What is the Science and Practice of Habit Change?

The Science And Practice Of Mindful Habit Change, arising out of Dr. Judson Brewer’s practice, insights and research, provides ground-breaking tools and information about the mechanisms of habit formation and change. In accordance with the latest neuroscience, change is not dependent on harsh self-discipline, but rather enlists the brain as an ally in moving toward behaviors that are intrinsically healthy and rewarding. With guidance and group support, this course will help you learn how to short circuit habit loops and instead nurture more purposeful and constructive ways of being.

Who is this course for?

This course is intended for those looking to make positive changes in their habits and to transform their lives. It’s suitable for you if:

• You are new to mindfulness and want to explore its benefits.
• You’ve made previous attempts to change your habits but encountered challenges along the way.
• You’re falling back into old patterns despite your best efforts.
• You’re determined to make a lasting change and are seeking evidence-based strategies to finally succeed in transforming your habits.
  

Whether you’re working to improve your health, increase your productivity, or enhance your overall well-being, this course provides the knowledge and tools to help you make lasting changes.

What is the Weekly Overview of Science and Practice of Habit Change?

The Science and Practice of Habit Change curriculum presented here serves as a general overview and is subject to potential modifications based on the unique needs, insights, and discussions that may arise during class.

Orientation: Welcome and introductions, introduction to mindfulness
The Orientation session provides an overview of the course, including logistics, introductions, and an overview of the Unwinding Anxiety app and book. Students have an opportunity share their reasons for attending, including possible goals. 

Week 1: Deepening awareness through the cultivation of a mindfulness practice
Week 1 focuses on developing awareness to build the foundation of mindfulness that's necessary for lasting behavior change. Metaphor of “gears” introduced to explore awareness vs. auto-pilot. 

Week 2: Habit loops and mind-mapping
Week 2 emphasizes the concept of the habit loop, including defining the trigger, behavior, and result of observed behavioral patterns. 

Week 3: Disenchantment
Week 3 examines Habit Loops with curiosity and detail. Disenchantment is discussed and how, with mindfulness, it plays a role in behavior change.

Week 4: Non-judgement and the “bigger, better offer”
In Week 4, the concept of the "bigger, better offer" is introduced, guiding students to explore how thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations can inform present-moment decision making. Using a non-judgmental approach, students reflect on their course goals and habit loops, and identify any areas of growth or challenge experienced thus far.

Week 5: Curiosity as an tool for Habit Loops
In Week 5, students practice mindfulness using the Stress Test as guidance. Students may share habit loops that arose during the practice, focusing on how curiosity can be an antipode to judgment. 

Week 6: Cultivating self-compassion and making conscious choices
In Week 6, students practice compassion and exploring challenges with kindness, paying attention to how these experiences feel in the body. Disenchantment is revisited while emphasizing the possibility of making different choices through intentional awareness. 

Week 7: Replacing self-criticism with kindness
Deeper habit loops and mindful awareness is explored in Week 7. Students use mindfulness to practice replacing self-criticism with kindness. The “bigger, better off” is reviewed and the identification of supportive tools or personal mantras is explored.

Week 8: Making the practice your own, reflection, and maintaining mindfulness practice for well-being
In the final class, discussions focus on habit change progress, challenges, and takeaways, including how students can maintain ongoing mindfulness practice and self-awareness of habit loops past the course conclusion in support of sustaining positive changes in habits and overall well-being.

What are the Learning Objectives and Outcomes of Science and Practice of Habit Change?

• Discuss what mindfulness is and is not from a theory- and evidence-based perspective
• Discuss the relationship between mindfulness and habit formation 
• Discuss the relationship between mindfulness and behavior change strategies 
• Discuss the empirical evidence of mindfulness and habit change
• Identify where and when formal meditation practices and informal practices can be implemented in daily life
• Employ mindfulness practices, such as body scan, focused attention, mindful movement, and loving-kindness meditations that support habit formation and behavior change strategies 
• Employ informal mindfulness practices, including intentional pausing, to initiate present moment awareness in daily life
• Discuss how thoughts and core beliefs influence the habit formation process
• Explain how habitual responses can impair emotional and physical wellbeing
• Utilize mindfulness to become aware of triggered and reactive states, including what triggers a habitual response
• Identify and reflect on recurring, repetitive thoughts and emotions to determine how they affect overall health and well-being in short and long-term circumstances
• Create “mind maps” to discover and explore response to personal triggers 
• Utilize mindfulness to compassionately challenge urges and cravings
• Discuss how to short-circuit habitual responses through re-establishing new, more adaptive patterns
• Utilize mindfulness to initiate intentional pausing to discover the possibility of making different choice
  

What is the Science and Research on Habit Change?

Studies have found that the strategies employed in the Unwinding Anxiety app increases interoceptive awareness, improves emotional regulation, and decreases worry and reduces anxiety ^{1, 2, 3}. Additionally, applying the concepts and principles taught in the “Unwindity Anxiety” app has been demonstrated to effectively mitigate and address maladaptive eating behaviors ⁴. The practice of cultivating non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, known as mindfulness, is a key strategy in the app and is a key aspect of this training. By being mindful of habits (i.e. the awareness of thoughts, emotions and physical sensations as they are occurring when one is caught up in anxiety, worry, depression, etc. and the conditioned patterns that ensue), it’s possible to gain insight into conditioned patterns of behavior ⁵. This heightened awareness is a powerful tool that individuals can utilize to break free from harmful, reactive, and habitual behaviors and, instead, enable choices that are conscious and constructive.

Sources Cited

1. Nardi, W., Roy, A., Dunsiger, S., & Brewer, J. (2022). Analyzing the Impact of Mobile App Engagement on Mental Health Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of the Unwinding Anxiety Program. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(8). https://doi.org/10.2196/33696
2. Roy, A., Hoge, E. A., Abrante, P, Drucker, S., Liu, T., & Brewer, J. A. (2021). Clinical Efficacy and Psychological Mechanisms of an App-Based Digital Therapeutic for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Research, 23(12). https://doi.org/10.2196/26987
3. Roy, A., Druker, S., Hoge, E. A., & Brewer, J. A. (2020). Physician Anxiety and Burnout: Symptom Correlates and a Prospective Pilot Study of App-Delivered Mindfulness Training. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.2196%2F15608
4. Taylor, V. A., Moseley, I., Sun, S., Smith, R., Roy, A., et al. (2021). Awareness drives changes in reward value which predict eating behavior change: Probing reinforcement learning using experience sampling from mobile mindfulness training for maladaptive eating. J Behav Addict, 10(3): 482-497. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2021.00020
5. Brewer, J. (2021). Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. New York: Avery.