Unfuck Your Body: Using Science to Reconnect Your Body and Mind to Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Move, and Feel Better

Description

Is your body an asshole? Does it keep you up at night, crave nonstop French fries and ice cream, and try to convince you that exercise is evil? Does it develop weird illnesses and pains for no apparent reason and run out of energy just when you need it the most? Does having a body at all fill you with uncomfortable emotions? Enter Dr. Faith G. Harper, therapist, nutritionist, and bestselling author of Unfuck Your Brain. She explains the emerging science of the gut-brain connection and the vagus nerve so that everyone can understand what's going on in your body and how to make friends with it again, especially if you've experienced trauma or chronic stress. Filled with straight talk and practical exercises so you can reconnect with your physical needs and reactions, work through body shame, manage illness and disability, and implement small changes that make a huge difference in how you feel every day. You are a whole person and it's time to reconnect with yourself! Introduction Context and Deeper Inquiry How the Body and Brain Communicate Is the Vagus Nerve a New Idea? How Does the Vagal System Work? Recognizing Your Personal Vagal Responses • Window of Tolerance • Fight / Flight • Freeze / Collapse How Do Bodies Get Fucked Up and What Does Mental Health Have to Do With It? Trauma • How Trauma Shows Up in the Body (and Mind) Inflammation • How Inflammation Affects Our Mental Health • Inflammation and Chronic Pain • Some Signs of Chronic Inflammation Toxic Environment • Physical Symptoms of Toxic Overload Stress • What is Stress? • How Does Stress Work? • Consequences of Chronic Stress • When Chronic Stress Becomes Worse Unfuck Your Body Unfuck Your Vagal System • How to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve Directly • The Felt Sense • Positive Thinking • Aromatherapy • Pain and the Mind Unfuck Your Stress • Embracing Stress Through Mindset Training • But the Key Thing About Stress.... Breathwork This is Your Brain on Breathing • Breathwork and Trauma Responses • Breathing Exercises Mindfulness and Meditation • This is Your Brain on Mindfulness and Meditation • Trauma Sensitive Practice • How to do Mindfulness and Meditation Unfuck Your Movement • How Does Movement Help? • The Science of Movement • Some Movement to Try Unfuck Your Sleep • What Sleep Is and How It Works • Why We Sleep • Are You Getting Enough Sleep? • How to Sleep Better Unfuck Your Food • Skinny Doesn’t Equal Healthy • Our Food System is Bullshit • So What’s the Perfect Diet? • Shop Like a Lawyer • Cost Savings Through Being Local, In-Season, and Waste-Free • I Hate Okra and You Can’t Make Me Eat It Supplements and Medications • What Are Supplements • Do I Need Supplements? • How Do I Know What Supplements To Take? • Supplement Safety • The Obligatory Disclaimer About Supplements • Some Supplements to Consider Conclusion Further Reading References More by Dr. Faith