PART 4: Make Not Drinking Easy

PART 4: Make Not Drinking Easy

While it is widely accepted that substance use disorders and behavioral addictions are complex psychosocial/spiritual conditions and not just bad habits, I believe that incorporating insights from the highly studied topic of habit change can be a boon for anyone...
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...
PART 2: Choose Healthy Habits

PART 2: Choose Healthy Habits

All habits are behaviors that have been repeated enough times to become automatic. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, breaks habits into simple feedback loops composed of four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward. His four laws of behavior change are rules we...
Alcohol Habit vs Addiction – How It Forms

Alcohol Habit vs Addiction – How It Forms

Although author James Clear makes it, well, clear—that addiction is not just someone’s “bad habit”, I think it totally makes sense for people in recovery to utilize some of the concepts he captures in his best selling book, Atomic Habits. Clear has taken the topic of...
Alcohol Use Disorder: Easy to Meet Criteria

Alcohol Use Disorder: Easy to Meet Criteria

A lot of patients I see don’t really know they may meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder. I can tell you that it’s not that hard to qualify, and more and more people are entering the ranks. From 2001 to 2012, the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD) increased...