Reading Recommendations

Dr. Amen has been researching a new brain-based approach to pain. In Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain he draws on those studies to reveal:

• Pain producing versus pain soothing thought patterns 
• Muscle tension and trauma vs calmness and clarity
• The use of medical and nutraceuticals to help calm the pathways
• The effects of diet, exercise, meditation, breath to help pain

Our current approach to understanding and treating physical and emotional pain is misguided. Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain offers a healthier way, one that involves less medication, less surgery, and better outcomes. Just like the human heart, the human brain is an organ, and that to be free of emotional or physical pain, it is critical to get the brain as healthy as it can be—not just physically, but emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually, as well.

This go-to manual–now revised and significantly expanded with more than 50% new material–has enabled thousands of clinicians to effectively treat clients with chronic pain. In the face of today’s growing opioid crisis, pain self-management techniques are needed now more than ever. The volume shows how to implement 10 treatment modules that draw on proven cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies. In a convenient large-size format, it includes 58 reproducible client handouts and assessment tools that purchasers can photocopy from the book or download and print from the companion website. The website also offers access to downloadable audio recordings of relaxation exercises narrated by the author, plus supplemental resources for treating clients with lower levels of literacy.

medical doctor and bestselling author Gabor Maté shows that emotion and psychological stress play a powerful role in the onset of chronic illness, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, multiple sclerosis and many others, even Alzheimer’s disease.

When the Body Says No is an impressive contribution to research on the physiological connection between life’s stresses and emotions and the body systems governing nerves, immune apparatus and hormones. With great compassion and erudition, Gabor Maté demystifies medical science and, as he did in Scattered Minds, invites us all to be our own health advocates.

Ginevra Liptan, M.D., shares a cutting-edge new approach that goes far beyond mainstream medical knowledge to produce dramatic symptom improvement.

Dr. Liptan’s program incorporates clinically proven therapies from both alternative and conventional medicine, along with the latest research.

Alleviate fibromyalgia symptoms in four simple steps (Rest, Repair, Rebalance, and Reduce) and you will

• restore deep, restful sleep
• achieve long-lasting pain relief
• optimize hormone and energy balance
• reduce fatigue

This accessible and empowering resource provides essential information about understanding and treating fibromyalgia from a physician who, as both patient and provider, understands the illness from the inside.

Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It’s about courage. In a world where “never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It’s even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena—whether it’s a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen.

Although kindness and self-acceptance allow us to be our imperfect selves, the desire to alleviate suffering at the heart of this mindset isn’t always gentle: sometimes it’s fierce. We must act courageously to protect ourselves from harm and injustice, say no to others to meet our own needs, and motivate change. Gender socialization often demands that we act according to the roles assigned us by society and culture. But like yin and yang, the energies of fierce and tender self-compassion must be balanced for wholeness and well-being.

Kristin Neff explains how we can use fierce and tender self-compassion to succeed in the workplace, to engage in caregiving without burning out, to be authentic with or without a romantic relationship, and to end the silence around sexual harassment and abuse. We must develop fierceness inside us to create a healthier society, find lasting happiness, and achieve balance within ourselves to help restore balance in the world.

Kristin Neff, Ph.D., says that it’s time to “stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind.” Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind offers expert advice on how to limit self-criticism and offset its negative effects, enabling you to achieve your highest potential and a more contented, fulfilled life through the power of self-compassion.

More and more, psychologists are turning away from an emphasis on self-esteem and moving toward self-compassion in the treatment of their patients—and Dr. Neff’s extraordinary book offers exercises and action plans for dealing with every emotionally debilitating struggle, be it parenting, weight loss, or any of the numerous trials of everyday living. 

Even today, as trendy diets and a weight-loss frenzy sweep the nation, two-thirds of adults are still obese and children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, typically an “adult” disease, at an alarming rate. If we’re obsessed with being thin more so than ever before, why are Americans stricken with heart disease as much as we were 30 years ago?

In The China Study, Dr. T. Colin Campbell details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The report also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and opportunistic scientists. The New York Times has recognized the study as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” and the “most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.”

The China Study is not a diet book. Dr. Campbell cuts through the haze of misinformation and delivers an insightful message to anyone living with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and those concerned with the effects of aging.