Habits & Patterns

When you keep doing something even though you know it isn't helping

Some patterns are obvious.

Others are so familiar that we barely notice them.

You may find yourself reacting in the same way, getting caught in the same cycle or returning to a behaviour you have promised yourself you'll stop.

You know what you're doing.

You may even understand why you're doing it.

Yet when the familiar situation appears, the familiar response seems to happen almost automatically.

That can leave you wondering why insight hasn't translated into change.

You might notice yourself:

A habit or pattern usually persists for a reason.

At some point, it may have helped you manage something, avoid something or create a sense of relief.

The question becomes whether it is still helping now.

At Saltbush, we don't start by assuming you simply need more discipline.

We look at how the pattern works.

What tends to happen immediately beforehand?

What does the response give you in the short term?

What reinforces it?

And where is there room for something different?

Strategic psychotherapy helps make those patterns more visible and gives us a practical way to begin interrupting them.

Clinical hypnosis can complement this by helping rehearse and reinforce alternative responses in a focused state of attention.

Change doesn't always mean never having the old urge or response again.

It may mean noticing it earlier.

Creating a little more space between the trigger and what you do next.

Responding differently often enough that the alternative begins to become more familiar.

And feeling less as though the pattern is choosing for you.

The aim is greater flexibility and choice.

Not sure where your pattern fits? You don't need to label it before you come.