How to address three types of beliefs which drive maladaptive behaviours

In my last article, I discussed three kinds of beliefs which lead people to engage in maladaptive behaviours such as substance use, gambling, procrastination, binge eating and cheating on one’s relationship partner. These include negative core beliefs about the self, permission-giving beliefs and beliefs which occur following engagement in the maladaptive behaviour.

As I discussed in my last article, the cycle of these three beliefs driving maladaptive behaviours can continue indefinitely. Fortunately, however, the cycle can be broken with strategies to address the three types of beliefs which drive the maladaptive behaviours.  I will discuss these strategies in the following sections.

Addressing negative core beliefs about the self

Addressing a negative core belief about the self involves creating from scratch an alternative core belief to which positive information can be assimilated. For example, an alternative to the negative core belief “I am worthless” would be “I am a person of worth”.

Once you have identified a positive alternative core belief to contrast with the well-established negative core belief, the next step is to simultaneously weaken the negative core belief while strengthening the positive alternative core belief. One effective way to weaken a negative core belief and strengthen a positive alternative core belief is to use a core belief record, a tool described in Mind Over Mood by Drs. Dennis Greenberger and Christine Padesky.

Using the record entails noticing and recording any evidence or experiences which support the new positive core belief. For example, evidence or experiences which support the new positive core belief, ‘I am a person of worth’ might include statements from others who appreciate the person, times when the person has made a positive difference in the lives of others and favourable personality characteristics which the person is confident that they possess.

Addressing permission-giving beliefs

As the name implies, permission-giving beliefs give the person the ‘green light’ to engage in maladaptive behaviours. As a result, such behaviours are likely to occur once the person has a permission-giving belief in their mind. Examples of permission-giving beliefs are ‘I’ve had a stressful day and I deserve to relax. Having some drinks would really take the edge off and take my mind off my problems’ and ‘What’s the point in trying to stay sober? I’m such a loser—I might as well have some drinks because I’m going to fail at staying sober like I fail at everything else.’

Addressing permission-giving beliefs entails making rebuttals much as a debater would rebut an argument from their opponent or a lawyer would rebut an argument from the opposing attorney. For example, a rebuttal to the first permission-giving belief listed in the previous paragraph could include, ‘Yes—having some drinks would help me to relax and take my mind off my problems. However, it will also lead to problems in my relationships and I won’t function well the next day. So I’m going to do something else instead to relax and take my mind off my problems like working out and relaxing in a hot tub’. Can you think of a rebuttal to the second permission-giving belief from the previous paragraph?

Rebutting permission-giving beliefs is effective in reducing the likelihood of engaging in the behaviours which are driven by permission-giving beliefs. They do so by turning the green light to engage in these behaviours to red by making the person aware of the downsides of engaging in the behaviours.

Once my clients have written rebuttals to their permission-giving beliefs, I have them practice making these rebuttals twice a day. Doing so makes it more likely that they will respond to these beliefs with the rebuttals when they have urges to engage in the maladaptive behaviours.

Addressing beliefs following maladaptive behaviours

After the person has engaged in the maladaptive behaviour as a result of permission-giving beliefs, they will typically have additional beliefs come to mind which can lead to further engaging in the maladaptive behaviour. In effect, engaging in the maladaptive behaviour is often viewed as a failure which re-triggers negative core beliefs about the self and the painful emotions accompanying them.

This leads to new urges to engage in the maladaptive behaviour to avoid thinking these negative beliefs and experiencing the accompanying unpleasant emotions. And, you guessed it—permission-giving beliefs typically ensue to give the person the green light to further engage in the maladaptive behaviours.

For example, consider someone who has worked hard to stay sober for several months. Then one day they experience significant setbacks professionally and in their relationships. As a result of ongoing abuse they suffered as a child, they carry with them negative core beliefs about themselves which come to the surface on this ‘day from hell’. This leads them to have urges to use drugs to avoid thinking these beliefs and to numb themselves to the accompanying emotional pain. The urges become so difficult to manage that they act on permission-giving beliefs which leads them to engage in drug use.

Once they have done so, they feel intense guilt and depression from having broken their sobriety. The negative core beliefs about themselves are triggered by this perceived failure, leading to more permission-giving beliefs such as ‘I knew I couldn’t stay sober. I’m such a loser. I might as well go back to using like I did before.’

Addressing these beliefs following the maladaptive behaviours entails using the aforementioned techniques for addressing negative core beliefs about the self and for addressing permission-giving beliefs as it is these two kinds of beliefs which are activated at these times. In turn, addressing these beliefs will make it less likely that a temporary engagement in the maladaptive behaviours turns into a relapse in which they return to extensive engagement in the behaviours.

May you address the beliefs which drive your maladaptive behaviours,

Dr. Pat