Archives February 2021

The patient is encouraged to respond to these automatic thoughts using a variety of verbal responses, that is different from already established problem behaviours. Rajiv had tried on many occasions to stop drinking, but had been unsuccessful. At start of therapy, Rajiv was not confident of being able to help himself (self-efficacy and lapse- relapse pattern).

Sustaining Abstinence from Social Media: Results from a Seven-Day Facebook Break: Social Media Abstinence

• Cognitive dissonance can have many different causes, including addiction, a desire to meet the expectations of others, fear of change, and trauma.
• Coaches are skilled at helping people navigate the stages of behavior change and resolve internal discomfort.
• You didn’t think about it much before, but if you continue to make the same clothing choices, you’ll feel some cognitive dissonance.
• Adolescent exposures to other substances of abuse, such as alcohol, cannabis, and MDMA, also cause persistent disruptions of cognition (Brown et al., 2000; O’Shea, McGregor, and Mallet, 2006; Piper and Meyer, 2004; Stiglick and Kalant, 1982).

For example, people who believe in doomsday prophecies may feel confused and upset when the predictions fail. Because the $1 was not enough incentive for the task, the participants had to convince themselves that the tasks were actually fun in order to overcome their feelings of cognitive dissonance. At Beach House, you’ll start learning about our curriculum and treatment modalities from the earliest cognitive dissonance and addiction stages of your stay in our intensive outpatient program. As you move through our full continuum of care, your therapist will challenge you to start integrating the new skills you’ve acquired into all aspects of your life. By the time you complete our programming, you should understand the underlying cause of your addiction and be able to spot any unconstructive thoughts and emotions that arise.

Addiction as Justifying the Unjustifiable

Drug activity in these regions and processes during early stages of abuse foster strong maladaptive associations between drug use and environmental stimuli that may underlie future cravings and drug-seeking behaviors. With continued drug use, cognitive deficits ensue that exacerbate the difficulty of establishing sustained abstinence. The developing brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of drugs of abuse; prenatal, childhood, and adolescent exposures produce long-lasting changes in cognition. Patients with mental illness are at high risk for substance abuse, and the adverse impact on cognition may be particularly deleterious in combination with cognitive problems related to their mental disorders. Addressing cognitive dissonance in the recovery process requires addiction specialists to have a deep understanding of their clients’ conflicting beliefs and emotions. Through therapy, individuals can explore their negative feelings and challenge the reasoning behind their addictive behaviors.

GENES, DRUGS, AND COGNITION

• Cognitive dissonance is the psychological tension we feel as we try to reckon with two (or more) opposing pieces of information.
• The four key elements of PST are problem identification, generating alternatives, decision making, implementing solutions, reviewing outcomes and revising steps where needed.
• In order to explain this phenomenon, psychologist Leon Festinger presented the idea of cognitive dissonance.
• Their study included 306 young women with eating disorders and food issues.
• A person with cognitive dissonance experiences mental conflict and may take steps to try to resolve it.

He suggested that people have an inner need to ensure that their beliefs and behaviors are consistent. Inconsistent or conflicting beliefs lead to disharmony, which people strive to avoid. Cognitive dissonance can have many different causes, including addiction, a desire to meet the expectations of others, fear of change, and trauma. People with cognitive dissonance often try to resolve the feeling either by changing their behavior or beliefs or with other strategies like ignoring or justifying the contradiction. The acute effects of amphetamine, nicotine, and cocaine fit straightforwardly into this scenario. Each of these drugs has been shown to acutely enhance learning and/or attention (Del et al., 2007; Kenney and Gould, 2008; Mattay, 1996).

Adolescent Exposure

The truth is, most of us have experienced dissonance at one time or another. Unfortunately, though, there’s no flashing red light that tells you when you’re not in alignment with your values — it’s all internal. This shows us that cognitive dissonance creates a motivational state, leading to cognitive changes. It helps people get started on the “psychological work” needed to reduce inconsistencies. In the 1950s laboratory experiments on cognitive dissonance, participants had to complete a series of boring tasks. They were then given either $1 or $20 to tell a person in the waiting room that the task was fun.

How to resolve cognitive dissonance

It is the internal conflict that arises when a person holds conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. In the context of addiction, cognitive dissonance occurs https://ecosoberhouse.com/ when someone wants to continue using drugs or alcohol, but also desires to recover. Cognitive dissonance has a profound impact on the way addiction is perceived.

• This article provides some examples of cognitive dissonance, discusses the signs, and offers some suggestions on how to cope with it.
• Cognitively, individuals with addiction may face a mental conflict between their desire to continue using substances and their awareness of the negative impact it has on their health and relationships.
• That’s why people often struggle when encountering information contradicting their deeply held beliefs and values.
• Analyzing the information, making an informed decision, and sometimes even changing your belief or behavior are strategies that can help you make the right choices.
• Additionally, this model acknowledges the contributions of social cognitive constructs to the maintenance of substance use or addictive behaviour and relapse1.
• People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes unpleasant feelings of unease or discomfort.
• The more dissonance people feel, the more likely they will do something about it.

• Cognitive dissonance is the fundamental coping mechanism that people abusing drugs use throughout their active addiction and can often follow them into recovery.
• At Beach House, you’ll start learning about our curriculum and treatment modalities from the earliest stages of your stay in our intensive outpatient program.
• When faced with two similar choices, we are often left with feelings of dissonance because both options are equally appealing.