Health Hope and Happiness

Your Brain Can Be Used To Increase Your Willpower

Now I know that I will be dating myself here, but remember the very famous phrase that comedian Flip Wilson brought to light, back in the 70′s; “the devil made me do it.” Maybe some of you have tried to use that one before, trying to get out of some sticky situation that you got yourself into, I know I have, but there is another one that you can use that might not be to far from the truth…my brain made me do it.

If you started to use that one, you might be right on the mark. The brain controls many more actions and reactions that we have to an immense array of didn’t situations that come into our lives, than we give it credit for.

Scientists are just beginning to scratch the surface of the incredible complex computer that is our brains. Our brain is the center of our nervous system. It controls the functions of all the other organs in our bodies. From this elaborate and sophisticated organ, come all of our thoughts, feelings, and actions that we take with us every day.

There are centers in the brain that are responsible for focus, judgment, and impulse control. There is also a pleasure and motivation center which is the main driver for all our behaviors. This is where emotional memory centers store up past experiences that trigger impulses to our behavior.

According to addiction specialist, Mark Laaser, Ph.D., “the arousal template in the emotional memory centers underlies many behaviors that get out of control.

When I was a kid, I had a sweet craving like no one else, and to help me curb these harmful cravings my parents gave me and my brother one day of the week, that we could indulge ourselves. Every Saturday was called, “Candy Day” at our house. That was the day that we were able to go and get some candy to enjoy and fill those cravings that our brains were demanding. Now we were not allowed to eat candy all day long, but we were allowed to get one or two treats to enjoy.

As much as my parents were trying to do the right thing, they only made the situation worse. Candy now became a bigger taste of reward and pleasure to me. Every time I did something that was good, the pleasure and comfort of some nice soothing chocolate melting in my mouth, was something that I always looked forward to.

This can be some of the problem that we see when people over eat, and use food as a comforting response to something that we achieved or didn’t like doing. Food than becomes the reward, comfort, or safety net that we use. It’s a place to hide, or a form of release that takes us away from whatever we don’t want to face or go through.

The first experience gets locked into our brains, and when you get older, you seek to repeat that experience because it was the way you had the first arousal or pleasurable experience. Understanding the triggers for emotional eating can be very helpful to breaking addictions. And this is the same for any type of emotional addictions, such as sex, drugs, drinking, gambling, or smoking etc.

Now I know that there maybe other factors that come into play, and this is a topic that could go on and on, but if you are struggling to lose weight and you’ve tried every kind of diet there is, you might want to take an inventory of your life. Sit down and think if there is something that you can connect the dots too, that maybe triggering the emotional responses that you’re having problems with today. Something that maybe tied to the pleasure of eating.

I know this is not an easy thing to do, but I know for me, the answers were right under my nose, but I just didn’t want to look at them. I thought if I ignored them long enough, they would just go away by themselves, but they never do. They only get bigger and intensify and also will eventually infect others around us. People that we love will get hurt by them.

Sometimes we just need a little bit of help, because we might not be able to see them from all the different in’s and outs that life can bring. Check with your doctor to see if you maybe suffering from some experience in the past that is triggering why you just can’t lose that weight, or why you just can’t stop doing that bad habit that is hurting you and your family.

Our brains are very complex, but just like the old computer saying goes; “garbage in, garbage out.” When was the last time that you took some time for yourself? Take a day or a weekend for you or with your spouse, just relax and reflect on your past. Leave the cell off, and the computer behind, and just spend some time reminiscing.Talk and listen to one another.

If you would like more information on how to use your brain to get and keep the body you’ve always wanted, you may purchase a copy of the book that inspired this article. “Change Your Brain – Change Your Body” by Daniel G. Amen, Clicking on the book to the right of you will take you to the Amazon link. This book was on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s an easy read and very informative.

Hold the mirror up to your face. Who do you see? I bet if you look long enough, you will see a wonderful person who is full of life. I bet there is a person in that mirror that you may not have seen for a long time. Someone that people love to be around because of the positive energy that flows from you.

Get rid of that garbage and start to download to your computer brain, you know the one that’s at the center of your nervous system and controls the rest of your body, the kind of stuff that will bring about the behavior that you want.

Remember, if you don’t take control of yourself, everyone else will.

Natural Medicines Have Been Around For Thousands Of Years

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well.

This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine. Aspirin has been around since the fifth century. A man by the name of Hippocrates wrote about a bitter powder, that can ease aches and pain and reduce fevers.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads people to eat more fruits and vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine. Eat healthy foods, and regular exercise, will help your body to keep itself in tune.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

There is nothing like a hot bowl of grandma’s chicken soup when you are feeling a little bit of a cold coming on.