Episode 9: Wired for Habit - The Brain's Blueprint

Understanding Habits: The Science of Mind-Body Patterns

In this episode of 'Mind Your Body,' hosted by Dr. Zev Nevo, we explore the profound impact of habits on our thoughts, actions, and bodily movements. Dr. Nevo delves into the science behind habit formation, explaining how neural pathways in our brains become reinforced through repetition. He discusses how these ingrained habits, whether beneficial or detrimental, influence our physical health, posture, mindset, and emotional well-being. Discussing concepts like habitual hypervigilance and its effect on chronic pain and trauma, Dr. Nevo highlights the importance of self-compassion and introspection. He also introduces practical strategies for breaking unhelpful habits and forming new, healthier ones, setting the stage for deeper exploration in future episodes.

00:00 Introduction to Mind Your Body

01:09 Understanding Habits: Beyond Daily Routines

03:13 The Neuroscience of Habit Formation

05:03 Posture and the Mind-Body Connection

07:03 Chronic Pain and Hypervigilance

12:12 The Purpose and Efficiency of Habits

16:10 The Fear of Change and Extinction Bias

19:17 Breaking Free from Unhelpful Habits

23:26 Conclusion and Next Steps

About Dr. Nevo
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LINKS:

• Body and Mind Pain Center
• Mind Body Rehabilitation
• Substack

Transcript

Episode 9 | Wired for Habit - The Brain's Blueprint

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Mind Your Body. I'm Dr. Nevo, and today we're embarking on a deep dive into something that influences every single one of us. Often in ways we don't even consciously register. I'm talking about habits. Now when I say habits, please don't just picture those surface level daily routines like your morning coffee brewing ritual, or the specific route you habitually drive to work.

We're going way beyond that. We're talking about the deeply ingrained patterns that shape our thoughts, our actions, and even the very way we hold ourselves, the way we inhabit our own bodies in the world. And believe me, [00:02:00] understanding these habits, both the helpful and the unhelpful ones, is absolutely key to unlocking profound self-understanding and empowering ourselves to create lasting positive change.

Now, I think it's fair to say that we all get frustrated with ourselves from time to time, right? We find ourselves falling into the same old traps, repeating the same unhelpful behaviors, and we wonder, "why do I keep doing this?" We might beat ourselves up for procrastinating on important tasks, for having a short fuse with loved ones, for engaging in self-sabotaging behaviors, or even for something as seemingly simple as habitually slouching at our desks.

But here's the thing: I think it's incredibly important to start with a good dose of self-compassion, to [00:03:00] recognize that these patterns, these habits, they aren't just random quirks or inherent character flaws. They're actually built into the very structure and function of our brains. You see, the more we repeat any thought or any action.

The more we consistently engage in a specific behavior, the stronger the neural pathways associated with that thought or action or behavior become. Think of it like creating a path in the woods. The first time you walk through a dense, overgrown forest, it's tough, right? You're pushing through tangled branches, navigating obstacles, expending a lot of energy.

But the more you walk that same path, the clearer it becomes, the easier it is to follow. Eventually, it becomes the default way to go, the route of least [00:04:00] resistance. Our brains work in a very similar way. Every time we repeat a habit, we are essentially reinforcing the connections between certain brain cells.

Making it more likely that those cells will fire together in the future. It's like laying down a thicker and thicker coat of insulation on an electrical wire. The signal travels faster and more efficiently, and this principle applies to so much more than just our overt behaviors, the things we actively do.

It also includes our thought patterns, the ways we tend to interpret situations, the stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves and the world, the assumptions we make. The internal dialogue that constantly [00:05:00] runs in the background of our minds. And perhaps most relevant to our focus today.

It even extends to our posture, to how we hold our bodies to the subtle but powerful ways we habitually inhabit our own physical forms in the world. Think about whether you tend to slouch or stand upright, the typical position of your head. Your neck, the way you carry your shoulders, whether they're tense or relaxed, even the way you distribute your weight on your feet.

These postural habits, these elements of our body language, they're constantly sending out signals. They're nonverbal cues to other people, of course, communicating our confidence, our mood, our level of engagement, our overall sense of wellbeing or lack thereof. But perhaps even more importantly, they are also powerful signals [00:06:00] to ourselves influencing our own internal state, our mindset, our emotional landscape, and even our fundamental sense of safety and lack of safety in any given moment.

Think about the simple act of standing tall with your shoulders relaxed and your head held high. How does that make you feel?

 There's often an almost immediate sense of increased confidence, right, of being more present and capable of taking up space in the world. Conversely, think about the habit of hunching over, collapsing your chest and letting your head jut forward. 

How does that tend to affect your mood and your energy levels? Often it makes you feel smaller, less engaged, perhaps even a bit more vulnerable and insecure. That's the mind-body connection in [00:07:00] action driven by the force of habit. And this is incredibly relevant in the context of pain and injury.

Consider how someone with chronic pain might develop habitual ways of moving to minimize discomfort, even if those movements ultimately perpetuate the problem. Now, here's where things can get a little tricky and where we start to see how habits can sometimes work against us. It turns out that chronic exposure to perceived threats or danger, whether it's physical, emotional, or psychological, can significantly alter how our brains function.

Specifically, it can lead to a heightened sensitivity in the regions of the brain that are responsible for processing those threat signals. When this happens, we can develop a state of chronic hypervigilance where our brains are constantly scanning for potential danger. Even in situations that are [00:08:00] objectively safe, it's like our internal alarm system gets turned up to 11 and it becomes very difficult to turn it back down even when the fire is long gone.

In this state of hypervigilance, we might find ourselves always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Constantly anticipating that something bad is about to happen. We might develop a pervasive sense of distrust, always questioning people's motives and looking for hidden agendas. As some people put it, it's like we're always asking, "okay, what's the catch here?"

Even when there is no catch. This can significantly affect our relationships, our ability to relax and our overall quality of life. To illustrate how profoundly this disconnect between perceived threat and actual reality can affect us, I wanna share a powerful and somewhat unsettling story. It's a story of a Japanese [00:09:00] soldier who hid in the deep woods for many months, even years after World War II had ended.

He was completely unaware that the war had ceased, and so he remained in a state of intense vigilance, constantly expecting combat, interpreting every rustle of leaves as a potential enemy.

When he finally emerged from his hiding place, he was confronted with a completely transformed cultural landscape in his home country. The changes were so drastic, so utterly at odds with his deeply ingrained internal vision of reality that he was simply unable to cope.

He experienced a profound sense of disorientation, confusion and unease. And in a very real way, this is analogous to what can happen to us when we develop chronic pain or other persistent health conditions, or when we experience any kind of significant trauma. We look [00:10:00] around and we see that time has passed.

We might even get reassurance from well-meaning medical professionals and objective evidence from imaging studies that structurally or tissues have healed sufficiently and yet the pain persists or the anxiety persists. Or the hypervigilance persists. It doesn't make sense.

We find ourselves asking, "why do I continue to suffer? Why do I continue to feel this pain or anticipate this pain or experience this heightened state of alert long after I should be feeling better? Is my body failing me?" This dichotomy, this disconnect between what we expect to be true based on objective information and what we actually experience subjectively can be incredibly invalidating and disorienting. Often people in this [00:11:00] situation report feeling dismissed or misunderstood by healthcare practitioners. Or even by friends and family members who may be overly reliant on those objective measures like imaging studies or diagnostic tests to determine what a patient should be feeling rather than truly listening to and validating their subjective experience.

And that's why it's so incredibly important to validate each person's individual experience, to meet them where they are, and to truly strive to understand the complex interplay of factors that might be contributing to their persistent suffering, regardless of the apparent state of their initial injury or insult to their body.

This includes acknowledging the role that habitual thought patterns, beliefs, and even postural habits can play in perpetuating pain and distress. Okay, [00:12:00] so we've established that habits are powerful and that they can sometimes work against us, particularly in situations involving chronic pain or persistent symptoms.

But this begs the question, why do we develop them in the first place? What fundamental purpose do they serve? Well, the truth is habits often serve a very important purpose.

They become our go-to patterns, our default settings for a few key reasons. First and foremost, they feel safe. There's a deep seated sense of comfort and familiarity in repeating what we've done in the past. Even if those past patterns weren't entirely beneficial, they're known to us, and that can be a powerful motivator, especially when we're feeling vulnerable or stressed.

Think of it as finding a [00:13:00] small degree of comfort and predictability, even in the midst of chaos.

Secondly, habits are incredibly efficient. They require less mental and physical energy. Our brains are, in essence, energy saving devices. They're wired to conserve resources whenever possible. And repeating a habit is like putting your brain on autopilot. You don't have to consciously think about every single step, every single decision.

Your brain can simply follow the well worn path, freeing up mental bandwidth for other tasks. This leads to a third crucial point. Our brains are prediction machines. They're constantly trying to anticipate what's coming next to predict future outcomes, to create a sense of order and predictability in a complex and often unpredictable world.

This predictive capacity is [00:14:00] absolutely fundamental to our survival. It's what allows us to be one step ahead, to anticipate potential dangers, to outsmart adversaries, to navigate complex social situations, and to learn from past experiences. If we were purely reactive beings, simply responding to stimuli in the moment, our species would've been extinct a long time ago.

Think about it: Our ability to learn from past mistakes to develop wisdom is a prime example of this predictive capacity. The old adage about touching a hot stove only once, that's a powerful and visceral illustration of how we learn to predict and avoid future pain. But this predictive capacity, this ability to learn and anticipate extends far beyond physical dangers and simple cause and effect relationships.

It also [00:15:00] shapes how we navigate social situations, how we form relationships, how we determine what feels safe and what feels threatening in our interactions with others, how we develop a sense of what to expect from the world around us. This vast storehouse of accumulated knowledge, this wealth of learned predictions is what we often refer to as our intuition.

It's that gut feeling, that sense of knowing that guides so many of our decisions, both big and small, often without us even being consciously aware of it. However, and this is a crucial point to remember. Understanding that these intuitions are, in essence learned habits is essential because it helps us recognize that ultimately we will always be drawn to pursue that which is familiar.

And the flip side of that coin is that we will often experience a degree of [00:16:00] fear of resistance when confronted with the unfamiliar, with the prospect of doing something differently, of stepping outside of our comfort zone. This fear of the unfamiliar can manifest in very real ways. It could present as what's known as an extinction bias where our minds and even our bodies push back against change.

We might experience a sense of unease. A feeling of this doesn't feel right. Even when the change is objectively positive and beneficial for us. We might find ourselves clinging to old patterns even when they're clearly not working. Simply because they're familiar. And there are a couple of key reasons for this resistance.

First, there's a simple fact that different is inherently scary. Our brains are wired to prioritize safety and survival, and the unknown by definition feels less safe than the known. [00:17:00] One of the biggest fears that underlie pain is that we are forced to embody uncertainty, and there's a loss of autonomy or a sense of control or prediction that takes place.

And second, doing something different. Breaking out of our established patterns requires more effort and energy. Our brains, as we've discussed our energy saving devices, they're wired to conserve resources whenever possible. And venturing into uncharted territory, forcing ourselves to think and act in new ways requires us to expend more of those precious resources, at least initially.

So this powerful combination of factors, the comfort of the familiar, the fear of the unknown and the innate drive for energy efficiency often leads us to stick with our existing habits, [00:18:00] even when those habits are no longer serving our best interests. We often cling to the illusion of benefit rather than engaging in the often challenging work of true self-reflection and introspection.

And that's why it's so important to develop the skill of introspection, of truly examining our habits, of digging beneath the surface and asking ourselves some tough but essential questions. "Is this habit actually helping me? What have been the typical past outcomes of engaging in this same pattern? 

Is it likely to lead to a more positive and desirable outcome in the future? What underlying need or desire is this habit attempting to fulfill, and are there healthier, more sustainable, and more effective ways to meet that same need?" By using this kind of investigative and introspective approach, we can finally begin to understand that habits [00:19:00] in and of themselves are simply tools to get us to a certain outcome.

They're not inherently good or bad. It's the outcome that ultimately determines their value and their impact on our lives. And this brings us to a crucial insight from addiction research, which has profound implications for understanding all types of habits. Studies have consistently shown that it's not the addictive substance or behavior itself that we're truly seeking.

 But rather the benefit or the perceived benefit that it provides us, whether it's a feeling of pleasure, a sense of relief from emotional or physical pain, a temporary escape from stress, a way to numb difficult emotions, or a sense of connection and belonging. It's that underlying reward, that perceived positive outcome that drives the habit.[00:20:00] 

And this understanding holds the key to changing those habits. 

As the truly insightful book, "The Power of Habit" so eloquently explains, if we can create a separate route, a new pathway to achieve that same desire destination to obtain that same underlying benefit, then we are empowered to break free from the hold of the old unhelpful habit.

Think of it like being stuck in a frustrating and seemingly endless traffic jam. You don't try to force your way through by driving over the other cars, right? You don't attempt to drive along the barrier to get through the congestion. Those approaches would be both ineffective and destructive. The most effective and ultimately more efficient approach is to find the nearest exit, to identify a parallel street or pathway, a slightly different way of getting where [00:21:00] you ultimately want to go.

And it's the same with our habits. We aim to reach a similar outcome to drive in more or less the same direction in our lives. But we find a slightly different way of navigating the terrain, a new route to our destination. And here's the amazing thing: when we consistently choose that new path, when we repeatedly engage in the new healthier habit, our brain begins to prune away the neural pathways that we previously relied on and strengthened. It's like that old path in the woods starts to become overgrown. The branches start to reclaim it. The leaves start to accumulate, and eventually if we consistently avoid it, we forget that it was ever even there.

Think about how you might cram for a test in middle school right before spring break. You might remember all the information for a few [00:22:00] days, just long enough to ace the exam, but then over the break, that information fades away, sometimes surprisingly quickly. Why? Because your brain is incredibly efficient.

It will only persist in strengthening the neural connections that you actively use and nurture. If you don't keep revisiting and reinforcing that information, your brain deems it unimportant and lets those connections weaken and eventually disappear. So to recap: when we actively disengage from past habits, when we consciously choose not to follow those old well worn paths, our brain initiates a pruning process, literally withering away those strong neural connections that once held us captive.

And simultaneously, by consciously creating new neural connections, by forging new pathways, [00:23:00] by consistently engaging in new, healthier habits, we can develop the power and the muscle to make sustainable and lasting changes in our lives. It's not always easy. And it certainly requires commitment, self-awareness, and a willingness to step outside of our comfort zone.

But it is absolutely possible. And that's where we'll pick up next time. In our next episode, we will delve even deeper into the practical strategies for building those new pathways and making those changes stick. We'll explore how to identify your keystone habits, how to design your environment for success, and how to cultivate the mindset of a true habit changer.

Until then, be kind to yourself and remember that every small step forward truly counts.