Humans is the only specie that will engage in activities to actively self-destruct in attempt to be more lovable. The gap between who we are and who we want to be, is what motivates most of us to grow. Some of us choose methods that change us by killing us - physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Read More"We live in a generation of emotionally weak people. Everything has to be watered down because it's offensive, including the truth." I have been pondering this quote since I saw it posted on social media. Have we become too political correct?
Read MoreHealth care didn't take up the majority of the debates during the election. Let's be frank here - it was a sandbox - mainly due to an extreme unbiased media coverage. However, how Trump stands on 6 health care issues will be of utmost importance for many of us. Interestingly enough, Trump has voiced concern that he wants to deal with bettering treatment for those struggling with addiction - the lost voices in society. A number of issues have garnered media attention, including the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), rising prescription drug costs, and the opioid epidemic.
Read MoreWhen we are addicted to something, our true self tends to get hidden away. Only to be seen in glimpses here and there, when the cravings are not controlling us. And usually, when we are addicted to something, most of our waking time is spent on figuring out when to get our next fix, recovering from the crash after the high has worn off or dealing with the insatiable cravings. There is little space to just be. Be okay with who we are. This is super stressful. And what do we do, when we are stressed out? We reach for our addiction of choice. And on and on it goes.
Read MoreRecovery from any kind of addiction is a long winded road. It is not straight, nor does it even always go in the right direction - there are many u-turns and steps back along the way.
Read MoreHow many times do you find yourself in the same situation, just differences faces and different spaces? If your answer is more than 3 times, you might want to consider what the shared feature of each situation is.
Read MoreWhen are we ready for change? When the time is right. And the time is always right. Time is the only thing in life we cannot get more of. Nevertheless we tend to wait for that right time, as if only then magic can happen. I don't know many people who truly ever change. I do know many people, who say they are waiting for the perfect time. When the time is right, then they will do it. Whatever that may be.
Read Moreto just keep walking. Seems pretty solid advice. Yet I wonder how many of us disregard this oh-so-simple advice and instead freeze in the moment, like a deer in headlights. We stay stuck in the pain, we might find ourselves in at times for far too long. So that a moment in pain becomes an eternity. Crippling us.
Read MoreIt is impossible to change and keep lasting change going, if you do not have a clear vision in your head of, who you want to be and what you want you daily life to look like on there other side of breaking addiction. Without vision the people perish, so it says even in The Bible. Whenever someone is stuck and feel stagnant, like they can't move, yet they may say they want to, they often don't have a clear vision on where they are heading. How are you going to get there, if you don't even know where you are going?
Read MoreWhen was the last time you thought about how that slice of buttered bread felt in your body? The key to master effortless health without obsessing about what to eat when, is to simply get back in tune with our body. Everything we eat has an immediate impact on our body's biochemistry. Health is about balancing our biochemistry.
Read MorePeople with anorexia nervosa (AN) enter a vicious cycle, whereby malnutrition and weight loss drive the desire for further restricted eating and emaciation. Evidence suggests that, compared with healthy individuals: individuals who are vulnerable to developing an eating disorder might have a trait [prior to eating disorder onset] for increased extracellular serotonin (5‑HT) concentrations and [a different ratio] in postsynaptic 5‑HT 1A and 5‑HT 2A receptor activity”. These two changes, together “might contribute to increased satiety and an anxious, harm‑avoidant temperament. In other words, the biological drive for anorexia is related to an elevation of serotonin. So what is the best meal program for someone disposed to elevated serotonin?
Read MoreHow do you manage the cravings in early recovery? Do you have a strategy for when those cravings hit? Do you know some easy things you can and should plan ahead to avoid those pesky cravings? Today I am giving you 3 super simple tips on how to manage cravings. Yes it is almost too simple, but they work. Always keep it simple - the important thing is just to actually do it, and not just read about it.
Read MoreAfter getting clean many expect an almost overnight change and applaud from their nearest ones as well. The road has been long and winded and often we thought we just wouldn't make it. That this life was not for us. That we didn't have what it takes to live in this skin. Every minute felt like another stabbing pain. Yes, that is how many feel that long road to finally figuring out how to live in this paper-thin skin without relying on drugs, food and alcohol.
Read MoreMedication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), represented typically by Suboxone and methadone, is used to treat opiate addiction and appears to be useful in reducing overdoses and decreasing transmission rates of HIV and hepatitis C. The short term benefits of MAT begs the question, as to what the long-term perspectives are. What happens when the addict needs to come totally clean and face what life without any drugs feel like? Considering that most people admit to feeling numb on any amount of drugs after prolonged time. Being numb will eventually itself lead to depression, thus MAT is only temporary.
Read MoreAnd every symptom brings with it a lesson. Until we learn the lesson, the symptom remains. So instead of attacking it, we need to create space to understand what it is, that we are supposed to learn from this symptom. Many of us have this idea, that any body fat is a bad thing. Body fat has an essential role for optimal health and absolutely crucial for female mental health and hormone balance. So when we talk about weight being a symptom, we are talking about a fat percentage below 21% for females or above 30%. For men it is a health concern, if it drops below 14% or rises over 25%.
Read MoreSummer is Pitta season - pitta is also one of the 3 personal constitution types in Eastern medicine: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Each roughly corresponds to what we in Western medicine call serotonin, dopamin and GABA dominant natures. Pitta imbalance is often seen in overeating and binge patterns.
Read MoreIf there is one thing I have learnt in life, it is that everybody hurts sometimes. No one hurts more than others. And yet it seems that there is this competition going on “who has it tougher”. I don’t get it: Aren’t we supposed to change what we don’t like in life, instead of continue being in a situation that cause us to complain day in and day out. Isn’t insanity defined by the very act of doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different outcome...?
Read MoreWe tend to think of spiritual practice as something very isolated - something where we engross ourselves in ourselves even more. It easily becomes a thin veil for narcissism and spiritual materialism - nurturing fanatic views and black-white thinking even further.
Read MoreIf you are a vegetarian or rarely eat meat and have a craving for carbs and just don’t feel satisfied until you are filled up on breads, pastas or sweets, you may have unstable blood sugar due to a deficiency of protein.
Read MoreIn recent years, a "myth" of sorts has sprung up, where people who avoid animal foods believe they can simply consume plant-based omega-3 ALA to meet their needs. But this isn't true and the science doesn't support this assertion. Omega-3s EPA and DHA from marine animal and plant sources are NOT interchangeable. Plant sources that contain omega-3 ALA do not provide the same benefits as the omega-3s you find in marine sources.
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