Positive Habits

Habits define who we are. What we do becomes who we are and how we are perceived by ourselves and others. Most habits become unconscious over time. Most habits are driven by our desires. Our desire to survive ensures that we have the habits of eating, drinking, having sex and needing to get along with others. We practice a thousand and more habits through the course of a day. Because we are mostly unaware of the many habits we have adopted, we also don’t realize how much power we have over our habits. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard patient’s tell me “ That’s just the way I am”. In actual fact that is the way they are choosing to be. All well and good if that is giving you the results you want in your life. Most people coming to see me are coming to see me because they are not happy with how they are feeling or doing.

An antidepressant is not going to help change habits and often won’t work well unless unconscious habits are recognized and addressed and there is a willingness to change them. However antidepressants can help lift depression so that there is a window through which one may be able to see a way forward. There is not much change that can be expected without a position of some hope. There are many good books out there on practical ways to change habits once you are at this point. Two that I can recommend are “The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg” and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.