effects not only you, but generations after you. You can change the legacy of your family. Perhaps there is a thread of addiction that runs through your ancestry, or depression, or anxiety, or abuse. Perhaps you feel there is genetic involvement. Many people throw their hands up and feel there is no option, no win against a genetic predisposition to obesity or addiction…..but that simply isn’t the truth. You may have inherited predispositions but you have a lot of influence, even if you don’t know it yet.
Many of us have imbalanced brains that predispose us to addiction whether that be to drugs, alcohol, work, sex, food. Addiction is complex and as it turns out, there isn’t just a one-trick fix for it, but here is the good news. There is a way. Neuropsychologist Dr. Daniel Amen has been working in SPECT imaging of brains in psychology since 1991 when he realized there was a gap in treatment of behavioral and psychological conditions. When he went to a training on SPECT imaging in psychology a lightbulb moment for him happened. He realized that the mental health profession was the only discipline in the health care industry that didn’t look at the organ they were treating and just kind of ‘shot from the hip’ in terms of treating mental health disorders. With decades of research under his belt and the largest archive of SPECT scans in the world cross-referenced with clinical symptoms, Dr. Amen has concluded that a lot of ‘mental health’ issues are actually brain health issues. Heal the brain and you heal the symptoms. Addictions surface for a variety of different reasons. Some as a result of the changes that happen in the brain of the person who has suffered PTSD, and can be treated with a multifaceted approach which literally changes the person’s life who is suffering from PTSD. It’s not a forever-sentence. Because of the trauma, the person suffering PTSD often has areas of their brain that are overactive and to ‘calm’ their brain and feel normal again they often turn to substances, either medications or alcohol, not with the intention of become addicted, it just happens to be a slow fade and though not a healthy choice, it deadens the constant anxious feelings (the overactive brain). Many people have suffered trauma and don’t think of themselves as having trauma because they don’t fit into the soldier returning from war, surviving a roadside blast next to the Hum-V they were riding in, but that just isn’t the case. It is not necessary to have something that dramatic to suffer the effects of trauma. Many have come up in chaotic households and suffered the chronic stress of abuse-in any form. From parents that were themselves addicted, or absent or abusive (who were often abused themselves). That effects brain health and function, and much can be done about it.
In his book Unchain Your Brain, https://www.amazon.com/Unchain-Your-Brain-Daniel-Amen/dp/1886554382/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JIEITPHQL4AO&keywords=unchain+your+brain+daniel+amen&qid=1675091034&sprefix=unchain+your+brain%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1 Dr. Amen and coauthor Dr. David Smith speak of the process of creating overactive neurons (brain cells) and refer to the process as kindling. Think of kindling a fire. It takes a bit to get a fire going right? Researchers found that if they pass a current through the nerve cell often enough and long enough, they can eventually lower the level of electrical current and still get the cell to fire off. When this occurs, the nerve cells are said to be kindled. Having kindled neurons from trauma is one of the causes of overactivity of the brain. In other words, it doesn’t take as much to have the brain on high alert/anxiety. Learning to calm these cells can be part of overcoming addiction for those whose addiction is second to an overactive brain. Why do I share this? It is just a snippet of the science behind addiction and the overactive brain (a very simplified example). I share it to offer hope, you aren’t stuck with the brain and genetics you inherited or have as a result of trauma. Treating addiction and trauma is possible. Oftentimes getting the brain treated and healthy by optimizing neurotransmitters with supplementation, diet, exercise and coaching/counseling-all of which impacts neurotransmitters which the brain needs is overlooked.
Don’t give up-reach for help, there is hope and help.
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