In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen dive into the science of cravings, anxiety, and habit change—and explore what really keeps us stuck. They’re joined by Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (“Dr. Jud”), New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and one of the world’s leading experts on mindfulness-based behavior change. As the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, Dr. Jud has spent decades decoding how habits form in the brain and developing accessible tools that help people unwind anxiety, disrupt addictive loops, and build healthier patterns.
Today, Sonia and Kathleen help listeners understand the mechanics of their own minds while Dr. Jud offers lived insight, science-backed strategies, and surprising clarity about why we repeat behaviors that don’t serve us—and how to finally change them.
In the conversation, they unpack some of the biggest questions surrounding anxiety, cravings, and self-sabotage: Why does worry function like a habit? Why do some behaviors feel good in the moment but terrible later? How does the brain’s reward system trick us into repeating patterns we’ve outgrown? And what role does curiosity play in breaking addiction cycles—from alcohol to overeating to doom-scrolling? You'll hear how habit loops get encoded, why “willpower” is not the tool we've been taught to rely on, and how mindfulness becomes a practical—not mystical—interruption strategy.
Dr. Jud also breaks down essential educational concepts, including reinforcement learning, negative and positive reward loops, the illusion of control in anxiety, the mechanics of disenchantment, and his three-step framework for unwinding addictive patterns. He explains how curiosity and kindness work neurologically to override craving cycles, why awareness alone can interrupt an unconscious behavior, and how updating the brain’s reward database makes change not only possible but inevitable. Along the way, listeners gain language, tools, and frameworks they can start applying immediately to their own sobriety and emotional regulation.
Dr. Jud does a real-life demonstration of his method as Kathleen explores her own habit loop around stress- and boredom-eating. The conversation gets personal, relatable, and surprisingly funny as the trio walks through how discomfort, dopamine, self-soothing, and long-term values collide inside the brain. The episode closes with a reflective discussion on AI, mental health, and the future of behavior-change technology, highlighting what excites—and concerns—Dr. Jud in this rapidly shifting landscape.
This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our Substack for extra tips, tricks, and resources.
Episode Highlights[00:01:00] Sonia and Kathleen introduce Dr. Jud and his work on anxiety, addiction, and the brain.
[00:02:00] Dr. Jud shares how his own anxiety and panic attacks led him into neuroscience and meditation.
[00:03:30] The early research connecting anxiety, addiction, and habit loops.
[00:05:00] How a breakup and “Full Catastrophe Living” started his lifelong meditation practice.
[00:07:00] Childhood curiosity, chemistry, and why humans get stuck in repetitive patterns.
[00:08:30] How shame and self-blame reinforce habit loops.
[00:09:00] Plain-language explanation of reinforcement learning and the habit loop.
[00:11:30] Anxiety as a learned behavior: the illusion of control through worry.
[00:12:30] Clinical trial results showing mindfulness reduces anxiety by 67 percent.
[00:14:00] Awareness vs. identification: shifting from “I am anxious” to “I’m noticing anxiety.”
[00:15:00] Why we return to habits that hurt us, even when we know better.
[00:17:00] Disenchantment and updating the brain’s reward system.
[00:19:30] Why willpower fails: the neuroscience behind “stop it” not working.
[00:20:00] Smoking cessation examples—patients realizing cigarettes taste terrible.
[00:22:00] How paying attention changes overeating behaviors within 10–15 repetitions.
[00:24:00] A patient’s breakthrough using morning reflection to break alcohol dependency.
[00:26:00] How the same loop applies across addictions: food, alcohol, sex, gambling, digital habits.
[00:28:00] Introducing the “pleasure plateau” and learning when a reward stops rewarding.
[00:31:00] How curiosity interrupts craving cycles and builds distress tolerance.
[00:33:30] Dr. Jud’s three-step method for behavior change.
[00:37:00] What to say when someone insists “mindfulness doesn’t work for me.”
[00:38:00] Live demo: Kathleen and Dr. Jud map her stress-eating habit loop.
[00:44:00] The intersection of AI, reinforcement learning, and mental health.
[00:47:00] Expanding access with AI-supported learning assistants in Going Beyond Anxiety.
[00:49:00] The risks of relying on AI
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