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| Willpower |
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| Columns - Research to Practice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Michael J. Taleff, PhD, CSAC, MAC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 27 May 2011 11:22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Willpower in our field is a paradox. In some circles, it has become a dreaded word. It is often criticized as dangerous and contrary to recovery. That is sad, because anything so quickly quashed and censored cannot be a good sign for our field. The paradox is that clients are told, “you cannot will yourself into recovery,” while also being told “if you want to get sober – you must be willing.” How does one deal with this contradiction? Research has shed some light on this phenomenon, and there may be some usefulness to be gained through those studies. Willpower discussions can get contentious. The better discussions have a philosophical bent and seem to go on endlessly. These arguments are often framed in obscure concepts of phenomenology and existentialism and often center on what is basic motivation, discipline (self-control) and human responsibility. All of them tie in to the ever-elusive phenomenon of free will and addiction. If you are curious and want to delve deeper into this, I suggest Vohs and Baumeister (2009) as a starting point.Willpower comes with baggage in the addiction field. It has been criticized for a variety of reasons; among them, the belief that a stable recovery is not possible by willpower alone. For most people, using willpower alone has repeatedly shown itself unable to resist the onslaught of addiction, and by itself, is doomed to fail. Yet, humans, in general, seem to place willpower on a high alter where it is perceived by many as THE way to control oneself and delay gratification. Thus, those with an addiction are viewed as lacking this control and unceremoniously skewered as bad people. “They just don’t have the willpower”; or worse, “They can’t control themselves or don’t have the self-discipline.” Willpower comes with baggage in the addiction field. It has been criticized for a variety of reasons. So, are there no useful elements of this concept that could be applied in modern addiction treatment? A literature review on the subject will reveal that science is beginning to shed some light on this concept, particularly the brain research. Scholars have consistently attempted to explain how willpower works. One recent example is the hot/cool model that pivots on the delay of gratification (Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). It is proposed that you and I have hot and cool components within us that influence willpower. The hot element is essentially a quick acting, emotional, “go” system. Here sits our passions, impulses that act pretty much as classical conditioning. No thought here, we just see meat and salivate, or closer to our discussion see drug paraphernalia, money and crave. The cool component is the cognitive cool side that slowly contemplates things and is strategic. It’s the part that comes up with a plan to offset the urge. The essence of willpower (delay of gratification, in this case) is the interaction between the hot and cool. The creators of this model claim that we can use willpower in our daily lives, and need not strive to be stoic to do so (see below). The Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex (VMPC), just behind your nose and eyes, is the thinking reflective part of your brain. Some research indicates that this reflective, cognitive (perhaps the cool component) part of the brain becomes weakened and more susceptible to the emotional impulsive amygdala (perhaps the hot component) with continued use of drugs (Bechara, 2005). Furthermore, abnormalities have been found in the VMPC with people who abuse cocaine, alcohol, methamphetamine and opioids; and this anomaly, which may even predate the onset of drug abuse, may affect their decision-making abilities and impulse control ability (Bechara, 2005).Another research perspective on willpower theorizes that willpower (self-control) is driven by energy; and that energy relies on glucose (Gailliot et al., 2007). This energy is limited, and use of one single act of self-control and subsequent acts will have less energy from which to operate. So you can see how self-control failures are more likely to happen in the evening because of the day long self-control efforts that deplete glucose. Lastly, research that examined willpower via self-talk, or that part of your thinking where you speak to yourself and make plans found that such self-talk conversations can make a difference in willpower (Sensy et al.,2010). The major finding was to put your mind into a wondering mode by asking yourself a question. When it comes time to plan something, the question should be, “Will I do this?” Rather than saying to yourself, “I will do this,” they found those who shifted to this wondering context faired better at actually doing things. Apparently this self-talk questioning keeps one’s mind open and goal-directed, which adds to the feeling of commitment. The team theorized that those who repeat “I will” over and over perpetuate a closed mind, and feel extra guilty when they fail. Essentially, “Will I” statements are questions with open possibilities, while “I will” statements shut them down. Try It Out of this sliver of willpower research may be a few useful treatment tips to consider. You may want to regard willpower as a segment of the total treatment pie chart. To start, consider placing emphasis on things cool, or the thinking part of ourselves. This includes: good planning; avoiding hot spots (things that elicit cravings); using distraction when tempted; and keeping the stress low. One often hears this in 12 Step language as: avoid people, places, things, as well as talk to your sponsor, and go to meetings (distraction elements). In terms of glucose theory, the take-home message is that if you are tired, you are susceptible. Yet, to replenish it’s not a good idea to gulp large quantities of sugar. Better to rely on protein or complex carbohydrates, and get an adequate amount of sleep. Also, inform clients who insist on using willpower only and find themselves constantly falling short of their goals, that they have a limited amount of willpower energy. Humans just do not have unlimited sources of willpower energy. An exclusive reliance on it doesn’t work. You have to include many others things in your recovery to achieve your goals. Lastly, a study on smoking cessation and self-control found that smokers who did best in their cessation efforts practiced small acts of self-control, like squeezing a handgrip and holding it for long periods and/or avoiding sweets for two weeks (Muraven, 2010). Note that both of these small acts do require some level of self-control, and that practicing any small act of self-control made a difference. It was not the feelings of working hard, not thinking self-control will help, not an increased self-awareness that made a difference; rather, it was practicing small acts of self-control. Mike Taleff has written numerous articles, several books, teaches at the college level, and conducts trainings and workshops (e.g., the latest treatment practices, Critical Thinking and Advanced Ethics). He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . References Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: A neurocognitve perspective. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 11, 1448-1463. Gaillot, M.T., Baueister, R.F., DeWall, C.N., Maner, J.K., Plant, A., Tice, D.M., Brewer, L.E., & Schmiechel, B.J. (2007). Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 2, 325-336. Herbert, W. (July/August, 2010). The willpower paradox. ScientificAmerican Mind, 21, 3, 66-67. Metcalfe, J. & Mischel, W. (1999). A hot/cool-system analysis of delay ofgratification: Dynamics of willpower. Psychological Review, 106, 1, 3-19. Muraven, M. (2010). Practicing self-control lowers the risk of smoking lapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34, 3, 446-452. Senay, I., Albarracin, D. & Noguchi, K. (April, 2010). Motivating goal-directed behavior through introspective self-talk: The role of the interrogative from of simple future tense. Psychological Research, 21, 4, 499-504. Vohs, K.D. & Baumeister, R.F. (2009). Addiction and free will. Addiction Research & Theory, 17, 3, 231-235.
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