Participants:
Series Code: HL
Program Code: HL000052A
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00:14 Welcome to Healthy Living, I'm your host Margot Marshall.
00:18 Our brain is constantly re-wiring for better or worse, 00:23 depending on what we thing about and what we do. 00:26 So how do addictions re-shape our brains physical anatomy? 00:32 Stay tuned as Dr. Eddie Ramirez discuses neuroplasticity. 01:06 In the same way that addictions change the structure 01:10 of our brains by forming pathways, 01:13 challenging those addictions also contributes to what is 01:17 called neuroplasticity. 01:19 Here to give us practical strategies for freedom from 01:23 addictions is Dr. Eddie Ramirez. 01:25 Welcome Eddie, lovely to have you on the program. 01:28 Thank you very much, it is a pleasure to be here. 01:30 This is a topic that is a very common issue, 01:36 the issue of addictions. What happened is that our 01:41 repeated behaviors start strengthening neuro-pathways 01:47 and those addictive behaviors starts becoming second nature. 01:52 And the person just thinks about it and so forth, 01:55 but the good news is that there is hope, 01:59 and that is what we are going to be talking about today. 02:01 Oh, that is fantastic, hope is really important. 02:03 One of the things is that we need to change, 02:08 all the time as we learn new things, as we mature, 02:12 if we get new information, change is needed. 02:16 How we handle that change has an implication on this 02:22 neuroplasticity. The stages of change have been documented 02:27 in different ways. For example on screen, we can see one 02:32 of the ways that change has been documented. 02:35 First Precontemplation. We think about doing the change. 02:39 Then contemplation, we are really thinking that you are 02:42 going to do the change. 02:43 Preparation - you get everything ready. 02:45 Action. Then the difficult part which is the Maintenance. 02:50 Okay. Some people can start, but that's the issue, 02:55 are you going to be able to overcome? 02:57 Like Mark Twain, the famous writer from America, 03:02 he said stopping smoking is very easy, I tried it a thousand 03:08 times. So he was failing on the maintenance side of things. 03:13 He was starting but he was not keeping with the change. 03:18 That's where neuroplasticity comes in to play regarding 03:23 addictions. Because those connections that have been 03:27 strengthened by the behaviors, if we stop those behaviors, 03:32 those neuropathways are going to break down and then 03:37 new pathways can start to form and strengthen and if we stop 03:44 doing the other behaviors, addictive behaviors, 03:48 they are going to break down and the brain actually will 03:53 recycle some of those pathways. Recycle? 03:57 Well that's something new to me. 03:58 Yes. So they will use some of those materials to create 04:02 new pathways and so forth. 04:04 So there is hope, there is lots of hope. 04:08 We have helped many people with addictions in our depression 04:12 program. Actually one of the focus, one of our hits, 04:15 one of our causes of depression that we identify is the cause 04:21 of addictions. So why do people use addictions in the 04:26 first place? The reason why most of the people do addictive 04:31 behaviors are because they are trying to change 04:34 the way they feel. 04:35 So, an addictive behavior helps you change the way you feel, 04:43 but unfortunately, it is short- lived. 04:47 So, you may change the way you feel, but then it drops out 04:55 it disappears and what happens? You need another one of those 04:59 dosages and then the pathways for addictions start to be 05:03 formed and as I tell my patients is like an octopus 05:09 that comes to you and says, why don't we dance? 05:12 Just grab my hand, and you grab the hand of the octopus 05:17 and before you think, you have eight arms around you. 05:25 Then your liberty gets impaired and that's exactly the first 05:30 lie he tells you. You're free, you can choose, 05:34 why don't you try it one time? Nothing is going to 05:37 happen to you. And as you grab that hand of that octopus, 05:42 there are seven more that are waiting for you. 05:45 That's a very good illustration, I really liked the way you 05:49 explained that. And usually the addictions can have 05:54 the negative consequences. I mean, I'm sure you and I 05:58 are familiar with people that got into alcohol and this type 06:02 of things, and that self- destructive mechanism 06:06 that really started affecting them. But those people 06:10 around them started being affected by that type of 06:15 wrong behavior. Yes, because no man is 06:17 an island and we do, we affect other people as well. 06:22 That's right, and this is the beauty of this, we can have 06:28 a lifestyle free from those addictions, it is possible 06:33 and we are not alone, we have the help of God to help 06:36 us with that change of those connections at the level 06:41 of our brain. 06:42 Now we have different ways that we understand change, 06:47 one of them happens with Dr. Prochaska from Harvard 06:53 University, he documents the stages of change in the 06:58 following way. But before I put him on the screen, 07:01 let me share with you an interesting story of 07:04 one of our patients. This patient, she had an issue 07:10 with caffeine beverages, which is a huge problem 07:14 around the world, if it ends with cola, it is probably not 07:18 the best thing for you. So she was addicted to one of these 07:21 cola drinks and any time she was thinking about having a 07:29 thirst, what do you think come to her mind? 07:32 She was thinking about a what? A cola. 07:34 A cola, that's right, she wanted a cola drink naturally. 07:39 But you know, that's why it is such an important work that 07:44 3ABN does educating people, that's exactly what we are 07:48 here for and maybe one of our audience here today is 07:52 hear some of these things and then the little desire 07:56 here will come up. That's what happened to this patient. 07:59 She learned from a health lecture that cola beverages 08:04 are not the best for you. I call them the great contradictory. 08:11 Patient comes to me drinking something with caffeine, 08:16 caffeine will take away your calcium from your bones, 08:19 will drop your vitamin B from your body, will drop the iron 08:26 in your body, will have negative effects of your melatonin, 08:31 If you have too low melatonin, you actually 08:35 are going to age faster. 08:37 Well that's not an attractive thing to think about. 08:40 You can follow my Twitter account, I have plenty of 08:44 documentation there that I like to share @EddieRDMD 08:48 for those that are interested. And in that way caffeine 08:53 is a trigger. It tells you, look, I'm going to give you 08:56 energy, but in the same time it is taking away from you. 09:00 So children's about these negative effects that caffeine 09:04 has so what she goes to is goes to the first stage of 09:11 change and we can see that on the screen. 09:13 The first stage of change is called Unconsciously Incompetent. 09:18 Which means in other words, you don't know you need to 09:22 change and you don't want to change. 09:25 So she comes to the health lecture, new information comes, 09:29 she becomes aware that caffeine is not the best thing for you 09:35 so, as soon as she gets that new information 09:39 and things start changing up here with her desire 09:44 to make some changes. She just entered into the stage number 09:49 two that we can see on the screen, and step number two is 09:53 called Consciously Incompetent. So she's still only thinking 09:57 about it...She's not changing. Okay, but she at least knows 10:02 that...That's right, but now she is aware that she should 10:07 change. Many people are like that, that's what they call 10:10 in America, sitting on the bench. On the fence. 10:13 They haven't made a decision but at least you are having that 10:17 information in your head and so forth. 10:20 So this stage varies among people, for some people 10:25 who are like Type A type of person, hey this is better, 10:29 boom, throw away and let's start with the change. 10:32 Some other people like to chew it a little bit more 10:35 and think a little bit more about it and then they 10:37 make the change. So then what she decided to do, 10:41 she realized, yes that's true what they are saying is actually 10:44 not the best thing for me to do, these cola type of drinks, 10:51 so what I need to do, I need to make a change. 10:55 So I am going to decide that I am going to stop that. 10:59 So she entered into the stage number three that we can see 11:04 on the screen which means Consciously Competent. 11:08 You are doing the change, but the change is not natural. 11:14 So, anytime she got thirst, in her head automatically 11:19 what came to her head? Cola! I want Cola, 11:22 but she consciously said NO! I don't want Cola, 11:28 I want water. And a few hours later the thirst came, 11:35 what did she think about? Cola, NO! 11:39 And consciously she would say, NO, I don't want Cola, 11:43 I want water. Something she's got to think about 11:48 all the time to make it keep happening. 11:50 That's right. So it's not natural, it's a battle, 11:54 it doesn't come automatically, but you need to keep with that 12:00 battle. And the person was battling and the new thought 12:05 and so forth, but then she realized something. 12:08 After a few weeks of going through that battle, 12:14 she realized at the beginning it was much harder 12:18 because the desire from the addiction from the caffeine 12:22 had more negative effects but as she started stopping that, 12:28 the connects at the level of the brain neuroplasticity 12:33 started taking place and started becoming weak and weak and weak 12:37 while the behavior of water started to become strong, 12:41 and strong and strong and strong. 12:42 So she entered into what is called the 4th stage of change 12:48 which is Unconsciously Competent. 12:52 So now, she is not thinking about the caffeine beverage 12:59 naturally when she got thirsty what did she think about? Water. 13:03 WATER! It had become second nature, it had become 13:08 part of her and that's the beauty of neuroplasticity. 13:11 Now that has to be very good news I would say because 13:15 sometimes I think when people have had an addiction 13:18 of whatever it is, for a long period of time, 13:20 they feel really trapped and the think, I can't do this, 13:23 this is just how it is, it's too hard but it's good to know 13:27 that it can happen. And you talked about weeks for her 13:32 to begin to feel as though it was second nature 13:35 but might it take a bit longer that that? Yes it does. 13:38 There are some addictions such as cocaine addictions, such as 13:44 Opioid addictions sometimes is years and that's the thing 13:49 that we need to understand... But getting easier all the time. 13:53 It gets easier but sometimes the issues are the following: 13:58 You have the addiction issue, so that's a physical issue 14:04 with the addiction. But also there are other layers. 14:07 There are the friends' layers. Oh! Okay, you may not be using it 14:13 now, but then you meet your friends quote, quote, friends... 14:17 Oh, why don't you have some... Look, I have some of this 14:22 or that, one time, it's not going to hurt you. 14:25 And what happened? Voom, you use it and you strengthen 14:30 that in what you were trying to weaken. 14:33 That's why programs like Alcoholics Anonymous 14:36 recommend that those people of influence, 14:40 you shouldn't hang around with them. 14:42 I have a relative of mine, he has a brother, 14:49 both of them have been alcoholics in the past. 14:53 One of them decided to stop the alcohol, 14:56 he joined one of these groups for support of alcohol 15:01 and it was thought that he learned that he shouldn't be 15:06 hanging around people with these addictions. 15:08 It came to the point that he couldn't see his brother. 15:13 He knew that if he saw his brother, 15:17 he was going to start with the addictive behavior. 15:20 That doesn't mean that he is never going to see him, 15:22 but while he was going through this process of neuroplasticity 15:25 and healing, he couldn't hang around him because he knew 15:31 where he was going to end up, a drunkard and abusing 15:36 the alcohol and so forth. 15:37 So that would be a tough one, really wouldn't it, 15:39 especially if it was someone really close to you 15:41 like a relative? That's right, that's why you need to 15:44 surround yourself with people that can cause a positive change. 15:49 Go join a church and another layer that you need to add there 15:55 is the Layer of Accountability. 15:58 Okay. So you've got the Addiction, then you got... 16:02 Friends. Social. And Accountability. 16:05 Accountability. You need to find somebody or someone 16:10 or some group in which you are accountable to. 16:14 Because it is going to help you with two things. 16:17 1. It's going to help you from falling into the hole again. 16:21 And number two is going to help you by the fact that 16:25 if you fall in the hole, you have somebody to help you 16:29 get out of it. So, as you go and join a church, 16:34 be vulnerable, tell them, look I'm trying to quit this 16:38 and so forth. As other people pray for you, 16:40 as other people give you that support, 16:42 as other people give you their phone numbers, 16:45 it's a good idea to have some kind of connection... 16:48 So when you know you are going to fall, you can get the phone 16:53 and say look, I am really in dire straights, I'm about to fall 16:57 I need your help and the fact that you are talking to somebody 17:02 helps you change the focus from a nihilistic type of thing... 17:06 Oh, this is impossible to conquer to there is hope. 17:11 And you know there are different typed of addictions 17:13 alcohol, opioids, pornography, rock music and all kinds of 17:20 things...Yes, even screen time. Even screen time, 17:24 that's becoming really high on the list. 17:27 So what we need to do, we need to focus on a few at a time. 17:33 If you have many addictions at at time, don't try to tackle 17:37 all, but rather prioritize and start tackling them 17:42 and you are able to overcome one... Once you see that's it's 17:46 overcome, then you go and tackle the next one and so forth. 17:49 We have helped many people for example, stop smoking... 17:51 We can see on the screen, three of my studies that we did. 17:59 The first one is showing how abstract thinking exercises 18:03 can help you in overcoming your addictions. 18:06 The second one is showing how tobacco users tend have 18:10 more depression and anxiety. And the third one is showing how 18:15 sexual abuse...actually those people that have gone to 18:16 sexual abuse are more likely to use cigarettes. 18:22 That doesn't mean that every single cigarette smoker has 18:25 had it, but you are more prone to do that. 18:29 So, what are you going to do for abstract thinking? 18:34 Let me give you the exercise that we give to every single 18:37 one of our patients for abstract thinking. 18:41 So, one of the abstract thinking methods is to interpret 18:47 a proverb. Okay. In the old days, they used to use them 18:51 more, they still use them some but not as much as in the 18:53 old days. So when...You're going to test me aren't you? 18:57 So when you hear a proverb, the proverb doesn't necessarily 19:04 literally mean that. 19:06 For example, if I say that it is better a hundred 19:13 birds in the sky than one in my hand... 19:18 I am not talking about a hundred literal birds okay, 19:23 I'm talking about something that means something else. 19:30 So, in the same way... I actually think it is better 19:35 to have in the hand than in the bush. That's right, 19:37 which means that you have conquered it. 19:39 That's something that we actually have. That's right. 19:41 The others...That's right, there there but not yours. 19:45 That's right. So in the same way, to find currently 19:51 collections of proverbs is hard... 19:54 Can I will give you an example of that? Yes. 19:55 My husband loves looking at luxury cars, I don't know why, 19:58 because we're never likely to have one but, 20:00 I was with him one time and he said, which do you think is 20:04 the best car here, which one would you pick and I said, 20:07 that little red one on the curb because I own that. 20:09 That's right, it's better to have one in your hand 20:13 than a hundred flying. Oh yes, that's right. 20:16 One of the ways to find a good collection of proverbs, 20:20 accessable, not complicated and so forth, 20:24 is in any Bible. It doesn't matter if you are Agnostic 20:28 or Athiest, or Buddhist, you can do this exercise. 20:32 So find a Bible and in the Bible there is actually a book 20:36 of what? Proverbs. Proverbs. It's a collection of Proverbs. 20:40 It actually is very handy because it has 31 chapters. 20:46 How many days has a month? Well some have 31. That's right. 20:51 Most of them have 31, some more and sometimes less. 20:54 So what you are going to do, you're going to read the chapter 20:58 of the day. So if today is 20th, you are going to read 21:04 in Proverbs Chapter 20, and I can assure you, 21:08 you reading Proverbs, you cannot read them too fast. 21:11 You need to read them and think about it, read them, 21:16 and think about it and by doing that exercise 21:20 you are actually stimulating abstract thinking... 21:24 You are strengthening the frontal lobe of your brain 21:29 and in the frontal lobe of the brain is where you have 21:32 your will. So by strengthening the frontal lobe, 21:35 you strengthen the will and that's why in a study 21:39 we show that those people doing that abstract thinking 21:43 by reading Proverbs... We actually did the Proverbs 21:46 reading in that particular study, they were more likely 21:50 to overcome the smoking habit. Is that right? 21:55 Wonderful. When I was presenting this study, 21:57 the other researchers the other researchers came and said 22:01 basically it means that you have to think, is that it? 22:04 I said Yep! That's the secret. You have to think. 22:07 If you are able to think, you are able to strengthen that part 22:11 of the frontal lobe. 22:12 Another study that we did and we actually presented 22:16 here in Australia, in Perth Australia, you can see it 22:18 on the screen about nicotine and how nicotine has 22:27 a negative effect on your levels of anxiety. 22:32 This is the funny thing, the nicotine is used because 22:39 a person feels anxious and it is a way of dealing with anxiety. 22:44 Yes. Say that again. Yeah. So they use nicotine 22:48 they use cigarettes because it's a way of dealing 22:51 with their anxiety, so this is a contradiction. 22:54 Their using nicotine to deal with their anxiety 22:58 but if they use nicotine, they actually have more anxiety. 23:03 What we are showing in that published study is that 23:08 if you are able to quit the smoking habit, 23:12 your anxiety levels are actually going to go down to the level 23:17 of normal. So, the best way of dealing with your anxiety 23:22 is not by taking another smoke, but rather by quitting smoking. 23:27 So the anxiety might go up a little in the first couple of 23:29 days...The anxiety does go up in the first couple of days... 23:33 After that. But after that, actually your anxiety 23:37 baseline levels are going to go much lower than what you had 23:42 before. That's the study that you did? 23:44 That's the study that I did that is published in the 23:46 Draw Metabolisms Review Journal. Excellent. 23:49 So that's really good to know. 23:51 This is a big sample, this is not just a few people 23:54 we're talking about more than a thousand people in the study 23:58 showing how it is possible number one, to quit smoking. 24:01 and number two, how that is going to have very beneficial 24:04 effects on your mental health. 24:08 Right. So we have addictions that may require some 24:12 medical help and we can see some of them on the screen... 24:16 For example: Alcohol, if you are using alcohol every single day 24:22 and you haven't quit alcohol for more than a day, 24:27 you may need to want to talk to a doctor to stop it... 24:30 Benzodiazepines, many medications such as Alprazolam, 24:36 Lorazepam and certain opioids. 24:40 Things like your heroin and these type of things, 24:44 those you may need the help of a doctor to be in your team. 24:51 Alright well that's good to know because sometimes 24:53 we just have to do it all by ourselves and if we can't, 24:56 we think there's nothing that can happen. 24:58 There's help available, even if you need that help 25:01 intervention, for example, even in the issue of the alcohol, 25:05 very common issue, sometimes people...Elderly ladies 25:09 very commonly this, they have an alcohol habit, 25:12 they don't realize they have it, but they do have it. 25:15 They go for a medical procedure and suddenly they start with 25:19 something that is called a delirium tremens. 25:22 Oh! And we have medication to help with that, 25:25 but we need to know that the person has an issue 25:27 and when we interview them originally they say, 25:30 oh no I don't have any problem, once in a while I drink a little 25:34 Sherry or something, you know. But it is an alcohol problem 25:38 that they have. So make sure that you talk to your doctor 25:42 about it, there is help available for that. 25:45 So we want to close with ten steps for those people that want 25:51 to quit addictions. It works wonderful for the people with 25:56 the cigarettes, but also other addictions. 25:59 Let us go on screen and see them. 26:00 1. You need to choose not to smoke. It is something 26:06 you have to decide with all your heart. 26:08 2. No hidden cigarettes. Don't say well just in case 26:12 I feel like...No Nothing! Throw them away. 26:15 Deep breathing exercises. Daily exercise, more sleep. 26:22 Lots of water, drink lots of water. 26:26 Also take showers, not only once but many time in the day. 26:32 The nicotine is going to start coming on your skin and you 26:34 have to wash it out. 26:36 Avoid all the things that trigger the nicotine. 26:40 which is caffeine, alcohol, heavy meals, 26:43 heavily spiced meals. Avoid high risk situations. 26:48 People smoke after certain pattern and tell others 26:53 that you are quitting. Okay. 26:56 So many times it's a special chair, many times it's 27:00 the breaks at work, many times it's just after a meal. 27:05 So what you need to do, you need to use neuroplasticity. 27:09 So because those patterns call for those addictions, 27:14 what you need to do, you need to change that so instead of 27:18 having the usual break with your friends and having that 27:21 smoke, go for a walk, do some- thing else instead of sitting 27:25 down after the meal...When you were eating that heavy meal, 27:30 don't do that. Go ahead and start doing some other 27:35 activities such as washing the dishes...Ah, that's a really 27:39 good idea. So many people have been able to overcome it. 27:44 You can, remember, you are not alone, God is with you 27:49 and if you ask God for help, I can assure you, 27:54 God is not going to let you down, so surround yourself 27:57 with those positive people, put yourself in the hands of God 28:01 and you will experience those fruits. 28:03 Wonderful advice and I am so pleased we ended up 28:05 with such a positive way to deal with it because 28:08 I guess everyone has to extent an addiction of some degree. 28:12 We are so pleased that you have joined us today 28:15 and I hope you have been challenged and encouraged 28:18 by today's program. 28:19 We look forward to having you join us next time for more 28:22 secrets of healthy living. 28:24 Remember you can watch our programs on demand, 28:27 just visit 3abnaustralia.org.au and click on the watch button. 28:31 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-12-19