Addiction Pandemic: 7 Reasons We’re Addicted to Everything
By Nancy Lee Bentley, * Wholistic Health Expert. Posted on .
6. Chemicals. Over 80,000 chemicals are used in the food and farming system, not all tested or listed on product labels -- a fact prompting many wary consumers to say, “If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t need it.“ But while our FDA/USDA/EPA are charged with protecting our health, manufacturers are required to do the “safety” checking, and disturbing health/environmental problems with everything from additives to pesticides, from aspartame to glutamate to glyphosate, lead us to ask: Is the fox guarding the hen house?
7. GMO’s? Americans now unknowingly eat 193 lbs of genetically modified foods a year, since they are not required to be labeled. With no safety testing and less than 10 years use, alarming problems are emerging in soil, animals, plants and humans from widespread usage of glyphosate on 100’s of millions of acres of corn, soybeans, sugar beets. While insisting they’re “safe,” why did the food and agricultural conglomerates just spend $45 million just to defeat California’s Prop 37, that would mandate labeling of all genetically modified food ingredients?
Normal psychological analysis, like most of medicine, takes a “one problem/one solution” approach. But what about the increasing rates of multiple addictive health problems now showing up involving both substances and behaviors? “We need a wider, more comprehensive approach to multiple addiction diagnosis and treatment,“ says Clinical Psychologist, Dr. James Slobodzien.
“Many progressive behavioral medicine practitioners have come to realize that although a disorder may be primarily physical or psychological in nature, it’s always a disorder of the whole person - not just of the body or the mind,” Dr. Slobodzien adds.
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So what can we DO about it?
Consider some of these suggestions to keep from becoming another statistic in this rising tide of addictions sweeping our world:
*Nourish yourself. Eat fresh, whole, organic, when possible, food in season, ideally from around where you live. Jettison the addictive junk food, processed carbohydrates
*Choose a balanced lifestyle. Good food, good company, exercise, sleep, relaxation, being social.
*Don’t just bury your feelings. Hiding, spacing out or superseding your body’s natural signals when you’re under stress could be setting you up for trouble. Talk about or express your feelings instead of suppressing them. (Not on the dog.)
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*Is it what you’re eating, or what’s eating you? Observe yourself, become conscious when you start getting “cravings” or those “just got to have” feelings. Be honest with yourself. Are you really hungry for that donut or deep down feel empty, upset or rejected?
*Avoid emotional eating. Read my comments as one of the experts on the panel:
When Food Is Love: 7 Expert Ways to Combat Emotional Eating
*Get Help. If you think, feel or know that you or someone you love is heading for an addiction, get informed, reach out.
Reference:: www.MyAddiction.com
Referral: call Nicole Browne, Pacific Hills Recovery Options, 949.207.7967
Professional: James Slobodzien, Psy.D., CSAC, is a Clinical Psychologist, certified mental health and substance abuse counselor specializing in substance and behavioral addictions.
