Addiction isn’t just about the substance. It’s about the Cues.
If you always smoked a cigarette with your morning coffee, eventually, the smell of coffee alone is enough to make your hands shake. If you always scrolled social media while lying in bed, the feeling of your pillow instantly triggers the urge to grab your phone.
This is Classical Conditioning (thanks, Pavlov). Your brain has wired two things together: Cue + Action = Reward.
To break the habit, you can’t just avoid the cues forever (you have to sleep eventually!). You have to retrain your brain. You have to teach it: Cue + No Action = No Reward. This process is called Extinction.
The Science: The “Un-Pairing” Process
Cue Extinction Lab is based on Cue Exposure Therapy (CET).
The logic is simple: If you ring the bell but never give the dog the food, eventually the dog stops salivating. The brain realizes the bell is now meaningless.
In this game, we expose you to digital representations of common triggers (like a phone notification sound, a picture of junk food, or a messy desk) but prevent you from acting on them. We let the trigger “ring” without feeding the habit.
The Game: Cue Extinction Lab
- Select Your Trigger: Choose what you are struggling with (e.g., Smartphones, Junk Food, Gaming).
- The Exposure: The game flashes images or plays sounds associated with that habit (e.g., the “Ding!” of a text).
- The Task: Instead of clicking or reacting, you must perform a neutral, boring task (like pressing the Spacebar rhythmically) until the image disappears.
- The Rewiring: You are actively teaching your motor cortex: “When I see this, I do NOT get excited. I stay calm.”
👉 Enter the Lab: Cue Extinction Lab
Actionable Advice
- Specific Triggers: The more specific, the better. If your trigger is your specific phone wallpaper, take a screenshot of it and look at it for 30 seconds without touching the screen. Do this 10 times a day. Boredom kills addiction.
- The “Spontaneous Recovery” Warning: Extinction isn’t permanent instantly. The urge might come back suddenly a week later (this is called Spontaneous Recovery). Don’t panic. It’s just the brain checking: “Are you sure the bell doesn’t mean food anymore?” Just repeat the exercise.
Safety & Disclaimer
- This tool is for habit change.
- Not for Severe Addiction: Do not use this for alcohol or drug triggers without a therapist present, as exposure can sometimes induce strong cravings that might lead to relapse if you aren’t in a safe environment.
References
- Conklin, C. A., & Tiffany, S. T. (2002). Applying extinction research and theory to cue-exposure addiction treatments. Addiction.
- Havermans, R. C., & Jansen, A. (2003). Cue reactivity in response to food cues. Appetite.
- Myers, K. M., & Davis, M. (2007). Mechanisms of fear extinction. Molecular Psychiatry.