How To Enhance The Control Of Impulsivity Through Habits
One of the most important aspects of psychologists’ work is being able to find generalities in the problems of the people we serve.
That is to say, a good part of our work is aimed at addressing those daily experiences that cause discomfort, and identifying behavioral patterns that explain several of them at the same time; the psychological predisposition that causes the person to trip over the same stone over and over again.
For example, through decades of research we know that many of the problems experienced by those who come to psychotherapy have their origin in poor impulse control, a behavioral pattern that can give rise to various forms of discomfort: addictions, tendency to bite one’s fingers. nails, poor anger management, etc. Therefore, in this article we will see tips on how to enhance your control of impulsivity through simple habits to apply on a daily basis.
Tips to enhance the control of impulsivity through habits
Apply these habits to your daily life to strengthen your self-control and keep impulsivity at bay.
1. Keep your own record of automatic behaviors
First of all, It is necessary to become aware of the problem you want to solve introducing new habits into your life. To do this, you must adopt the habit of analyzing your own behavior in search of problematic behaviors related to poor impulse control; When you notice that something like this is happening to you, write down in a notebook that you always have on hand everything related to what you have felt, thought and done just before and after you have carried out the problematic behavior.
The goal of this habit is to begin to recognize common aspects in all the occasions in which the impulse “takes control” of your behavior, something that will help you stop it in the future.
2. Adopt habits that reduce your anxiety levels
Many times, self-control problems are fueled by acute anxiety, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the challenges around us. Therefore, as a preventive measure, it is important that you introduce habits into your daily life that have to do with avoiding exposure to accumulated anxiety.
For a start, make sure you are sleeping well since something as simple as not getting enough sleep will weaken you a lot mentally and will predispose you to get carried away by your old habits, which include falling into your usual mistakes again and again.
Also, avoid drinking coffee more than the first hour after waking up, and do moderate aerobic sports to be able to keep the stress produced by your responsibilities, your worries, etc. at bay.
3. Set specific goals
Little by little, set very specific, short-term goals (days or one or two weeks away) that have to do with making progress in the direction in which you want to modify your behavior. This way You will be enhancing your ability to control impulses and at the same time having a clear vision of your achievements since you will not have defined your goals in an ambiguous way and easy to interpret in ways that are too self-congratulatory.
On those occasions when you fail, adopt a constructive mindset, take note of your mistakes, and try again for the challenge you haven’t yet been able to overcome.
Now that you have experience detecting the psychological states that precede the expression of those impulses that you must control, you will have an easier time putting a stop to them before it is too late. When you notice these thoughts, emotions, or mental images arising in your consciousness, Focus on performing a task that is incompatible with the behavior you want to avoid
5. Give yourself incentives
Reward yourself for the progress you make, ideally without always having to rely on material rewards. For example, when you achieve the goals of a whole week, you can go to a restaurant that you like, and on other occasions you can give yourself an incentive of a more symbolic or contextual nature, such as hanging something on the wall of your room that represents your progress.
Are you looking for professional help?
In some cases it is not enough to try to change habits on your own and it becomes necessary to have the help of a psychology professional
In situations like this, psychological intervention consists of going through a “training” program in which psychologists give the theoretical and practical keys to progress and ensure that the improvements remain consistent over time.
In a short period of time it is possible to obtain surprising results, and the benefits of these advances are very noticeable in different aspects of life.
