We’re all dealing with stress, right? And when it surges through our body we often turn to our favorite comfort food. You know the pattern…and interrupting it is very hard to do.
But hang on, there’s hope!
Dr. Daniel Amen has a 3-Step method to break that habit.
How does the addiction to comfort foods start?
Some foods, especially those with simple carbohydrates like cookies, cake or bread boost a chemical in your brain called serotonin that can quickly make us feel less anxious and less depressed. The downside of comfort foods is they can become addictive and cause us to lose control.
There are much better ways to deal with stress.
Dr. Amen puts it like this: “If you want to get control of your mind, and your waistline, it is essential to stop emotional overeating.”
Take a look at this video where he explains the 3 steps that will help you end emotional overeating once and for all.
- MeditationMeditation can calm your mind and boost your brain at the same time. Surprisingly, many forms of meditation don’t calm brain activity—they actually dramatically increase blood flow to the front, decision-making part of the brain and make you smarter!The Amen Clinics published a study showing how a very simple 12-minute meditation boosted blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, the same area of your brain that helps you make good decisions. In patients that learn the same 12-minute meditation protocol, Dr. Amen has observed improved mood, emotional balance and eating behavior.
- Control your Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)One of the most powerful techniques you can use to stop emotional overeating is to stop believing every negative thought that goes through your head!The truth is that your thoughts lie to you – a lot. And these deceptive thoughts often are triggers of your anxiety, depression, and emotional overeating. But they don’t have to! You can learn to kill the ANTs. Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, write down your automatic negative thoughts and ask yourself, are they true?In most cases when Dr. Amen poses this question to his patients, the answer is no.
- Disconnecting the Bridge from the PastDid you know that emotional trauma often gets “stuck” in your brain, even if it happened decades ago?It’s true, and many people overeat as a way to deal with these hurts or emotional traumas that occurred in the past. Life traumas like a troubled childhood, difficult parents, being abused, losing a job, or getting a divorce can cause physical changes in the brain. And that lead to anxiety, depression, and emotional overeating.Dr. Amen recommends that whenever you feel upset, write down how you feel in the moment, such as, “I feel really anxious.” Go back in your mind to the first time in your life that you can remember having that feeling and see if you can connect to a specific experience.
Once you understand that emotional bridge, you can disconnect to your anxiety from the event and move forward stronger. According to Dr. Amen, if you have emotional trauma, don’t run from it—make sure that you get help for it.
That’s the summary of Dr. Amen’s 3-step process to gain control of your brain and body.
If you want to join other “Brain Warriors” who have chosen to take control of their brain health and wellness, visit MyBrainFitLife.com
In the My Brain Fit Life Community you will learn more about Dr. Amen’s 12-minute meditation plan, killing automatic negative thoughts and disconnecting from emotional trauma.
With support from Dr. Amen’s online brain health community, you can claim control of your health, change your brain, and in the process, change your life!
