Behavior Modification

1026 Words3 Pages

“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.” ― Santosh Kalwar, Quote Me Everyday. I recently found this quote online and thought it was a fitting example of my addictive behavior modification experience in CSL 466. Initially, I thought addiction is that can be changed over time with willpower, determination and help from others. However, what I’ve learned through my experience in CSL 466, is that you can try as hard as you want but some addictions never quite go away. For me, my addictive behavior is eating junk food. This behavior doesn’t mean that I hate vegetables, fruits or anything healthy. It does mean however, just tend to choose to eat crappy food over healthy food most of the time – mainly because its cheaper, quicker and usually tastes better. Therefore for 6 weeks of the Autumn Quarter I’ve attempted to modify what I eat and in turn eat less of the bad food and more of the good food. This experience wasn’t easy but it was definitely worthwhile and taught me a lot about addiction counseling and myself. One of the first things I started doing during the Pre-Contemplation part of the process was considering change. This for me meant thinking about my food history, how my parents influenced my food selection and how the different stages in my life affected the type of food I chose to eat. I realized that until the age of16 I ate fairly healthy --minus all of the soda my parents had available at my house. But typically growing up, I ate small portions, minimal fast food and tended to have several small meals throughout the day. However, once I turned 16 and started driving, making my own money, drinking alcohol and spending more times with my friends, that’s when m... ... middle of paper ... ...es a person through the stages toward a positive outcome should be regarded as a success and motivation is multidimensional and not easily assessed. Importance is determined by what value a person places on making the change and self-efficacy, which is the belief or self-confidence in one's ability to achieve change. When individuals think that change is beyond their capabilities, they may not try. People who are high on importance but low on confidence need encouragement that change is possible. They also need specific ideas about how to do it. This approach promotes engagement and allows greater self-efficiency and identifies the person's greatest needs and goals. Works Cited Samsha. (2013). Motivational Interviewing and the Stages of Change. Retrieved November 10, 2013 from, http://www.samhsa.gov/co- occurring/topics/training/change.aspx.

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