Hearts+Minds Lunch & Learn Session 2

Kicking the Habit & Making Your Diet Work for You

Join NAMI Mississippi for a Hearts+Minds Lunch & Learn focused on practical strategies for improving mental and physical wellness. Chapters 6 and 7 explore how everyday choices - from addressing smoking and substance use to making healthier food choices - can become powerful tools for whole-person health.

Participants will learn strategies for breaking unhealthy cycles, identifying triggers and building supportive coping skills. We’ll also explore the connection between nutrition and mental health, including the gut-brain axis, managing cravings, food as medicine, hydration and simple ways to create a personal food plan.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this Lunch & Learn, participants will be able to:

• Identify strategies for kicking the habit, including recognizing triggers, replacing unhealthy behaviors with positive coping strategies and building a support system.

• Explain the physical and mental cycles of addiction and recognize how substance use can affect both mental and physical health.

• Recognize steps for breaking the cycle of substance use, including self-reflection, motivation, treatment and behavioral support.

• Describe the connection between nutrition and mental health, including the role of the gut-brain axis in mood, immunity and overall wellness.

• Identify factors that influence food choices and cravings and practice strategies for making healthier substitutions.

• Use nutrition as a health tool by incorporating whole foods, hydration and targeted “food prescriptions” into everyday meal planning.

• Develop practical strategies for creating a personal food plan that supports both mental and physical wellness.

Small changes can make a meaningful difference. Discover practical tools to help you take a more active role in your mental and physical health - one choice at a time.