Brewer calls attention to a bad habit
April 16, 2020
Kenny Schultz
THE MIRROR
There are ways to break a bad habit and Judson Brewer understands how mindfulness training could help people quit smoking.
Brewer, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist and author, studies the neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI. He has translated research findings into programs to treat addictions and believes cutting out a pesky habit is all about training oneself.
In his TED Talk, he shares some groundbreaking research about how mindfulness practices can actually help people break even the most long-lasting habits.
This reward-based learning process is called positive and negative reinforcement.
He asked the question, “What if we just got really curious about what was happening in our momentary experience?”
Researchers in the lab studied mindfulness smoking and actually told many people to keep smoking. “Just be curious about what it’s like when you do,” Brewer said.
He used an example of a girl who was a mindful smoker who stated to him, “Mindful smoking: smells like stinky cheese and tastes like chemicals, YUCK!”
The girl had gone from knowing in her head that smoking is bad to knowing it in her bones. She started to become disappointed with her behavior.
The prefrontal cortex is the youngest part of the brain from an evolutionary perspective. It helps people understand, on an intellectual level, that they shouldn’t smoke. When it goes offline, they fall back into their old habits.
“Seeing what we get from our habits helps us understand them at a deeper level-to know in our own bones,” Brewer said.
Another important part of mindfulness training is the paradox, which is just about being really into getting close and personal with might really be going on in the body and mind.
Brewer said, “In one study, we found that mindfulness training was twice as good as gold standard therapy at helping people quit smoking. So it actually works.”
Brewer has helped many addictions so far and his studies are very interesting. To watch him speak about it in his TED Talk, go to,
Erich Vanblargan • May 14, 2020 at 11:24 AM
So the concept that Mr.Brewer has developed is that although many people may recognize that they have a bad habit, it is best that they actively view it as a bad habit as well as the effects it has to start breaking the cycle of those habits?
Brian Kraege • Apr 24, 2020 at 1:58 PM
The concept of positive and negative reinforcement has been proven throughout time such as Pavlov’s dogs showing just how effective it actually is for it to come up so often in topics of psychology.
Larson Lewis • Apr 24, 2020 at 12:29 PM
It’s crazy all of the different techniques used to get someone to stop smoking even tho the people know it’s bad for them. I didn’t know that when the prefrontal cortex goes offline is when addiction sets in.
McKenna Coyle • Apr 23, 2020 at 3:07 PM
I found this to be pretty interesting when you realize what it is like to continue with a bad habit but also know that there is not that many fun things about doing it and in the end it is unhealthy and pointless for one to continue.
Wyatt Cornell • Apr 23, 2020 at 2:06 PM
I find it very interesting how this mindful smoking can make you want to quit. I’ve thought about something similar to this to help kids follow rules but never tested it out.
Kenny Schultz • Apr 23, 2020 at 9:52 AM
Writing this article, I felt comfortable with my writing because Brewer uses so many useful examples in his TED Talk. I love the way he studied mindfulness smoking, by telling people to smoke even though it sounds like it could only make it worse. I think I could have been a little more persist with my writing but I still think it covers the point.
Noah Viegut • Apr 21, 2020 at 2:18 PM
I don’t understand why people still smoke. There are zero benefits and endless negative side effects.
Kaitlyn Flanagan • Apr 16, 2020 at 2:28 PM
Reading this made me think of the office. I say that because at one point, Michael was talking about how he can’t go near a cigarette without thinking of something that disgusts him and he can’t think or go near that item without thinking of a cigarette so he stays away from both things.