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
0:46
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
1:29
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
