Are You Really Ready To Clean Up Your Act? Maybe You Need to Understand Your Bad Habits
By Anita Huslin. Washington Post January 2, 2007.
This article examines the hurdles standing between ones intent to improve personal habits (e.g., change to a healthier diet, exercise more), a popular topic this time of year. Its theme can be encapsulated in one phrase,
Change comes from the heart, not the head
Fear, however, is ineffective. In one group of smokers, for example, who had surgery for lung cancer, half resumed smoking in the following year.
The answers suggested are complex and individualized.
For example, Kelly Brownell, founder of the Yale Health, Emotion and Behavior Laboratory, describes a combination of intellectual, emotional and physical factors that play a role in breaking bad habits. He focuses heavily on each individual addressing his or her specific trouble spots (e.g., loneliness).
Other experts promote recognition of underlying causes and motivations. Still others point to the need for effective coping mechanisms and group support for healthy habits.
Public bans, such as New York’s prohibition on smoking in public places, may be effective for wide-scale change. Higher insurance premium charges for policyholders with unhealthy habits and corporate policies forbidding employment of smokers are other examples of the stick approach to improving lifestyle habits.