PART 3:  Cravings and Forming Habits

PART 3: Cravings and Forming Habits

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits defines the Habit Loop as consisting of four components: the cue or trigger, the craving, the response and the reward. By breaking each component down he offers strategies for those who are attempting to create a new habit or...
Do This 1 Thing to Stay Off Opioids Forever

Do This 1 Thing to Stay Off Opioids Forever

Using willpower to change a behavior means working hard to achieve something; Merriam Webster defines will power as “energetic determination.” If I need willpower to accomplish something, then I am attempting a task that I feel some level of conflict about doing. Like...
Get Clean or Screw It?

Get Clean or Screw It?

Sometimes it is hard to think beyond the next two months or so. It is very easy to say “f**k it, I may not even be here in two months if the coronavirus gets a hold of me…” And for many, there is a sense of the relief from responsibility that comes with being...
The Connection Between Mental and Physical Pain

The Connection Between Mental and Physical Pain

My trauma occurred in February of 2011. As I stood in front of the podium and spoke at a state summit in Michigan, I recounted my trauma — my past — in front of a room filled with strangers. I shared my vulnerable story and my transition from victim to thriving...
PART 5: What Feels Better Than Heroin?

PART 5: What Feels Better Than Heroin?

The 4th and final law in James Clear’s Atomic Habits refers to the final part of the habit loop, the reward. In order for a new habit to form and be sustained, any reward must be satisfying. The difficult thing about this step speaks to our biology and evolution. As...