Integrative Psychiatrists, Gerbarg & Brown, Blog About Trumping Addictions on Huffington Post

July 16, 2012 - PRLog -- HaveAHealthyMind.com
Media contact: WJ Carrel


New York, NY – Mental health experts, Patricia Gerbarg, MD and Richard P. Brown, MD, explain ways to “Reprogram with Healthy Habits and Warm Fuzzies: Trumping Addictions and Compulsions” on today’s Huffington Post at huffingtonpost.com/patricia-l-gerbarg-md/addiction-treatment_b_1665684.html?utm_hp_ref=addiction-recovery, and //huff.to/M3UV1n  The article discusses low-cost natural solutions for reprogramming addictive behaviors with natural treatments and healthy habits.

One nugget of good news is that addiction recovery can begin with learning simple breath practices. “Changing the pattern of our breathing is probably the fastest way to jump start the PNS (the parasympathetic nervous system) and thereby increase oxytocin and GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid). For most people, breathing gently at three to six breaths per minute with equal inhalation and exhalation induces a calm, alert state within 10 minutes. This pattern has been called coherent breathing or resonant breathing.” (References resources are included in the article).

Gerbarg and Brown draw on their experiences in clinical practice, through teaching their ground-breaking workshop, Breath~Body~Mind®, and from research studies. Many people who have practiced the Breath~Body~Mind techniques say that they have been transformed and that they never would have imagined something so simple could be so powerful and helpful.

Dr. Brown is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. He gives over 200 medical lectures every year, including full-day courses for the American Psychiatric Association and other professional groups, as well as workshops for non-profits such as Serving Those Who Serve in New York City. He is a certified teacher of Aikido (4th Dan), Yoga, Qi Gong, and meditation. His workshops have helped thousands of people deal with everyday stress and enabled survivors of trauma and mass disasters to recover their health and well-being.

Dr. Gerbarg is an Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychiatry at New York Medical College. She graduated from Harvard Medical School and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. In addition to her clinical practice, she lectures and facilitates the development of research projects on the health benefits of mind-body practices for recovery from stress, illness, and mass disasters.

Dr. Brown and Dr. Gerbarg are co-authors of the award-winning books, How To Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (WW Norton, 2009) with Philip Muskin, MD, and Non-Drug Treatments for ADHD: New Options for Kids, Adults, & Clinicians (WW Norton, 2012). An audio supplement to both books, entitled Breath~Body~Mind, provides the latest breakthroughs in integrative approaches to manage stress-related disorders (available at www. MoreThanSound.com). Their newest book and CD set, The Healing Power of the Breath (Shambhala, 2012) teaches 10 healing practices and explains how to use them to reduce stress and anxiety, balance emotions, enhance concentration and performance, and improve relationships. They have an Internet site at HaveAHealthyMind.com with mental health information combining standard and complementary treatments, their research, other resources, and a free newsletter.