I would challenge you to look seriously at your lifestyle and the habits that are undermining your health. You may identify areas where abrupt changes need to be made in your life, yet you have no desire to make such drastic changes. Your lack of desire may be related to the pleasure that the habit gives, or your fear of failure. As you read the remainder of this chapter, however, you will learn that changing even your most cherished habits will actually give you more pleasure in the long run. Furthermore, regardless of how many times you have failed in the past, the material that follows can help you be successful this time.
I want to give you one other encouragement as you think about addressing areas that need changing in your life and the root causes of your problems. Let me illustrate with an example. Let us say that you have two problems: overeating and lack of exercise. As you analyze these problems, you find there is a third addiction that is the root cause which is contributing to the other two. You realize that you are one of the individuals whose biggest obstacle between you and a regular exercise program is the time spent with television. You also recognize that the TV provides the setting for your biggest problem with overeating junk food. Your lifestyle goal then may be to address your television addiction. If you are in complete control of your viewing habits, it may be a matter of setting some specific guidelines as to when, what, and how much you will watch. However, if TV has taken the role of an addiction in your life, a firm and complete break may be necessary. It would allow you time for daily exercise and destroy the setting for overeating.
Do not underestimate the addictive elements of television viewing. Those who are addicted may or may not be aware of the addiction. Television viewing is linked to many bad habits and deleterious behaviors, including violence. Chapter 12, "The Frontal Lobe, the Crown of the Brain," and Chapter 13, "Stemming the Tide of Violence," presents more information on this subject. Television is also a "time-robber." Many individuals cannot control their television viewing sufficiently to allow time for other areas of lifestyle that need to be addressed. For those, an uncompromising break with TV is in order.
For some individuals, simply recognizing the need to completely discontinue a lifestyle habit is all the insight they need. Once they embrace this concept and put it into action, success is ensured. However, addictions and other habits often hold enormous control over us. Many feel powerless to stop them although they know that it is necessary. Take the example of Ralph Jones,5 a patient of mine who is in his early 50's. Ralph is a nicotine addict--a cigarette smoker--and he knows that smoking is bad for him. Ralph also has bad coronary artery disease, and has already had bypass surgery and angioplasty. The angiogram shows that his disease has become so advanced that the blockage has extended to the most distant parts of the arteries that cannot be bypassed. We cannot angioplasty him because the disease is so widespread: his heart arteries are narrowed virtually throughout their entire length. Ralph needs to quit smoking and he knows it. He has told me several times, "I know I am killing myself, but I just cannot seem to quit." Clearly Ralph needs more than the intellectual acceptance; he needs to break from the habit completely. He needs a source of power.
