THE DYSFUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOURAL CYCLES?
Although our feelings and our thoughts (as well as our attitudes and beliefs) can get us into trouble, it’s usually our behaviours that really get us into trouble. That’s because it’s our behaviours that really count.
If we have good self-control, no matter what we feel, think, or believe, we’re able to manage our behaviours. Feelings and thoughts lead to our behaviour, so real behavioural control starts long before we actually act. But in the end, it’s our behaviour that counts the most.
For most people, the things they do – their behaviour – are predictable. We can sometimes guess what someone is going to do in a similar situation in the future because of what he or she has done in the past.
Behaviour that is repeated forms a type of “cycle” it repeats itself again and again, making a pattern. In a pattern, you can see how the parts fit together and predict how the design repeats. This is true for behaviour as well, and many people repeat parts of their behaviour over and over. When behaviour repeats this way, we call it a cycle of behaviour, or a behavioural cycle.
Credit: Jessica Hood, LCSW