I’ve long held that addiction can be thought of as a habit – certainly a powerful, destructive and maladapted habit, but a habit nonetheless. This ‘addiction habit’ idea arose after evaluating my own struggle with addiction, then observing and working with countless others as they navigated into and through recovery. It’s become increasingly clear to me that my thought processes, feelings and emotions, and attitudes are all deeply habituated, and it takes considerable effort to replace habits which don’t serve me well with different ones that do. How do these arise? How do they so easily become my default way of thinking, feeling, and responding to life’s ups and downs?
In this article I begin to address how addictions can be thought of as habits, and I provide a simple self-assessment worksheet which can be used to determine the health and usefulness of any habit – good, bad, or an addiction habit. While the worksheet can be completed independently, it’s best to work with a coach or other support to navigate the findings and determine next steps.
Click Here or click the graphic below to access the article/worksheet. Let me know if you need help or have any questions about the article or your worksheet results!
Excellent definitions!