Why is it so hard to break a bad habit, and what if willpower was never the answer?
In this episode, Ben Hopkins sits down with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Jud Brewer to explore the science of habit change. Jud breaks down the three elements every habit is built on, why your brain keeps repeating behaviours that feel rewarding, and how simply paying attention can make old habits lose their grip. His approach has delivered five times the quit rates of gold-standard smoking cessation treatment and a 67% reduction in anxiety in a randomised controlled trial.
Together they unpack why anxiety and worry behave like habits, what brain scans reveal about the default mode network, why fighting a craving only makes it stronger, and how curiosity can become a superpower for lasting change. Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, stop stress eating, worry less or build better habits, this conversation offers practical tools you can start using today.
MILESTONE MOMENTS
Why Jud tells smokers to go home and smoke, and what they discover when they pay attention
The chocolate shop example: how your brain learns what is rewarding
Why New Year’s resolutions fail and how to find immediate rewards instead
Anxiety as a habit: how worry gives us a false sense of control
A 67% reduction in anxiety compared to 14% with usual care.
What brain scans of expert meditators reveal about worry
The patient whose head felt like it would explode, and what happened when he stayed with the craving “Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will”
Be curious, not judgmental: the message Jud would put on billboards worldwide
You are not your thoughts: why thoughts are a sixth sense door
00:00 Introduction to Habit Neuroscience
02:44 Reward and Reinforcement in Habits
04:40 Paying Attention to Smoking and Other Habits
06:39 Mindfulness and Neural Mechanisms of Worry
08:24 The Power of Paying Attention to Rewards
09:17 Long Term Rewards and Habit Formation
11:32 Using Curiosity to Change Habits
14:15 Understanding Anxiety as a Habit
16:31 Neuroimaging and Brain Networks in Anxiety
18:46 Mapping Habit Loops for Anxiety
21:10 The Role of Acceptance and Curiosity
23:26 Default Mode Network and Mindfulness
24:21 Dopamine, Craving and Attention
25:51 Responding to Cravings with Curiosity
27:42 Acceptance and the Power of Curiosity
28:54 Resisting vs Allowing Experience
31:46 Mindfulness Beyond Meditation
32:14 Curiosity as a Metacognitive Tool
34:21 Thoughts Are Not the Self
35:52 Resources and Further Learning
LINKS
Going Beyond Anxiety,
Jud’s new book Going Beyond Anxiety program: goingbeyondanxiety.com
Jud’s website and free resources: drjud.com
Inside the Curious Mind, Jud’s weekly
Substack: judbrewer.substack.com Subscribe to Degrees of Health: youtube.com/@degreesofhealth
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