Do you think you should change but don't really feel like it? Learn how to lower your emotional resistance before developing effective motivation. Move beyond SURFACE CHANGE (gaining knowledge, thinking about change, developing skills and setting goals) to DEEP CHANGE (exploring your feelings, views, values and why you really want to change) and break unhealthy habits for good.

160 pages

Table of Contents

Introduction
How to Use This Guidebook
Take Back Your Health
Thrive in a Disease-producing World
Explore Inner Change
Begin with Yourself
Help Family and Friends
Grow a Grassroots Movement
Get Help from Professionals
Get Advance Training
Section A: Explore Unhealthy Habits

Chapter 1. What Are the Good Times and Good Life to You?
Who Sells You the Good Times?
What Is the Good Life?
Why Are Healthy Habits Important?
Any Concerns about Your Health Behaviors?
Deciding Whether to Think about Change

Chapter 2. Understanding Change
Unhealthy and Healthy Forces for Change
External Factors
Internal Factors
Assess Your Chances of Changing
Section B: Become Your Own Health Coach

Chapter 3. Understand Your Issues about Change
Use a Decision Balance
Assess Your Resistance and Motivation Scores
Assess Your Competing Priorities
Assess Your Energy to Change
Assess Your Motives for Change
Assess Your Confidence and Ability to Change
Assess Your Level of Emotional Work on Change

Chapter 4. Lower Your Resistance
Understand More about the Benefits of Your Unhealthy Habit
Assess Your Priorities
Compare Your Priorities
Think How Your Behavior Will Affect Your Health over Time
Clarify Your Personal Choice and Responsibility to Change
Make a List of Substitutes for Your Benefits
Change Your Views about Your Reasons to Stay the Same

Chapter 5. Increase Your Motivation
Consider Future Events Happening Now
Change Your Values
Look at Your Excuses for Not Changing
Transfer Motivation toward Changing Your Behavior
Change Your Views about Your Reasons to Change

Chapter 6. Make Plans for Change
Overcome Negative Self-talk
Use Your Strengths
Take Time-outs
Suppose a Miracle Happened Tomorrow
Find Exceptions in How You Behave
Understand Your Addiction
Increase Your Confidence and Ability to Change
Overcome Barriers and Increase Supports
Select Your Goals
Prevent Relapses
Section C: Helping Others

Chapter 7. Become a Motivational Coach
Understand How Assumptions Help and Hinder Change
Understand Why People Resist Change
Understand How People Resist Change
Use The Six-step Approach
Discuss Progress and Goals

Chapter 8. Become a Preventive Coach for Your Children
Share Your Experience
Understand Supports and Barriers
Understand Your Children’s Temptations
Help Your Children Resist Unhealthy Habits

Appendices
A. Your Motivation Score Chart
B. Your Goal Chart
C. Evaluating the Quality of Web Sites
D. Low-Risk Drinking Recommendations and Alcohol Abuse Self-assessment
E. Alcohol Dependency
F. Additional Resources for Alcohol and Drug Problems
G. Suggested Reading