We speak with many people and as we've said, probably a thousand times, the drug of choice is only a symptom of an underlying problem.  Is your drug of choice sugar?   Perhaps it could be alcohol, the second highest drug of choice. An addiction is an addiction and will cause you emotional, mental and physical pain. An effective road to healthy recovery is to change your thinking (thoughts) to change your feelings (emotions) to change your behavior. We are often asked how to reduce one's physical vulnerability to overwhelming emotions? Your thoughts dictate your feelings (emotions) and your feelings dictate your behavior. You cannot react without first thinking, and then experiencing the feeling. People say they just act instinctively but there must be a thought before they act.  Feelings are not facts and you need to decipher what is real and what is perceived to be real – it may be fiction. Your body needs the nutrients it gets from food in order to keep functioning properly. As a result, the food you eat affects how you feel both emotionally and physically. Foods you eat with a lot of sugar can temporarily make you feel pleased and satisfied. But if you eat too much sugar, you might start to feel heavy and sluggish and over time, if you eat an excessive amount of food with high levels of sugar or fat, you will also gain weight. This often results in feeling unhappy, irritable, and agitated and often leads to health problems like a fatty liver, diabetes and heart disease. Other foods with high sugar content can make you feel temporarily energized, but as the effect wears off, sugar can leave you feeling very tired or even depressed. Alcohol and/or drug dependent people often “switch the witch for the bitch” an old terminology used in the halls of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Care is required as we have counseled clients attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and next thing we hear, is that they have switched over to Overeaters Anonymous. A few months later they are attending meetings of Co-Dependency Anonymous because life gets too difficult and their addictions pendulum between ingested (sugar, drugs, alcohol) to behavioral addictions like shopping, exercise (yes, exercise can become addictive) and gambling. Back to sugar addiction. To ascertain what foods you are eating that maybe affecting your emotions, record them in a journal and you will see how your feelings (emotions) can change your moods. Sugar will give you a short term heightened sensation followed by a slump in energy and possibly cravings for another sugar “hit”.   Ever noticed when driving long distances, you pull over for a cup of coffee and a few sugar treats to keep you awake and within an hour, all you want to do is have a “Granny nap”? There are many who consider a lot of road accidents are caused by the morning/afternoon cuppa and sugar treats because people forget the rise and fall of their blood sugar levels.  It is best to pull over and take a spoonful of Tyrosine Mood Food mixed in fruit juice or water.  A gluten-free treat not loaded with sugar, can be taken a half hour after my Tyrosine boost. Identify what emotions make you head for the kitchen to engage in the unhealthy behavior of using food for comfort.  Anger, resentment, self-pity, fear, anxiety, stress, depression (sadness) etc. are just some emotions you need to identify. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, there is a strong emphasis on mindfulness and acceptance. When we are mindful, we live in the present and are aware of our own thoughts and feelings as they occur. To live one day at a time takes the pressure off past and pending problems once you know how to emotionally detach from people, places, things and situations. When we are pre-occupied with our own neediness, we can be physically present to others, but mentally absent. Being mindful means having intention in your actions. With intention you purposefully choose your behavior (not to use food for comfort) with the bigger picture in mind. Learning how to be mindful of one’s thinking, emotions and behavior, complements a healthy life without the need to use food, alcohol or drugs to escape reality. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) enables us to understand our feelings and untangle complicated emotions and ends cycles of depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Active meditation is another tool that assists the sub-conscious mind to change limited beliefs and change thought patterns that produce negative emotions. Recovery from sugar, drug or alcohol addiction is like a jigsaw puzzle – a mental, emotional and physical journey that takes a lifetime of vigilance and we never stop learning. You might like to increase your supplements to help you in your quest for a healthier life.  Adrenal Natural Glandular provides tissue from the entire adrenal gland, both medulla and cortex portions. This supplement may assist you to help fight adrenal fatigue. Super Digestive Enzymes will assist with your digestion of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Super Digestive Enzymes promote efficient digestion of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Digestive enzymes are vitally important for good health, but unfortunately many people don’t produce enough of them. As we get older, the production of digestive enzymes by the stomach, pancreas and small intestine declines.  This reduction begins around the age of 35 years. Many people in their 60s and beyond are extremely deficient in digestive enzymes and this contributes to nutritional deficiencies because they can’t get all the goodness from the food they eat. Another product designed to support optimal bowel function is Fibertone. This product is helpful for those with: irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, chronic diarrhea, bloating, embarrassing gas and flatulence, excess acidity in the stomach, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis (bowel pockets). Addiction to sugar and carbohydrate rich foods are often associated with intestinal dysbiosis, where some species of bacteria or yeasts, demand an almost constant supply of these foods. If you have a Candida overgrowth, we recommend you take  BactoClear to rid the digestive tract of these organisms and Ultimate Gut Health Powder to restore your gut to its best possible health. These supplements may reduce the carbohydrate reactivity of your hunger signalling.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.