0:00
Once the addiction is no longer that
0:01
primary regulator in the nervous system,
0:04
memories often become more easily
0:06
accessible and they surface. And it's
0:09
not because we have to force them, but
0:11
because the nervous system finally feels
0:13
safe enough to tell the truth about
0:15
what's really going on. And this is when
0:17
we start to ask the questions that
0:19
matter the most. Why did this start in
0:21
the first place? When was the first time
0:23
that I used? When did it feel so
0:25
effective and beneficial? And how did
0:28
that then get connected? Something that
0:30
I've seen so many times with feeling
0:33
state addiction is with drinking and
0:36
marijuana use, it typically started in
0:38
like early adolescence. The person was
0:41
feeling like they didn't fit or they
0:43
didn't belong and they found a group of
0:46
people that were willing to do this
0:47
together and they developed connection.
0:50
They developed friends, they developed a
0:52
group of people that understood also
0:54
what they were going through. And so the
0:56
behavior of like drinking or marijuana
0:59
use at that age became connection. And
1:02
then later what they learn is in their
1:05
relationships like in their partnerships
1:07
where the drinking is taking place or
1:09
the marijuana use is taking place, that
1:11
it actually creates disconnection. But
1:14
because of the way that it got paired
1:16
when they were in adolescence, the brain
1:18
won't give that up just yet. And so for
1:20
many people substance use began as a way
1:23
to survive those disconnected moments,
1:26
those overwhelming homes and and and
1:29
really a buffer for chronic stress. So
1:31
again, we have chronic stress or
1:33
overwhelming emotions, potentially
1:36
neglect or abuse, maybe unprocessed loss
1:39
or grief or betrayals and that messages
1:42
a lack of safety or a lack of
1:45
attunement. So addiction didn't come out
1:47
of nowhere, it came out of experience
1:49
that didn't get fully processed or
1:51
handled in a healthful way with loving
1:54
caregiving people that could be there
1:56
for the person in the first place.
1:58
And people who have a lot of use issues
2:01
tend to be really sensitive in general.
2:03
So, it's not just that they had more bad
2:06
things happen to them, but those bad
2:08
things happen felt so much more raw. And
2:11
they are so vulnerable. And so, in EMDR,
2:14
we understand that trauma is a
2:16
maladaptively encoded memory network,
2:19
and these are the experiences that were
2:21
stored without that resolution or the
2:23
integration of positive things and
2:25
adaptive things. And these memories
2:27
aren't just the stories that we
2:28
remember, they live in our body. Trauma
2:31
is cellularly stored, and those memories
2:35
drive beliefs and emotions and behaviors
2:38
in present time. With trauma, it's like
2:41
a time orientation issue. We feel like
2:43
the past is present. We behave and act
2:46
as if then is now. And so, once
2:49
addiction is no longer blocking that
2:51
access, EMDR allows us to target those
2:54
unfinished, unresolved, maladaptively
2:57
encoded memories more effectively. So,
2:59
those original moments of fear or shame
3:02
or abandonment or those beliefs that
3:04
formed, I'm not safe, I'm not enough,
3:07
I'm alone, that unfinished stress
3:10
response held in the body can then make
3:12
its way to full resolution.
3:14
And we use bilateral stimulation and
3:16
other forms of taxing taxing working
3:18
memory to help with that. And I've got
3:20
other shows that better describe EMDR
3:23
earlier in season 1. So, go ahead and
3:25
check that out. And we can drop what is
3:27
EMDR in the description below to make
3:29
that easier to find. But, when we do
3:31
this, the brain can finally do what it
3:33
could at the time, which is process and
3:35
integrate and really resolve the
3:38
distress that wasn't able to get its
3:43
no longer need to work so hard, and we
3:45
don't need those unhelpful or
3:47
maladaptive adaptations or coping skills
3:50
to use. That's the good part, right? And
3:53
this is the part that surprises people
3:55
the most. It's like, I don't need that
3:57
or I don't even want that. So, when
3:59
trauma is healed and it's not just being
4:01
managed or suppressed, but it's actually
4:03
fully resolved, those symptoms of
4:05
overuse or addiction behaviors that once
4:08
protected us no longer need to be in
4:10
charge. They don't have to work so hard.
