Trying to make changes in your life can be easier said than done.

Whether it’s:

Giving up smoking or another habit

Balancing out your work life balance

Reducing stress

Spending more time with family & friends

Introducing new positive changes in your life (such as healthy eating, or exercising).

Increasing your mood.

How can I make changes to my lifestyle?

Usually to make long lasting changes in our lifestyle, we have to make changes to our behaviours’ & actions. Then we need to work towards turning these new behaviours’ into daily habits.
For example – if we want to loose weight. We need to look to make changes to our diet and to the amount of exercise we do on a consistent basis.

What is a habit?

Habits are behaviours that we do, which then become automatic to us. Because they have been performed frequently in the past we sometimes do these behaviours without even realising it. Over time you create patterns in both your body and brain and these habits become automatic.

Habits can be both positive and negative, however the majority of the time we find it a lot easier to developing “bad habits”, such as eating too much junk food, smoking and biting your nails.

Why are habit’s so hard to change?

Changing habits however can be difficult. Habits are complex in nature and there is a lot that goes into this. How often have you decided, “right that’s it, I’m no longer going to do ……” only to go for a few days you hit a wall and then fall back into the old routine. (Think of all those long lost New Years Eve resolutions)

Form a neuroscience point of view; there are pathways in your brain that have been developed over time. Think of it as a track in a forest. If you keep walking the same path it will be well worn, safe and comfortable. These are your habits that have been built over time, how you act, how you think, how you feel, what you believe and the behaviours that you do.

On the other hand if you’re trying something new, this pathway hasn’t been created yet. When you’re stepping out of your comfort zone (changing a habit), your amygdala (reptile part of brain) triggers of a fear response. It tells you “if you don’t know what’s happening it’s dangerous”. This is when we can fall back into the old safe habit.

The key to changing or creating a new habit is to make the decision that you are willing to go through the discomfort of change. This is the transition period from going from your old safe trail, to stepping out into the unknown and creating a new one.

Even though you start out with the best intentions, and all the will power in the world how often do you seem to come up short?

That’s where Christchurch Therapy comes in. Having someone there to keep you accountable, keep you on track while being supported along the way can make a huge difference.

We would work together to analyse and break down what it is you are wanting to change in your lifestyle. We will work to understanding what has contributed to you getting to this point and the real reason behind this. From there we would establish a clear action plan with strategies and tools (I won’t bore you with the details) to help achieve the change and create this your new lifestyle. Along the way you will receive ongoing support, having someone there with you, reevaluating your progress, changing the approach if needed, keeping you motivated, and celebrating your success along the way.

Take control, and make the change you always wanted.