making the brain accustomed to the habit. 

How long does it take to break bad behavior?

Breaking a bad habit can take approximately 18 to 254 days, which is usually based on the type of habit and the individual (7).

Why do some people relapse after getting rid of a bad habit?

This happens due to the triggers within their environment, which can cause the bad behaviour to start again. Without adopting effective, strong coping strategies, the brain subconsciously resorts to what seems familiar.  

How does a bad habit form?

A bad habit can be formed due to a trigger (cue). These triggers can be stimuli presented as a place, person, event, or situation that generates a reward. This causes the brain to seek the trigger again due to the satisfaction or reward, further leading to bad habit development.

How do I know if I have a bad habit?

A habit is considered harmful when it causes relationship strain, decline in well-being, and reduced productivity. It is essential to keep observation of any behavior capable of impacting our lives in these areas. 

Bottom Line

In conclusion, breaking bad habits is a challenging but achievable process that involves self-awareness, dedication, and strategies. Over time, people can modify their impulses by identifying the triggers, altering the environment, making the behaviors unpleasant, and substituting them with healthier options. By applying methods like delayed gratification and understanding the long-term implications of bad habits, individuals can develop self-control. Breaking bad habits can result in enhanced physical and mental health, which will ultimately promote a more productive and satisfied lifestyle.

By: Jia Kundra (Health Content Writer)

Edited by: Damilola Elewa