Tom Horvath, PhD Part 1 suggested that tracking what you eat rather than what you weigh promotes better health and could also lead to slow but sustained weight loss over time. Part 2 adds further detail about what to eat. Even if there were only a minor reduction in some of the less-than-healthy foods you eat, the introduction of better foods is a significant improvement for your health. The food diary will remind you to keep it filled with good food. Part 1 emphasized consulting with your doctor if appropriate and the Mediterranean diet with its focus on fruits and vegetables. Part 2 adds eating 1) at least 30 different plant foods each week and 2) probiotic foods (not supplements). Both actions support increasing and maintaining the diversity of the gut microbiome. What is th...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Many of us are concerned about our weight. We might check the scale regularly, and not much else. I suggest that a food diary of everything you eat is a much more sensible approach. A simple version is a list of foods you eat at each meal, without listing how much you ate. There are apps, such as My Fitness Pal, which can streamline some aspects of this process. The apps also provide nutritional analysis of what you are eating. If you have food you tend to eat regularly (e.g., eggs at breakfast, bread at lunch), it is easy to copy them forward. There are free and paid versions, which means you have options when it comes to food diaries. This app was recommended to me by a registered dietitian (RD). I have found it useful. Be aware that there is no legal definit...

The CHIME Model for Addressing Addictive Problems (and Life) In many approaches to addressing addictive problems, eliminating or at least reducing the problematic substance or activity is the immediate priority. That priority makes sense, except when it does not. You might not be ready to make that level of change, even though you may recognize your addictive problem is indeed a problem. An alternative approach is to focus on what you could be adding into your life, rather than taking out of it. Various alternative approaches have been suggested. We covered some of them here and here. By adding positive aspects to your life, in time, you crowd out the need or desire for other (problematic) approaches to pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness. The CHIME framework arose from an im...

Negativity Bias: How Negative Are You? By Tom Horvath, PhD Almost 25 years ago two psychologists coined the term “negativity bias.” It refers to our tendency to focus on information, cues, or ideas that are negative, even when we have positive information around us. For instance, after a meeting in which our ideas are presented, we are more likely to remember and focus on the one criticism, rather than the five positive comments. Even animals have this bias, so it has a long history. The negativity bias has the advantage of promoting our survival, particularly in a hunter-gather environment. We were better off staying focused on the rustle in the bushes nearby (because it might be an animal seeking to eat us) than the good taste of what we ourselves were eating. We are descended ...

Neuronal Plasticity, Mindfulness Meditation, and Addiction Recovery by Nicholas A. Nelson, Ph.D. Part 2 of 2 In Part 1, we visited the motivations for leveraging mindfulness as a tool for overcoming problematic addictive behaviors. We discussed the concept of neuroplasticity and took a theoretical look at how mindfulness meditation can aid in reshaping our brain and behavior during addiction recovery. In Part 2 we’ll take a look at a few specific scientific studies that have put these theories to the test, then wrap up with a discussion of what mindfulness meditation can feel like in practice. Let’s dive in. The Frontal Lobe Because the neuroscience of addiction and neuroscience of meditation are rather complex and relatively new topics, they are still undergoing rapid...

Neuronal Plasticity, Mindfulness Meditation, and Addiction Recovery by Nicholas A. Nelson, Ph.D. Part 1 of 2 It is not uncommon during active addiction or early in recovery for people to feel that their brain is working somehow differently than before, or to feel like it is going to be impossible to break out of harmful habits and thought patterns. It can feel like the mind is damaged, or operating out of our control. This lack of control, and feeling that something is broken, can lead to a sense of hopelessness. When we look at the brain there is some truth to this feeling - during engagement with problematic addictive behaviors and during early recovery, our brains are not wired in the same way as before these problems took root. Through months, years, or decades of repetiti...

by Lesley Wirth, MA I’m just going to say it: The self-help world needs to reconsider the phrase, “Take responsibility for your life.” Why? It rarely works. It is usually the wrong medicine, offered at the wrong time, to the wrong person. When someone has suffered from loss, injustice, or trauma, telling them to “Take personal responsibility for their reality,” is not helpful. It is damaging. Maybe you've been there: you lay your heart bare to a spiritual coach you believed you could trust, only to have them dismiss your experience by telling you to let go of your "victim consciousness." If you are really lucky, they will ask you what part of you attracted your situation so you could learn from it. I understand people mean well, but words like these can feel like...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Although the following information is very basic, I hope it is a useful reminder for you. You are breathing all the time. With a few minor adjustments breathing can become a powerful tool to support yourself. Start by closing your mouth and breathing through your nose. Probably this step can happen immediately. You can also if you wish focus on the sensation of the air coming in and out of your nose. That focus can also be a helpful distraction technique. Begin to slow down your breathing. It may take many breaths to achieve a significantly slower pace. However, if you can get down to 6 breaths per minute (one every 10 seconds) you have a strong likelihood of lowering your stress level. If you are not sure how to accomplish slowing down, start counting you...

By Tom Horvath, PhD With 2025 now over a week old, we may already be falling short of some of our New Year’s resolutions. Nevertheless, take heart! It is easy to fall into all-or-none thinking about positive change. Please consider the following ideas. Even if you did not make any New Year’s resolutions, you may have thought about self-improvement changes you want to make. The beginning of the year is an obvious time to do so. To the extent you did such thinking (or do it now!), you have acted on step one: identifying a desired change. What actions now make sense? This part is often complicated, but the principle of “small steps” can be very helpful. This may be a time to investigate, experiment, inquire, consult, and otherwise gather information. Keeping mental notes of what y...

By Tom Horvath, PhD “If we have our own why, we shall get along with almost any how.” -Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, Maxims and Arrows, #12, translated (1954) by Walter Kaufman, originally published 1889. Our Own Why There is a range of “whys” that explain how we behave. We have in-the-moment behaviors like eating (why? “I’m hungry”). As we mature, we also have much longer-term timeframes, such as multi-year educational plans (why? “I want to be an X”), and multi-decade parenting plans (why? “I want to give my children opportunities and an upbringing that I did not get to have”). You can probably recall many examples of how you tolerated discomfort or pain for the sake of a longer-term outcome. I suggest that it is helpful to make a list of these experiences in you...