Are you curious about whether and how mindfulness might help you with reducing stress? Maybe you wish you could slow down enough to relax and enjoy a moment where you felt a sense of openness and spaciousness. Let’s take a look at what it means to use mindfulness to reduce our stress and live the life we want to live.
Judson Brewer, psychiatrist and researcher, wrote a book, The Craving Mind, From Cigarettes to Smart-Phones to Love—Why We Get Hooked & How We can Break Bad Habits.His book focused on how to conquer cravings that are unhealthy. This book is full of wonderful insights that I want to share with you.
In this book, Brewer observed that we’re hooked on habits as a way to deal with stress, and our response ultimately causes even more stress. This problem certainly fits what happens when we indulge in emotional eating.
Emotional eating feels good in the moment, and later we feel bad about what we did. My client Laura told me on her first visit that she received a bunch of questions from clients all at once and felt stressed. Then she ate a bunch of crackers to soothe herself. A few minutes later she felt mad at herself and asked, “Why did I eat this?”
Brewer also made the case that stress is exciting. When we experience stress, we receive a dopamine hit. Just like with a drug addict, each hit reinforces the desire to do more of what produces excitement and but ultimately causes more stress.
Brewer proposed in his book that we use our stress as a compass to clearly see what we’re getting from and the cost of our actions when hooked on bad habits. He proposed using mindfulness as a way to let go of bad habits.
Understanding Old Habits that Cause Stress and Suffering
Brewer suggested that we start by asking ourselves these questions when we get caught up in an old habit:
- Where is this reactive response taking us?
Assess whether it is taking you closer to or farther away from where you want to be.
- Are we getting anywhere or are we lost?
If lost, you can assess whether you are causing your own stress and mindfully walk away.
- Where can you start with the process of letting go of reactivity and old habits?
Assess how:
a). Often you react and take things personally;
b). Heavy the burden of suffering is; and
c). Much longer you want to continue this unhelpful habit.
- Using Mindfulness to Let Go of Stress and Suffering
Check your progress and ask yourself:
- How often are you letting go of the old habit?
- Are you not getting as caught up in this habit as you used to?
- How long do you carry it around and how quickly can you drop it when the old habit crops up?
How would you feel if you were able to use mindfulness to conquer a bad habit while reducing your stress? Click here for our blog post on Mindfulness and Eating Triggers. Click here for our post on Mindfulness and Making Better Food Choices.
Need more help with letting go of old habits? Don’t worry. Give us a call. We’ll make an appointment to talk via Zoom or by phone. Together, we’ll see what’s going on and discover what’s right for you.
Together we’ll create your healthy sweet life by building a healthy relationship with food.
Source:
Judson Brewer, The Craving Mind, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2017.
To your Joy and Health,
Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist