No doubt about it! We are a nation of addicts with sugar and refined carbohydrates ranking right at the top of the list. Sugar is simply found everywhere and while it is a substance that can certainly be abused, it not formally listed along with other drugs. However, it is responsible for a host of problems ranging from killer diseases and chronic symptoms to poor mind function and emotional instability. While some individuals can see the problem, many cannot. Fewer understand it and even less know how to manage it on a long-long basis.

Waking Up...

Most of us tend to sleep-walk through life, only waking for major occurrences. As eating and drinking are rarely included, it's easy to sleep through these activities. The structure of our food-world and our body responses to the foods themselves help our awake-sleep. There is such an overwhelming availability of unhealthy food and beverage, as well as the never-ending advertisements by the food industry, that it is difficult to see foods that are not sugar- related. It's as if they don't even exist. Then there is the matter of "not wanting" to wake up to the truth that the food or beverage one is currently enjoying, could also be involved in accelerating a pre-disease state lurking in the recesses of the body. Some of these genetic gifts include a predisposition to adult onset diabetes, high cholesterol, hypoglycemia, heart or circulatory disease, obesity to name a few.

Next addition to the problem is "not wanting" to own the truth that the food or beverage one loves and is enjoying is connected to an unwelcome physical, emotional or cognitive experience. Some unwelcome guests include irritable bowel, gastric reflux, migraine, fatigue, floating anxiety, lack of concentration and emotional instability.

SPECIAL PROBLEMS NEED SPECIAL TOOLS

There are two distinct parts to manage in what is commonly called sugar addiction. The first part is physiological and is connected to one's genetic wallpaper. If you have a family history of the diseases mentioned above or addictions including alcohol, nicotine or drugs, you may very well have an underlying reactive hypoglycemia, also called hyperinsulinemia. In very simplistic terms this means that your pancreas over-produces or builds resistance to insulin in response to carbohydrate foods or nutritional imbalance. This can also include over-exercising and eating insufficiently to meet the needs of your body. Keep in mind that sugar addiction is not just a problem of the obese. If your goal is to manage the sugar cravings, as well as stay off the family disease path, it is imperative that you learn to eat to meet the special needs of your body. Believe it or not, this is probably the easiest part of self-management!

The second part to manage is that involving beliefs, habits, behaviors and emotions. Even with the physiology in good order, one is still left with "the moments" to manage.. There are only two possible roads to take, one going towards disease development and the other towards high level health and performance. Remember, most diseases don't happen overnight.. These moments add up, just like miles on the road you are traveling. Stop right now and check what road you are on. You may get a wake-up call on your cell phone!

There are two powerful tools that I designed for managing psycho- biological problems such as sugar addiction. I named them Interactive Awareness and Interactive Self-Hypnosis. The first tool works as an alarm clock, it's job being to wake you up to specific moments that would benefit from your full attention, evaluation and perhaps a change of direction. Some may be obvious to you, but others may live below the surface, only known to your subconscious librarian. Keep in mind that the subconscious mind is a vast library, filled with assets with some out of conscious reach. For this purpose one needs a very skilled personal assistant, such as the librarian.

Once you are fully awake to the moment, you can begin to work with Interactive Self-Hypnosis. What you choose to do will depend on the moment, as well as your desired goals or outcomes. It could be as simple as seeing yourself walking past the chocolate cake on the buffet, noticing a framed picture of yourself appearing very obese, or wearing a tee shirt with diabetes written on the front, cueing into what it feels like to be blind. If you are tired of the same old self-arguments, you might decide to use Interactive Self-Hypnosis to build up resilience from your past experiences, applying them as power stamps to your current experience. You could even choose to diminish the experience permanently, simply refusing to have this life experience at all.

In summation..... it's a good idea to wake up to your lifestyle behaviors. Your future selves are counting on you!

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, SRN, CPH is a Clinical Medical Hypnotist, President& Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at www.hypnosis-audio.com and www.sugar-addiction.com. She specializes in optimum health & mind performance with her original programs of Interactive Self- Hypnosis & high level nutrition as applied to mind function.