How Habits and Loops Keep Monsters Alive
Introduction
Habits shape nearly everything you do. From the way you brush your teeth to the way you respond to stress, your brain relies on patterns that repeat automatically. These habits are efficient, yet they can also keep you stuck in cycles of anxiety, overthinking, and avoidance. In the Neuro Monsters framework, habits and loops provide the energy that keeps monsters alive.
When a habit becomes a loop, it creates a cycle that repeats without resolution. Over time this strengthens monsters like Looper, Sluffie, or Gloomer. They thrive on the repetition of thoughts and behaviors. By learning how habits work in the brain, you can understand why monsters return again and again, and more importantly, how to retrain them.
What Are Habits and Loops
Habits are automatic routines that the brain builds to save energy. Once a habit is established, it requires very little conscious effort. This can be helpful when the habit is brushing your teeth or driving a familiar route. However, when the habit involves worry, avoidance, or overeating, the pattern becomes harmful.
Loops are mental or behavioral cycles that repeat without resolution. Unlike helpful habits, loops do not lead to completion or relief. They continue to cycle until interrupted. Overthinking, replaying conversations, or constantly checking your phone are examples of loops.
Together, habits and loops form the backbone of many monsters’ power. Monsters do not need dramatic events to survive. They need small, repeated actions and thoughts that keep their energy alive.
The Neuroscience of Habits and Loops
Habits and loops are rooted in the basal ganglia, a brain structure responsible for routine behaviors. The basal ganglia works by forming cue–routine–reward cycles. When a cue triggers a behavior that leads to some form of reward, the pattern strengthens. Over time the brain executes the pattern automatically.
Key brain structures that shape these cycles include:
Basal Ganglia: Stores habits and routines.
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): Monitors conflict and feeds checking or repeating behaviors.
Prefrontal Cortex: Attempts to apply conscious control, though it is often overridden by strong loops.
Dopamine System: Reinforces rewarding feelings, making habits harder to break.
When these systems work together in balance, they create efficiency and stability. When they become unbalanced, monsters gain power. For example, Looper uses the habit system to replay thoughts. Sluffie uses the dopamine system to repeat indulgence. Gloomer uses loops to keep anxiety alive through constant scanning.
How Monsters Feed on Habits
Monsters are symbolic representations of emotional and behavioral patterns. They need repetition to survive. Each time you replay a conversation, Looper grows stronger. Each time you check for danger, Gloomer gains energy. Each time you soothe yourself with food or screens, Sluffie takes another step forward.
Examples of how monsters feed on habits include:
Looper thrives when you overthink before bed every night.
Gloomer thrives when you check your phone constantly for reassurance.
Sluffie thrives when you reach for sugar every time you feel stressed.
Murmur thrives when you silence your voice in every conflict.
These patterns are not dramatic events. They are small, consistent repetitions. Over time they keep monsters present and powerful.
Everyday Loops That Keep Monsters Alive
Consider a few common loops that many people experience:
Overthinking Loop: You replay a conversation, feel uncertain, replay it again, and still feel uncertain. Looper thrives in this cycle.
Anxiety Loop: You sense possible danger, check your environment, feel relief, and then scan again moments later. Gloomer thrives in this cycle.
Comfort Loop: You feel stressed, eat something sweet, feel temporary comfort, and then repeat when the stress returns. Sluffie thrives in this cycle.
Suppression Loop: You avoid saying how you feel, tension builds, you avoid again, and the silence grows. Murmur thrives in this cycle.
Each of these loops creates a predictable pattern. The monster does not need to attack. It only needs you to repeat the loop.
How Loops Form in the Brain
Loops form through a process called conditioning. When a behavior leads to any sense of relief or reward, the brain marks it as useful. Even if the relief is temporary or harmful in the long term, the brain reinforces the pattern.
For example:
Worrying about an exam may feel like preparation. The relief of “doing something” reinforces the loop even if no real progress is made.
Eating junk food provides a dopamine hit. The brain associates stress relief with the food and repeats the behavior.
Avoiding a conflict reduces immediate discomfort. The brain records the silence as a win, even if it harms relationships later.
This is why monsters feel so persistent. They are not random. They are reinforced by brain chemistry.
Breaking the Cycle
Habits and loops are not destiny. The brain is capable of change through neuroplasticity. This means that with practice and repetition, you can weaken old loops and create new ones.
Practical strategies to break loops include:
Awareness: Notice the loop. Naming the monster is the first step.
Interruptions: Use small actions to disrupt the cycle, such as standing up, taking a breath, or writing down your thought.
Replacement: Create a new pattern that serves you better, such as journaling instead of ruminating.
Reward shifts: Link the new pattern to a positive reward so your brain adopts it more easily.
The more consistently you practice these steps, the weaker the monsters become. Over time they lose the energy that keeps them alive.
Habits as Opportunities for Training
Not all habits are harmful. Some can be trained to support you rather than drain you. When you build habits of reflection, self-compassion, and physical care, you create conditions that starve monsters of energy.
Examples of supportive habits include:
Daily journaling to track which monster is most present
Short breathing exercises after stressful events
Regular movement or exercise to regulate dopamine and cortisol
Setting aside worry time instead of looping endlessly
Practicing direct communication instead of suppression
By turning habits into intentional practices, you retrain the very systems that monsters use against you.
Cognitive Neuro Therapy and Habits
Cognitive Neuro Therapy integrates the understanding of loops into its approach. Instead of only focusing on stopping bad habits, CNT encourages you to meet the monster with neutrality. When you notice a loop, you do not shame yourself. You say, “Looper is here” or “Sluffie is visiting.” This creates space for change.
CNT also combines neuroscience with symbolic language. By knowing how the basal ganglia and dopamine system work, you see why loops repeat. By naming the monster, you externalize the loop into something you can train. This dual awareness creates both scientific and emotional clarity.
Where to Begin
The best place to start is by identifying one loop that shows up most often in your life. Ask yourself which monster feeds on that loop. Write it down. Over the next week, notice every time the loop begins. Simply saying the monster’s name is the first step.
Then choose one small interruption, such as taking three deep breaths or writing down your thought. Repeat this consistently. The brain will begin to form a new pattern. Over time you will see that monsters lose energy when their loops are broken.
If you want deeper guidance, explore the Neuro Monsters book. It contains detailed profiles of 81 monsters and the habits that sustain them. You can also schedule a free discovery call to discuss which loops appear in your life and how to retrain them using Cognitive Neuro Therapy.
Conclusion
Habits and loops are the fuel that keeps monsters alive. The basal ganglia, dopamine system, and related brain structures create automatic patterns that are efficient yet often harmful. When these patterns repeat, monsters like Looper, Gloomer, and Sluffie thrive.
By understanding how habits form and how loops trap you, you gain the power to change them. With awareness, interruption, replacement, and reward shifts, you can retrain your brain and starve monsters of their energy. Cognitive Neuro Therapy provides the tools to approach this process with clarity and compassion.
Monsters do not have to control your life. When you train your habits, you train your monsters.
