I’m a psychologist – here’s how to finally break your bad habits

More than a third of Americans report making New Year’s resolutions, statistics show, many of which are focused on breaking bad habits.

Whether it’s smoking, overeating, drinking too much alcohol, or “punishing” on social media instead of sleeping, 72% of American adults report engaging in at least one unhealthy behavior, according to data from the United Health Foundation.

Dr. Adi Jaffe, a California-based psychologist, knows firsthand the dangers of unhealthy habits, as he once struggled with drug addiction himself.

“I was trapped in the world of drugs and alcohol from the middle of high school until a few years after college,” he told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview.

“Addiction doesn’t discriminate by gender, age, race or income – people from all walks of life are affected.”

Jaffe eventually spent time in prison before getting clean and going back to school, earning two master’s degrees and a doctorate in psychology.

“I wanted to understand what happened to me — and then what I’ve done over the last 15 years, hopefully, is bring those lessons to others who are struggling.”

Today, Jaffe focuses on helping people overcome addiction and improve their mental health. In his upcoming book “Unhooked: Free Yourself from Addiction Forever” – he shares a step-by-step program to help people break free from harmful habits.

Jaffe shared some of his tips and insights with Fox News Digital.

Behavioral recognition

While many people think of addiction as involving drugs or alcohol, Jaffe noted that it can take many forms.

“If you engage in any kind of behavior for long periods of time that takes away your ability to be fully present in your life — and it bothers you, but you can’t find yourself stopping it, even though I’ve tried over and over – to me, that qualifies,” he said.

Depending on the substance abuse, addictive behaviors may include “punishment scrolling” on your phone for hours a day, binge eating, gambling, or indulging in other unhealthy activities.

People can be addicted to work and success, too, Jaffe noted.

“When the going gets tough and tough, they want to go to work,” he said. “They believe that success or performance will make them feel better, but it can cause damage just like other addictions.”

Social media is another form of addiction, the expert said.

“When your phone buzzes or rings, you don’t know what’s there, so it’s an interesting novelty and it releases dopamine,” he said. “You almost literally can’t help yourself.”

Identifying “hooks”.

Many people assume that the behavior itself is the problem, Jaffe said — but there’s almost always an underlying reason for those unhealthy or harmful choices.

“The reason you do that is because at some point earlier in your life, there was pain or struggle or emotional distress,” he said.

“And you found that when you engaged in the behavior, that worry went away. So the behavior was actually a kind of antidote to a problematic undercurrent.”

For Jaffe, when he was 14 or 15, his “hook” was social anxiety.

“And when someone handed me a bottle of vodka at a sleepaway camp, I drank it because I didn’t want to look awkward,” he told Fox News Digital.

“Once I started drinking, I had no anxiety and felt like I belonged. I felt like I could talk to people. And so I realized that alcohol had ‘solved’ this problem.”

Everyone has different hooks, Jaffe said, but there are similarities and patterns.

“We start living our lives trying to escape the worry of hooks.”

Replacing the habit

Once people have identified an unhealthy behavior, one of the biggest mistakes they make is simply trying to stop it without a plan, according to Jaffe.

“We try to stop ourselves from doing what we don’t like,” he noted. “Especially around the New Year, people might say, ‘I’m going to stop eating bad food or I’m going to stop being lazy,'” he said.

Research has shown, however, that the most important aspect of breaking a bad habit is replacing the negative behavior with a positive one, the psychologist noted.

“We need to stop trying to just eliminate bad habits — it doesn’t work,” Jaffe said. “We have to replace them with something else.”

For example, if someone wants to quit smoking, they can carry gum or sunflower seeds in their pocket, he said.

Or, if someone is very focused on work, this may mean giving up some tasks and delegating them to other people.

Jaffe also emphasized that the process of breaking a bad habit isn’t always perfect or smooth, and that slipping up now and then doesn’t equal failure.

“It’s okay to fall flat on your face a few times as you work to change this,” he said.

“You just have to keep going.”

Jaffe’s book, Unattached: Free Yourself from Addiction Forever, will be available January 7.