Breaking Patterns: Practical Steps to Change Habits

Patterns in our behavior often arise as automatic responses to pressure and tension. The amygdala signals threat and can trigger rapid, impulsive reactions. The front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, normally regulates planning and control, but under prolonged stress this process becomes less efficient. The striatum tracks habits and reward expectations, making fixed responses feel automatic. Breaking these patterns requires insight into these brain processes and practice choosing different actions. With targeted steps you can reduce tension, make the amygdala less prone to automatic reactions, and put the reins back in the hands of the brain regions that enable planning and decision making.

Three important approaches help break patterns, each focusing on thoughts, emotions and behavior, but all aimed at more control and freedom. The first method is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, abbreviated ACT. You learn to recognize and accept thoughts and feelings without getting entangled in them, while staying connected to what matters to you. By creating space for what holds you back, you can reduce the power of automatic patterns and choose actions aligned with your values. The second method is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, officially called CBT. You learn to recognize and challenge automatic thoughts and reshape them, and then test them against reality with small steps. Schema Therapy addresses deeper patterns that often originate in childhood and continue to shape adult life; by attending to feelings and relationships you can gradually respond differently. The fourth approach is a lighter form of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT-light; this method seeks a balance between change and acceptance and offers practical skills for managing emotions and communication.

Tools you can apply immediately include a Trigger Schema, STOP plan and behavioral experiments. A Trigger Schema helps map signals: what is the situation, which emotions and thoughts arise, what impulse do you feel, and what was the behavior and its consequence. By recording this you notice patterns and can plan targeted changes. The STOP plan is a short method you can quickly use in moments of tension: Stop, take a deep breath, Observe what’s happening in your body and mind, and then Proceed with purpose. Behavioral experiments involve small tests of the assumptions you hold about yourself or others. By testing a hoped-for outcome in practice you can verify whether your thought is correct and learn new ways of acting. These three tools help your brain gain more control and flexibility, so automatic patterns gradually fade and space opens for conscious change.

In practice you can approach this step by step. The next four weeks can serve as a guide: week one identify the patterns you want to break and fill in the Trigger Schema; week two regularly practice the STOP plan in situations where you are prone to patterns; week three carry out at least two small behavioral experiments and keep a careful log of what changes in feelings and behavior; week four evaluate what works and what doesn’t and adjust the plan accordingly. Throughout this process the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and striatum play crucial roles: the amygdala responds to threat, the prefrontal cortex helps you make controlled choices, and the striatum governs dependence on fixed patterns. With consistent practice you can move toward changed patterns and ultimately choose new, healthier behavior.

8 oktober 2025 – door Lou KnowsYou, psycholoog & trainer in gedragsverandering

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