Many books cater to the fitness and nutritional needs of the general public. But little of this advice is specifically directed toward those who have the literally life-or-death need to keep alcohol, drug, gambling, sex, internet and other addictions at bay. How exercise and diet speed up the recovery process and promote relapse prevention is a case rarely made, even by most treatment facilities! Rebalancing the Addictive Mind is an evidence-based, accessible guide that explains how and why exercise and diet produce faster physical, psychological and emotional recovery from addiction and significantly reduce the chances of relapse. And how anyone, despite almost any age or infirmity, can benefit from the principles outlined in this book. Author Shelley Poerio, a licensed addiction counselor and certified fitness trainer, describes how substance dependence and behavioral compulsions change the brain and body, provides guidance and solutions to undo the damage, and motivates change in the recovering individual. Family members gain insight into how to support their loved-one in recovery and better understand how addictive thinking and behaviors get out of control. Counseling and medical professionals will appreciate the cognitive-behavioral, solutions-focused therapeutic approach and the integration of exercise and nutritional concepts with 12-step recovery principles. Ms. Poerio bases her case on the biochemical science of addiction. In the early sections of the book, she examines the anatomy and functions of the brain, and explains the ability of substance and behavioral addictions to exploit brain chemistry and create cravings and dependence. A crucially important aspect of this story, for teenagers and their parents, is that teens are particularly susceptible to developing addictions. Fortunately, the biochemistry of addiction can be turned against itself. Many of us know the positive feelings of well-being that result from working out and eating well. Rebalancing the Addictive Mind reveals in detail why this is just what the doctor ordered to fight addictions. Exercise and diet are uniquely qualified to replace the highs produced by drugs and alcohol, and undo the damage they cause. Aerobic and strength training act as safe substitutes that stimulate the brain's neurotransmitters in much the same way that addictive substances do. Exercise promotes improved brain function and neuronal growth. Proper nutrition prevents the mood swings that can provoke a relapse, and corrects the addiction-caused deficiencies that harm major organs and bodily processes. With a bristling arsenal of therapeutic weapons, exercise and diet use restorative biology to fight the biology of addiction, and empower the brain and body to heal themselves. Ms. Poerio - a former track athlete at Stanford University - draws not only on the latest research, but on her own experience. The plans she outlines combine elements of her workouts with future pro and Olympic athletes at Stanford, and with young (and old) substance abusers as the counseling/fitness-program developer at the Phoenix House of the Mid-Atlantic in Arlington, Virginia. All of her strategies are easy to put into practice, and set realistic goals. They produce encouraging results for the average person in recovery in part because they are simple to do and likely to be used regularly. Above all, however, Rebalancing the Addictive Mind speaks to and motivates its readers on a very personal and understanding level. Ms. Poerio, an alcoholic/addict in recovery since 2001, introduces the book by describing her own substance-induced suicidal ideation that forced her on the road to rehabilitation. Her book includes simple anecdotes - about her work to help her clients and herself - that make it clear she has "been there and done that," and that anyone armed with her book and the willingness to put in some work can do it too.

You are most certainly one of many people who are dealing with a problem that has progressively engulfed contemporary society as a whole: dopamine addiction. In a world where a laugh and a weep are always only a click away, we've gotten used to receiving what we want when we want it. The impact of frequent rapid pleasure on brain chemistry is large and negative. Dopamine Detox is a new book that will help you reconsider your everyday activities and physically rewire your brain for healthier, more optimum performance. This new method of fasting requires you to give up every pleasurable habit for a certain period of time. During a dopamine fast, you are pretty much cut off from your daily pleasures and people, and focusing solely on yourself. You are not permitted to eat, engage in a conversation, smoke, use your phone for anything, have sex, or do any other kind of addictive activity. In addition to practical guidance, breaking the Dopamine Addiction emphasizes the power of mindfulness and encourages readers to incorporate mindfulness practices into their daily lives. This book is a must-read for anyone struggling with addiction or looking to improve their mental and physical health by breaking free from the cycle of dopamine addiction.

No one can avoid gray hair and wrinkles, but what about preventing the brain from aging? Dr. Eric Braverman, "America's Brain Doctor" and bestselling author has created a simple, science-based plan that can help prevent the worst mental side effects of aging: memory loss, cognitive decline, and mood changes. Dr. Braverman distills 35 years of research and clinical experience into a 6-step program that helps spur neurogenesis: growing new brain cells as one ages. By following the plan, readers can self-detect cognitive decline, reverse it, and boost the brain’s power and speed. In Younger Brain, Sharper Mind, readers will discover: The Braverman Brain Advantage Test—a fast and simple way to assess attention span, memory, and cognitive function Special foods scientifically proven to support brain function A comprehensive set of exercises—for both body and brain—designed to keep readers healthy and functioning at a high level even as the years go by

"A down-to-earth, hopeful, useful--and, from the point of view of this 'recovered' depressive--accurate account of how to treat depression."--Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes. Colette Dowling watched depression destroy her husband's life and leap to the next generation to nearly destroy her daughter's--until dramatic help was found. Now her ground-breaking book offer the same lifesaving help to the millions who still suffer depression and related disorders--which include panic, anxiety, phobias, PMS, alcohol and drug abuse, bulimia, migraine, and obesity. You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way? documents the latest research that links depression and related disorders to a physical cause and shows why willpower, understanding, and psychotherapy so often fail to work. It explains the state-of-the-art medical treatments that can bring about dramatic improvement--and often full recovery--within weeks. This important book includes: startling new links between eating disorders, addiction, and depression. How to recognize the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. Vital information about new treatments for depressed children and adolescents. A guide to breakthrough drugs for treating mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. The newest research on the use of antidepressants to prevent substance-abuse relapse. How to find expert help and evaluate the treatment you are given. Upbeat, filled with hope and warmth, Colette Dowling's book will change minds and save lives.

Conscious Eating has been referred to as the "Bible of Vegetarians," for both beginners and advanced students of health. This classic work in the field of live-food nutrition is an inspirational journey and a manual for life. Included is new information on enzymes, vegetarian nutrition for pregnancy, and an innovative international 14-day menu of gourmet, Kosher, vegetarian, live-food cuisine, plus 150 recipes.

Many people are unaware of the role nutrition plays in their recovery from substance use problems. Nutrition and Recovery helps clients take control over and improve their health by giving them the tools to change their diet. This manual consists of 14 educational modules, covering topics such as food and mood, nutrition and gambling, healthy body, body image, fibre, fat and much more. Each module has background information for presenters, lesson plans for group discussion and handouts. The modules can be used independent of one another to accommodate clients who may be at different stages of change in recovery. This resource will be invaluable to substance use counsellors and dietitians and nutritionists who work with those in recovery.

More than 100,000 copies later, this breakthrough program is more effective than ever— substantially revised and updated to include the author's latest clinical research. For the more than 160 million overweight Americans, dieting is a failure. Based on more than twenty years of proven clinical results, The Diet Cure's revolutionary approach curbs food cravings and restores the brain's mood and appetite chemistry in twenty-four hours. Beginning with her 8-Step Quick Symptom Questionnaire, celebrated nutritional psychotherapist Julia Ross helps readers identify their unique underlying biochemical imbalances and provides targeted strategies to correct those imbalances using nutritional supplements to jump-start the dietary overhaul. Readers then create their own safe, easy-to-follow plan to end low-calorie dieting and food obsessions for good.

A leading pediatric psychiatrist shows clinicians a holistic, full-spectrum approach to children’s well-being. Every child possesses enormous untapped potential, and yet the number of kids suffering from mental illness today seems to creep ever upward. Depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, oppositional defiant disorder, anger issues—you name it—are increasingly prevalent, leaving clinician’s offices packed with worried parents and caregivers, wondering how they can help their children. In this book, child psychiatrist Scott Shannon offers a refreshing new path for practitioners who are eager for a more optimistic view of children’s mental health, one that emphasizes a child’s inherent resilience and resources over pathology and prescriptions. “What is mental health?” Shannon explores the fundamental question, showing that an innate desire for balance—a wholeness—between brain-body-mind lies at the heart of wellness. Such a balance can’t be achieved by medication alone, but requires a broad, full-spectrum understanding of children’s lives: their diet, social skills, sleep habits, their ability to self-regulate, to find meaning and purpose in life, and their family relationships. Stress, trauma, and poor nutrition are some of the most common barriers to wholeness in kids’ lives, and Shannon carefully examines these and other barriers, and what the latest discoveries in neuroplasticity and epigenetics tell us about their ability to overcome them. Readers will learn how to perform a different sort of assessment—one that identifies patterns of imbalance and obstacles to health in a child’s life—as well as how to build a meaningful, effective treatment plan around these deficits, and how clinicians can best position themselves to respond effectively. The second part of the book looks at eight of the most common childhood mental health issues—ADHD, depression, behavioral problems, anxiety and OCD, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, autism spectrum disorders, and trauma and PTSD—and a variety of effective complementary treatment tools for each, including dietary changes, nutritional supplements, specific cognitive or behavioral therapies, parenting interventions, medications, and more. Step-by-step treatment plans are included to guide clinicians on how best to approach each presenting problem. Mental Health for the Whole Child combines modern science, cutting-edge psychology, integrative medicine, and clinical wisdom to offer all professionals who work with kids a new, more hopeful way forward.

In the time of Freud, the typical psychoanalytic patient was afflicted with neurotic disorders; however, the modern-day psychotherapy patient often suffers instead from a variety of addictive disorders. As the treatment of neurotic disorders based on unconscious conflicts cannot be applied to treatment of addictive disorders, psychoanalysis has been unable to keep pace with the changes in the type of patient seeking help. To address the shift and respond to contemporary patients’ needs, Ulman and Paul present a thorough discussion of addiction that studies and analyzes treatment options. Their honest and unique work provides new ideas that will help gain access to the fantasy worlds of addicted patients. The Self Psychology of Addiction and Its Treatment emphasizes clinical approaches in the treatment of challenging narcissistic patients struggling with the five major forms of addiction. Ulman and Paul focus on six specific case studies that are illustrative of the five forms of addiction. They use the representative subjects to develop a self psychological model that helps to answer the pertinent questions regarding the origins and pathway of addiction. This comprehensive book links addiction and trauma in an original manner that creates a greater understanding of addiction and its foundations than any clinical or theoretical model to date.