Mindfulness: An emerging treatment for smoking and other addictions?

Craving to quit: psychological models and neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness training as treatment for addictions

Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity

Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: results from a randomized controlled trial

What about the “Self” is Processed in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex?

Why is it so hard to pay attention, or is it? Mindfulness, the factors of awakening and reward-based learning

Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: Moderation of the relationship between craving and cigarette use

Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Psychiatrist Judson Brewer studies the relationship between mindfulness and addiction -- from smoking to overeating to all those other things we do even though we know they're bad for us. Learn more about the mechanism of habit development and discover a simple but profound tactic that might help you beat your next urge to smoke, snack or check a text while driving.

A simple way to break a bad habit

Habits like smoking and overeating are reinforced by deep, evolution-driven reward loops that can override logic and self-control, especially during stress. In one study, mindfulness training proved twice as effective as standard therapy for quitting smoking. By getting genuinely curious about cravings instead of fighting them, people move from intellectual knowledge to visceral understanding, which weakens old habits. This approach helps people step out of automatic loops and form healthier behaviors over time.

Curiosity, Not Willpower, Breaks the Cycle of Bad Habits

*Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind*