115: How to Break the Addiction Loop (Train Your Nervous System for Real Change)115: How to Break the Addiction Loop (Train Your Nervous System for Real Change)
The Freeology Podcast
Jason Lyle outlines a practical "interrupt, regulate, record" pattern to break the addiction loop by training the nervous system and capturing data. The focus is on simple physical actions, new forms of relief, and reframing relapse as a chance to learn.
7:02•1 Apr 2026
Breaking the Addiction Loop: Train Your Nervous System for Real Change
Episode Overview
- Use a simple pattern interrupt: hands on head, one step back, five deep breaths with a hold on the last breath.
- Give your body a new form of relief such as walking, push-ups, air squats, cold water, or breathing outside.
- Record what happened by noting the trigger, feelings, actions taken instead, and rating the intensity from 1 to 10.
- Treat relapse as research, using it to learn about triggers and responses rather than seeing it as total failure.
- Aim to interrupt, regulate, and record to create space between yourself and the ledge and build long-term change.
“"Relapse is research. You can still learn something."”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This episode of The Freeology Podcast, hosted by Jason Lyle, goes straight into the daily battle with urges and how to break what he calls the "addiction loop" in real time. Aimed squarely at men wrestling with addiction and inner struggles, the style is direct, practical, and no-nonsense, with Jason mixing coaching language, simple tools, and a bit of grit.
He explains that addiction runs in a loop: "Trigger, feel the trigger, signal goes up to your brain, use your drug of choice." The goal here isn’t to think your way out of it, but to stop that loop before it finishes. Jason lays out a three-step pattern: interrupt, regulate, and record.
First up is a physical pattern interrupt: "As soon as you feel the urge, you don't think, you interrupt." Hands on your head, one step back, five deep breaths with a five-second hold on the last one. It sounds simple, but he stresses that even this tiny pause is a major win because it puts space between you and the ledge.
Next, he talks about giving the body a new way to regulate – a short walk, 20 push-ups, air squats, cold water on your face, or stepping outside to breathe. Skip this, he warns, and the urge will probably roar back. Finally, he urges men to "lock in the change by capturing the data": what triggered you, what you felt, what you did instead, even rating the intensity from 1 to 10.
This simple journalling turns into training for next time and can be used alongside 12-step work and other therapy. One of the standout ideas is Jason’s reassurance that "relapse is research" – even if someone slips, there’s still something to learn. If you’re looking for practical tools to build honour, integrity, and more control over your impulses, this gritty guide to interrupting the loop might be exactly what you need.
So, how ready are you to try "interrupt, regulate, and record" the next time a trigger hits?
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