Why We Crave
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We’re all addicts, according to Judson Brewer, author of The Craving Mind, director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center, and associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. Consider our everyday habits—scrolling through Instagram, stress-eating, sugar, more sugar. Our habits, Brewer says, run our lives. And we get fooled into thinking we need just a little more willpower to make a change, quit smoking, drop an addiction. But willpower is finite and often not enough. Which is why Brewer is using research-based mindfulness techniques to help people understand and overcome their cravings. Part of this work is learning to bring curiosity to the roots of your cravings—and compassion to yourself. (For more, see Brewer’s apps Unwinding Anxiety, Eat Right Now, and To Quit.)
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