Blog
Thoughts and Breathing Exercises
Through consciously relaxing tense muscles and observing your breath moving in and out, incessant thoughts can be quickly reduced (Lind-Kyle, 2009) Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Food Addiction
Research suggests that an alternating pattern of food restriction and bingeing contributes to reward dysfunction (changes in neural circuitry) and an addictive pattern of eating. Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Cravings
Research suggests that there may be a gene that makes certain individuals more sensitive to sugar and alcohol cravings. Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Is addiction a disease or a choice?
Is addiction a disease or a choice? While one may not be responsible for getting the illness, it doesn't abdicate one's responsibility for making different choices to manage or eradicate it. Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Resentment
"Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies" (Author unknown) Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Social Interactions
Like hunger or thirst, our need for acceptance is rooted in our mechanism for survival. Positive social interactions release opioids for a natural mood boost (APA Monitor, April 2012). Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Depression
Research suggests that people who work too much (11 hours or more during the day) are twice as likely to become depressed. Posted via email from My Santa Barbara Therapy Updates
Compulsive Overeating
“Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt, and the cues that signal them, promote more of everything: more arousal…more thoughts of food…more urges to pursue food…more dopamine stimulated approach behavior…more consumption…more opioid-drive reward…more overeating to feel...
Anorexia – Genetic disorder
40-50% of the risk of developing Anorexia is genetic, it is as inheritable as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, etc.
Drug Addiction
One in four adults, at some stage in their lifetime, will suffer from drug or alcohol addiction (Harris, 2006)
Amino Acid Based Supplements vs Psychotropic Medication
While psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants and mood stabilizers, are a huge asset to many struggling with various mental disorders, some people do not experience symptom relief . This could result from many different factors, but one possibility is that...
Dopamine
Did you know that some dopamine releasing behaviors include not only food, sex, relationships, and quenching thirst, but also bingeing, purging, gambling, and self-injurious behaviors? Some dopamine releasing chemicals include alcohol, drugs, caffeine and nicotine.