Addiction is a word that conjures up many images- usually of
the heroin addict, the alcoholic or the chain smoker.  But have you ever thought about whether or not
you might have an addiction to something less melodramatic?  Did you ever think that your attachment to your
coffee was something more than your love for a hot, comforting liquid?  Could you go without it if I were to tell you
that the caffeine in it could be worsening your anxiety disorder, for example?  Could you pass up the soft, doughy, magical white bread served
hot out of the oven at most restaurants before your main course?  Did you know that if you have an unhealthy
attachment to sugar or refined white starches, that bread starts a vicious
roller coaster of craving the rest of the day? 
That piping hot bread spiked your blood sugar up to abnormally high
levels.  That caused a surge of insulin
hormone to be released into your bloodstream to try to get all that
sugar/starch out of the blood.  It likely
over-surged in its emergency state and your blood sugar started
plummeting.  So what is your body to do
with rapidly falling blood sugar?  It knows
that if it continues, you will get weak, jittery, nauseated and feel like
passing out.  So, your brain decides
(especially if you have that addictive hankering for starchy and sweet foods)
that it better get you to eat something that will bring the blood sugar back up…
and quick!  So, you make a run for the
pantry- maybe for some chips, soda, pastry, cookies or whatever you can find
that takes care of your ‘fix.’   That ‘fix’ is your addiction.  Substitute caffeine, fat, sugar, salt, social
alcohol and the scenario could still stand. 
If one side of your brain convinces you to do something you rationally
and logically know is not good for you, you might as well accept you could be
an addict.

I am an addict.  I
have never smoked a cigarette in my life. 
I drink alcohol very rarely- maybe twice or thrice a year at most.  I do not drink any caffeinated beverages
regularly- maybe several times a year. 
(I am actually too lazy to make coffee or tea every morning in order to
fuel my habit.)  BUT, you put some
packaged soft, chewy cookies in my pantry or put some freshly baked croissants
in front of me, and I become a different person.  I used to rationalize a really good, very
plausible reason why I deserved the cookies or bread in years past.  That’s what a good addictive brain does for
you.  These days, my brain still tries to
do the same thing.  It’s just like a
recovered alcoholic at a bar.  Just
because he has gone without his addictive substance for some time, the brain
still has the memory of its unhealthy relationship with drinking and will still
try to get him to drink “just one drink.” 
I find myself telling our waiter to not bring the bread to the table as
soon as we sit down.  Why then?  Because it’s MUCH harder to send it back once
my brain sees it.  You know what I am
talking about!

As for me, I believe things happen for a reason.  Why do I believe this?  Well, I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy
and have become gluten free for 2+ years now. 
What a comedy (or horror story based on whether you choose the hero or
the victim role) the girl in love with bread- gets diagnosed with essentially a
bread, cookie, pasta, pizza allergy!!!  I
couldn’t have asked for a better diagnosis. 
(I say that now… on August 15, 2008 when I was diagnosed, I definitely
didn’t think this.  Seriously, it felt
like a death sentence.  Like a good
addict, I remember that date so clearly in my brain.)  I tell you my story as it is more common than
the heroin addicts, alcoholics and chain smokers.  You must evaluate your attachment to
unhealthy practices in your life if you truly want to live your best life.  The potentially addictive side of your brain
might not have allowed you to really explore those issues because it would be
the end of its reign as King or Queen of the Castle known as your body.  But, it’s time to dethrone that dictator and
get on with your life, unshackled to habits that make you feel sick and
diseased.  The first step is awareness.

As an Integrative Medicine physician, we prioritize the correction
of addictive lifestyles every single day in the office.  Actually, it is THE main therapy that
corrects most chronic diseases that Americans suffer with today.  Think about it… heart disease, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, many cancers, strokes, ADHD – all of
these can be avoided and even treated by getting control of your head.  I could even go so far as to say there is
likely no health condition that could not improve with better lifestyle.  The truth is, the next time you reach for
something that ‘feels good,’ you must evaluate if it is helping your body (as
though it were healing medicine) or it is harming your body (like a poisonous
substance).  It’s that easy to
identify.  The work comes in the process
following, but if you’ve ever talked to someone who has quit or recovered from
their addiction, there is no other way they would live their life after seeing
the benefits of freedom from addiction.

Good luck in your awareness seeking today.  I hope you come closer to identifying those
things that drag you away from healthful happiness so you can inch closer to
that optimum feeling of true goodness that the smart side of your brain really
seeks!