As humans, we are often habitual always being consistent in some areas of life some of which might be beneficial or detrimental. I have had the habit of eating junk food and justifying it as a craving. Junk foods are any kind of food that is pre-prepared or packages and offers the body little to no nutrition. I often find myself desiring junk food especially when I am at home watching a movie. I feel like every time I watch a movie; I have to eat something delicious which ends up being a bag of potato chips or a soda accompanied by a pizza or burger.
Every time I watch a good movie judging from its trailer, I always feel the urge to eat a sweet snack. I have previously tried to manage this habit by trying healthier options like a fruit salad but have broken the healthy trend only to resort to my previous habit. This habit has grown to a level that I consider it sort of an addiction. Currently, I have tried minimizing the number of movies I watch to try and break the habit which I have found very helpful. I am aware eating junk food is bad for my health due to the number of calories consumed while in a static state. I have therefore decided to adopt better practices to improve my current trend from the article by Prochaska (1992).
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According to the article by Prochaska (1992), the process of change from addictive behaviors is intentional. I agree that change requires intention and will whereby individuals make a choice and adhere to its process. There are medical and psychological ways of treating addictive behavior but making the decision to quit addictive behaviors goes a long way in the self-improvement process (Roos, 2017). The research by Prochaska (1992) is very insightful as it examines the change whether initiated at an individual level or professional level and its impact on individuals. Prochaska (1992) describes five stages of change including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
The pre-contemplation stage according to Prochaska (1992) is the stage where there are no signs of change for the behavior and the individual affected is not aware of the problem. The contemplation stage is where the individual affected acknowledges that there is a problem but has not made any commitments to resolve it despite constant thought. The next stage is the preparation stage where the individual affected has serious intentions to make a change and has already made an attempt. The action stage involves a change in behavior to resolve the problem more consistently. The final stage is maintenance which involves serious commitment to avoid resorting to the old habits being resolved.
I am currently in the preparation stage because I have made a previous attempt to stop the habit of eating junk food and I have serious intentions of committing to this goal. The main aim of being consistent in the change process of completely stop the habit and avoid a relapse. To avoid a relapse, I have to identify my triggers which in this case is movies. Eating junk food is subtle but as serious as smoking and therefore requires real commitment and consistency. Prochaska (1992) recommends the therapy approach of change compared to self-changers. The results are however not consistent for both approaches and vary according to demographics and history of the problem. I have tried the self-changing approach and I am currently at the preparation stage but I have stagnated and I am now seriously considering therapy.
Involving a therapist will be beneficial because it will add some more time to my schedule and deter me from movies. I would also prefer that I schedule therapy meetings in the afternoon or evening to condition myself and reinforce my commitment to avoiding the combination of movies and junk food. According to Prochaska (1992), the process of changing from an addictive habit is often like a spiral involving may attempts to resolve the habit while at the same time relapsing on some stages. I am committed to adopting the five stages of change recommended by Prochaska (1992) and I hope that my journey will be less strenuous.
References
Proschaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In Search of how people change: applications to addictive behaviour. American Psychologist , 47 (9), 1102-1114.
Roos, C. R., & Witkiewitz, K. (2017). A contextual model of self-regulation change mechanisms among individuals with addictive disorders. Clinical psychology review , 57 , 117-128.
