Behavior Modification
Behavior modification entails an individual taking an initiative to change their behavior or lifestyle. Behavior changes are usually personal decisions by a person to live a different kind of lifestyle from the one they had earlier on. Most behavior changes are related to health issues, people change their lifestyles and behaviors in order to adopt a healthier lifestyle and protect their well being. Behavior modifications are usually implemented over time where an individual modifies their behaviors then practices the new desirable activities in order to realize the intended results after some time. At the semester’s beginning, the discussion about behavior changes involved self assessment to determine any behavior changes that would affect the quality of our life positively. We would then implement our behavior modification plan over the semester and reflect on the results and progress of the objectives. I made my own behavior modification plan, which included quitting hooka smoking, organization of my sleeping habits, doing exercises and to gain more weight.
Top of my behavior modification was the objective to quit hooka smoking. Hooka is an addictive drug that has as negative effects as bhang. Its effects are devastating, including loss of memory, hallucinations and the risk of developing lung or throat cancer. I had been smoking hooka for the last six years, which started when I was influenced negatively by some of my neighbors. At the beginning of the semester, I decided to modify my behavior and stop this bad habit for the sake of my health. With the help of a rehabilitation professional, I gradually withdrew from smoking hooka and currently I have successfully stopped smoking. I started by simply reducing on the amount of hooka I smoked at first in a day, and then reduced the amount to twice a week. Two months later, I was able to do away with the withdrawal symptoms and only smoked once in a fortnight. In my third month, I completely did away with smoking and now my behavior has been completely modified. I now have no health risks that emanate from the smoking of hooka.
My next objective was to organize my sleeping habits. Sufficient sleep is very healthy for every human being. Earlier on, I used to have very few sleeping hours because I was engaging in so many activities. I would sacrifice sleep for activities like playing video games, watching television and listening to music. Few hours of sleep make individuals’ immunity weak and the affected person is often tired. Therefore, I resorted to adopting a better organized sleeping schedule that would ensure in have adequate sleep. I started sleeping for a minimum of 7 hours per night from 10pm. This sleeping organization helped me get sufficient rest as well as improving my health.
Doing exercise was my third behavior modification objective. I had not been doing enough exercises earlier on, my body was less flexible. My objective was to frequently do body exercises. I now days go to the gym twice a week. Furthermore, I have a 5 kilometer jog thrice a week. This exercise schedule has improved my body flexibility and now I feel very healthy. The final objective was to gain some weight. My body weight was initially very low and this made my BMI abnormal. I resorted to eating healthy foods and a balanced diet. Since then, I have gained two more kilograms and my BMI is approaching normalcy.
The behavior modifications have been very instrumental in improving my body health and even my attitude towards life in general. Quitting drugs, having sufficient sleep, frequent body exercise and healthy eating has improved the quality of life. My behavior modification program has been a success and my health has improved significantly. Therefore, it is important that people adopt behavior modification approaches that will improve their health and lifestyle.
