Up next in 10
Ever wonder why cravings show up even when you're committed to change?
Cravings often have less to do with willpower and more to do with how the nervous system has learned to seek relief, comfort, or safety.
When we understand what's happening beneath the urge, healing becomes possible. The goal isn't to fight the craving, it's to help the nervous system discover new ways to respond.
Because recovery isn't about being stronger.
It's about having more choices.
Full video here: https://youtu.be/3bTOJHmgahU
#TraumaRecovery #NervousSystemHealing #AddictionRecovery #adaptablebehaviorexplained
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
And as urges lose their charge, the
0:02
nervous system begins to recognize, I
0:04
don't actually need this to survive and
0:06
I might have a greater access to another
0:09
broader menu of choices to deal with
0:11
what I'm currently feeling. So, this
0:14
isn't about willpower, it's about
0:15
regulation. And I find it really helpful
0:18
because a lot of the times when people
0:20
use, they now have the use paired with
0:23
other behaviors. For example, people who
0:26
like to drink on a Friday because it's
0:28
happy hour at 5:00. Um people who want
0:31
to sit by the pool with cocktails,
0:33
people who play softball but they have a
0:35
few beers while they're doing that or
0:38
any other sport. Um some people like to
0:41
have a couple of drinks and then go for
0:43
a bike ride and all of a sudden these
0:45
behaviors that are,
0:46
you know, decent fun stand-alone
0:48
behaviors are now coupled with now using
0:51
a substance to change the way the state
0:54
is held. And so, those urges get locked
0:56
in as part of our memory. And so, now
0:58
people think, I don't like to ride my
1:00
bike unless I have a couple drinks or I
1:02
don't want to do this other thing
1:04
without, you know, having a drink or a
1:06
smoke or, you know, a a hit from their
1:09
marijuana or whatever it is that they
1:11
do. Sometimes people even have these
1:13
connections related to like, I can't
1:15
sleep without {dot} {dot} {dot}. You
1:17
fill in the blank for whatever works for
1:19
you. And never relearn um their nervous
1:22
system doesn't learn to get to a relaxed
1:24
calm state without the substance and so,
1:26
there's a retraining that has to take
1:28
place.
1:29
There's another feeling state There's
1:31
another protocol that I really like.
1:33
It's called the feeling state addiction
1:35
protocol and this is another angle on
1:37
how a positive emotions get stuck in the
1:39
nervous system that correspond with uh
1:42
substance uses. And that feeling state
1:45
addiction protocol focuses on positive
1:47
feeling states that are associated with
1:49
that use. Um this is the part of our
1:51
brain that says, "This works. I feel
1:53
better when um this makes things feel
1:56
okay or tolerable. And so, the feeling
1:58
state addiction protocol gently
2:00
disconnects the substance or the
2:02
behavior from that positive internal
2:05
experience. Just like negative feelings
2:07
get stuck with memory and latched on and
2:10
encoded, well, positive things do, too.
2:13
Think about your first kiss and the
2:15
cologne the person was wearing or
2:16
perfume. Or think about Thanksgiving and
2:19
Grandma's apple pie and how now
2:22
Thanksgiving and fall has all of these
2:25
associations with specific smells.
2:27
That's how our memory works and things
2:29
get encoded positively and negatively.
2:32
And so, when we work to disconnect that
2:34
positive internal experience, it allows
2:37
our brain to like access the entire
2:39
truth of the scenario, which then
2:41
includes the negative consequences of
2:44
the use, whether they're health or
2:46
relational, the losses, and the
2:48
long-term impact of overuse or abuse
2:51
with a substance. And this isn't because
2:54
of shame, but it's through integration
2:56
of the adaptive information that isn't
2:58
accessible at the time of the use.
3:01
So, what happens after the positive
3:03
feeling is uncoupled? Because some
3:05
people are afraid of that. They're like,
3:07
"I don't want to not have this access
3:10
point or this crutch or this barrier
3:12
that helps me manage and I don't know
3:14
what else I'm going to do or how I'm
3:16
going to feel when I when that doesn't
3:17
work anymore." And this is one of the
3:19
most important and often misunderstood
3:22
parts of trauma-informed recovery when
3:24
it comes to substance use.
3:26
Cuz once the positive associations with
3:28
use are uncoupled, the nervous system no
3:31
longer has to defend the addiction. That
3:33
part that says, "It's just a little" or
3:35
"I don't do it that much" or "I do
3:36
everything else well, so this is fine."
3:39
Um, that part is now way more available
3:42
for a person to make better choices. And
3:45
that's when something more profound
3:46
happens. There's space. There's cravings
3:49
that soften and the urgency decreases
3:53
and the brain becomes available for much
3:55
deeper healing. And so, then what
3:58
happens from therapist's perspective is
4:00
accessing the real reasons that the use
4:03
started in the first place. The use is
4:05
just a buffer. It's a barrier that
4:07
prevents us from getting access to the
4:09
reason we needed to use in the first
4:10
place.
People & Society