Three times a year, HabitAware peer coach Ellen Crupi hosts a month-long “Challenge” for members of HabitAware’s online community. Ellen leads the group through inspiration, community connection, and exercises designed to support motivation, self-compassion, consistent commitment, and a growth-oriented mindset. Each Challenge runs for 4 weeks. Members gather in HabitAware's online community to build awareness of their body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), summon the strength to respond differently, and practice choosing self-compassion over shame. Daily check-ins, practical tools, and a group of people who truly get it supporting one another. Thanks to participants completing surveys at the start and end of the Challenge, we're able to share some numbers about what shifts for those who participate over the course of one month. We’ve collected data from 29 people who completed a survey both at the start and end of the first five 1 month HabitAware Challenges. Here is what we’ve found!
Confidence went up
At the start of the Challenge, participants rated confidence that they could reduce their body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) at an average of 5.4 out of 10 - right in the middle. This makes sense! Trying to change a BFRB is hard, and uncertainty is a relatable place to start. By the end of the month, that average had climbed to 8.4 out of 10: a 56% increase. And notably, the responses at the end of the month were much more consistent, with less variation across the group.
Shame came down.
This one matters so much to us. Shame is one of the heaviest things people with BFRBs carry, and it makes everything harder. At the start of the challenge, participants reported shame levels averaging 6.4 out of 10. By the end, average shame ratings had dropped to 3.4 out of 10: a 46% decrease. We expect that these reductions in shame reflect having an authentic place to hear from others with similar experiences, alongside self-compassion work.
Time spent on behaviors decreased.
Before the challenge, 19 out of 28 participants (68%) reported spending more than 1 hour a day on their BFRB. At the end of the month, that dropped to 7 out of 28 people (25%). While everyone's experience is different, fewer people at the end of Challenges were spending large portions of their day on their BFRB.
Success at stopping, pausing, or pivoting skyrocketed.
Perhaps the most striking finding: at the start of the challenge, only 3 out of 27 participants (11%) said they were successful at stopping, pausing, or redirecting their behavior almost all or most of the time. After the challenge, that number jumped to 18 out of 27 (67%). The majority of participants ended the month acting differently.
We love to see these results!! We also know that managing a BFRB doesn’t end after 30 days. BFRBs are complex, and progress looks different for everyone. But the data suggest to us that showing up consistently, alongside others who get it, with a coach like Ellen guiding the process, seems to make a difference in people’s confidence, shame, and action.
If you're considering joining the HabitAware Community or participating in a future challenge, we hope you'll come be part of it.
