Leuty Parker

Tag: #habits

  • Dopamine

    The neurotransmitter that makes us desire things.

    There’s a big difference between wanting something, & liking it.

    There is far bigger parts in the brain for actually wanting to do something; the brain stem, nucleus secumban, the dorsal striatum, ventral tegmental area (VTA), amigdula & bits of the PFC (prefrontal cortex).

    The desiring parts, in comparison, are much smaller: the same parts but in much smaller areas. For example 10% of the nucleus secumban is aroused when your desiring something, but 100% when you actually like it or doing it.

    Amongst desiring , it controls, learning, memory, punishment and aversion, and much more. In my brain injury, i lost my memory. The parts of the brain seem to be a network of small parts of pieces everywhere in the brain.

    Now in terms of habits, this chemical is present when you do something you like, hence actually doing a task vs enjoying doing it. It is combined with the pleasure of the anticipation of it. Sometimes looking forward to doing something is more pleasing than actually doing it. Biologically says so, it seems.

  • Habit loop

    It is theorised that the way we act, in particular in habits, forms a loop. Where one action goes on to the next, the final has the end goal of the first action & it creates a loop. So the loop goes like this:

    Cue.

    Craving.

    Response.

    Reward.

    My version of this, subconsciously, is my reaction when my mum clears her throat (which I hate); she clears her throat > I click my fingers (I know it really annoys her) > she thinks I do it consciously. This is me just venting about her….

    This could be translated into a Pavlovian response. If you don’t know this, this is quite famous “ dogs”.

    Pavlov showed, in this experiment, that animals (including humans) could have a learned response. In this case, he used dogs, by starving them, so they’re really hungry, then filling a bowl with food that feed them, the association being the sound of his shoes, him walking to fill the bowl with food, would equal the desire to eat.

    I wonder if I can use this Pavlovian technique in my recovery; build a routine which becomes so regular that it becomes automatic. I do it without having to think.