I first heard this word from one of my mentors Justin Yule. It’s about a better and healthier ‘prescription’ for you.
Neuroscientist Kelly Lambert at the University of Richmond, VA, coined the phrase as a fusion of “behavior” and “pharmaceutical.”
“I made up this term called “behaviorceuticals,” instead of pharmaceuticals, in the sense that when we move and when we engage in activities, we change the neurochemistry of our brains in ways that a drug can change the neurochemistry of our brains.”
The power of this word is immense. I believe more people need to be made aware of it (so pass it on to your network).
A huge part of my career has been about helping people create the mindset and habits needed to positively transform their lives. I’ve seen with clients that our daily habits and behaviours have power equal to or greater than many pharmaceuticals. That is why this is a healthier prescription for you!
Imagine if more people followed this philosophy?
Here’s a great scenario.
You are in the doctor’s office for your annual physical. They find that you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
In the “old days”, a prescription would be written for a blood pressure drug and a statin (cholesterol drug).
Under this new philosophy and treatment plan, your doctor writes a prescription for a “behaviorceutical”. Her prescription might include:
- A nutrient-dense eating plan including plenty of anti-inflammatory foods
- A sleep regiment of 8 hours and in bed by 10 pm
- A functional movement program that includes:
- Reduced time sitting
- More walking and mobility
- Exercise 4 days per week for 20+ minutes
- A stress management program that includes breathing, exercise, goal setting, and planning
The interesting thing is that in most cases, a program like this would be even more effective at treating and reversing cholesterol and blood pressure issues than medications.
Even better, the only side effects would be POSITIVE (Greater happiness, healthy body composition, more energy, better focus, greater self-esteem, confidence, sleep, balanced hormone levels, and on and on and on)!
Far too many people (including much of our medical community) have come to believe that drugs are the best way to treat disease.
That’s simply not true. It’s just a lot easier to “take a pill” in an attempt to counteract the poor decisions we’ve made each day for many years.
The common complaints are that making these behaviour changes are “too hard”. Yet, when faced with life-threatening medical conditions caused by bad habits, most people gladly choose the “inconvenience” of healthy habits to extend their life.
Why wait until you are faced with such dire choices? Decide what you want your future to be like, and act today to start making it a reality.
The healthier prescription for you
At FRESH!, we see this every day with clients. When they begin to put the right habits in place, their life begins to positively transform in more ways than they ever imagined.
In fact, new clients tend to complain about the same thing. They all had chronic pain in their shoulder/knee/hip/back. Additionally, most of them decided to continue after their trial sessions! This is due to the fact that our coaches were able to explain why they had this pain in only a couple of weeks. In turn, they were able to dramatically reduce or eliminate their pain and showed them how to stop it from coming back.
I encourage you to take a look at any negative symptoms or ailments you might be suffering from…
What behaviorceuticals would you prescribe yourself? Contact us to learn healthier habits to improve your life! Reach out to us here!
