I don't care whether Marc is a good or bad lecturer, whether he did or did not do a line before the speech as many commented. All I care about is - this is the best explanation of addiction that I've ever encountered. And I will probably have to watch it many times and write down all important points and suggestions because I am sugar and food addict. Nothing I read or watched before helped me understand what is happening with me and now that I do, I feel empowered to change it. Just want to thank Marc Lewis for this great speech!
Take a look at ACEs and their effects in adulthood, most of the neuropathways are set in childhood up to the age of 25, although these can be changed later in life. ACEs can have a massive impact on adult behaviours as during childhood the reptilian brain triggers more often and the fight or flight response is activated, this can lead to toxic stress. Check out Dr. Karen Treisman.
I am an addict. I have never watched this sort of thing before as if felt uncomfortable. I am in a situation where I could loose everything I hold dear. I’m glad I have watched this.
Keep on track I am in the same boat just make a list and focus on fixing one thing at a time I also Wright down my issues never thought it would help but it did for me best of luck
It is all physical biochemistry. Most addicts and alcoholics do not process the drug the same as the rest of society. A.A. tells folks they need to change all of their thinking through new action. Anything that you can commit to for the long term, will set you on a course that will lead to permanent sobriety. A.A. offers the shared experience and the understanding of others while suggesting you will get immediate relief by helping others with their problem. Addiction creates its own false reality. That is what makes it so frustrating to those that have it and those trying to help those who have an addicition.
As an addict who has said "This is day one!" many times and has sat in the Anonymous meetings having to say I'm powerless and give myself to god (which is all the more fun when you arent religious), it was really inspiring to once not feel a death sentence. To hear that there is a way out and that I can get past it. This is of course my next "Day One" and very well may not be my last, but it's certainly the first one where I truly felt hopeful about my future.
I'm also not religious. I attend AA. The thing about being powerless is, as I understand it, that we have to accept that when we drink or drug (whatever it may be) we make ourselves vulnerable to extremely poor decision making. As addiction is progressive and our behaviours become more and more dangerous over time, that's what we don't want. Basically, we lose the ability to look after ourselves when we use, and it will only get worse with time. Unless someone convinces me otherwise I strongly believe that we have got to accept that as fact. At the same time as far as I'm concerned God isn't anything to do with it - it is partially a hangover from the origins of AA and partially a clumsy understanding of our need for connection and the effectiveness of making yourself useful, accountable, and integrating into a group of people. You know, the kind of stuff that gives us goals, meaning, etc.!
@@jimmahgee look at the Freedom Recovery model. It dispels this myth that you don’t have control. We feel like we don’t because of a belief system that has soaked into us by the recovery and 12-step community. You DO have control. You have the choice. You have to reach a point where you sincerely believe that you do have a choice and that you are not powerless
@@azula3906 It’s been pretty good. I’m now a year and three months sober, and I stick by what I said in my comment before. Though before I say anything else - there’s different ways of getting and staying sober, and I don’t think AA is for everyone. Other options can be more effective. And I just flat out disagree with a lot of what AA says, and even for myself I choose to identify as a “person with Alcohol Use Disorder” rather than “alcoholic”. But I still go to meetings and I have a sponsor. I do one, sometimes two meetings a week. I’ve made connections with people and we support each other and encourage one another to figure out what kind of person we are/want to be, and live the values that we admire in others. For me it is about being in fellowship with decent people. We all just happen to have AUD/be alcoholics. These people have supported me a lot. So yeah, it’s not perfect but it is still helpful to me!
I seriously appreciate when someone with a Ph.d refrains from unnecessarily complexifying data/ideas just to prove themselves as an intellectual. Marc's humility and relatability (using his own personal stories) is so refreshing in the medicalized world of addiction. Not to mention his integration of behavioral changes, pharmaceutical intervention, meditation, psychotherapy, and the idea that the brain can always change gives the addict many tools and hope.
People should always read his book “ memoirs of an addicted brain “ i just finished reading it a week ago and he talks about him as an addict and what he went through! Really good !
I had bought into the disease model. It was drummed into me. How absolutely enlightening this talk was. Empowerment and compassion focused therapy are always missing from all the programs I have seen.
I suffered from addiction as a result of abuse and poverty and social isolation. I view this as a normal response to trauma and a learned behavior. Exactly. He is spot on.
Thanks, I haven't watched this yet though I've read his book, it's interesting to look at the comments because along with yours someone else was saying the fact that he has a PhD probably means he's privileged and has nothing to say about the content of the lecture at all.
Sir ur vedios have help me recovering from drug addiction. I had hit flat rock bottom emotionally financially n mentally n had no choice but to face it brutally but honestly. I relapsed n had no idea of why. u explained brain n it's pathological role in addiction thx from the bottom of my heart
I agree that addiction is NOT a disease... I see it, as do many in the addiction field, as a mental illness, or mental disorder, not unlike bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADD/ADHD, PTSD, clinical depression, etc. It's treatable, not "curable". It's absolutely possible to "rewire" your brain enough to cope with the illness/disorder, and live a functional life, without using drugs, or whatever else your addiction focus is. You were an addict before you used drugs, or whatever, but whatever you're addicted to does make the illness worse over time, as any mental illness/disorder does, if left untreated.
Good info ... He sounds like he had first hand experience before the presentation. Better than listening to people that have no idea what they are talking about. Thanks Marc
May Loma Not by coincidence. Former data scientists having worked for UA-cam said the recommendations are tailored not to satisfy what a user wants to actually see but slightly miss the mark and keep people clicking the next video to drive up watch time.
I wouldn't say that the 12-step programs are the only way to recovery, but I will say that it works very well for me, and has for many years. A common misconception about AA and NA is that the people who utilize those means of recovery are in a constant state of barely holding on their recovery, needing constant reminders of what might happen if they use again. That's not been my experience at all. It's true that in early recovery, those are helpful, but an addict who only focuses on what would happen as a result of relapse is an addict who is much the same person as they were before, only without the drug flowing through their system. The 12-step programs are frameworks for real change. All one has to do is look at the other steps after the first step. It is a process of getting out of an extreme self- obsession and thereby learning to have a more rational, balanced sense of self. It's a reintegration with society. I don't care what anyone says, there is no person that can relate to addiction like someone who has experienced it themselves. A major part of the 12-step programs is addicts who have time in recovery working with other addicts. We have a saying; "You have to give it away to keep it". It would be great if people could go to a counselor every day, but that's generally not possible unless one is very wealthy. There are NA meetings every day of the week where I live, and even after years, I still average five each week. Not because I have to make that many to stay clean, but because I WANT to! I want to be there for those who come brand new (or come back after brutal relapse) I consider it a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to help these people, to be an example to them, and it is such a wonderful thing to watch people have positive change in their lives, re-enter the job force, mend relations with families, and turn into such different people than they were, to the point that they become almost unrecognizable compared to their former selves, physically, mentally, and yes, spiritually. I should note here that the twelve-step programs are not religious programs. There is no compulsion for religious affiliation of any kind, and AA and NA are in no way allied with any religious or other outside entities. Each person is permitted and encouraged to form their own opinion of a "higher power". Powerless over my addiction? You bet! I've proved that enough to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that if I take any mood-altering substance, I will be right back on that other track, and the results are going to be devastating and immediate. It's black and white, night and day for me. What's odd is that the simple undeniable knowledge of that fact is not enough in the long run for me to manage to stay clean long-term. I have to guard myself against falling into that self-centered mindset that is so prevalent with people like me, and the best way I know how to do that is to be meaningfully involved in other people's lives and becoming a responsible, acceptable and productive member of society. NA has given me a way to do that within the framework of the 12 steps, and a wonderful group of extremely close friends who know me well enough and care enough about me go out of their way for me. We stick together. We don't do it alone.
It is very religious when "God" is on every other page of the books. I have over a year clean and recently came back to the rooms for fellowship. I do not believe in God nor do I believe in the disease of addiction or alcoholism. I'm struggling with literature and limiting my sharing because of my views. Therefore limiting my experience. I've replaced people places and things. I've replaced my bad habits with healthy ones. I'm doing 90 in 90 to find my meetings and people but I feel like imposter even though I have earned that sear many times over. I have an amazing testimony and I have hope to share. I have returned to college and I immerse my self in these lectures which are the latest and greatest in the science but conflict with the spiritual malady expressed in literature. In short I'm learning how to interpret and constructively express my emotions, and maintain a healthy self esteem/ personal inventory. I journal. I 10th step every night. But I do not believe God has anything to do with the breath in my lungs.
I found 12 step program al anon helpful. It helps my ocd aka compulsive behaviors. I think my church helps me too. I get help by praying the rosary. I do not take any medications for my ocd.
@@seansmith5547 I wonder if alcohol is a compulsion. So, with ocd, I get anxiety from a thought, the compulsion is anything that lessens the anxiety. The way out is to resist the compulsion, and allow the anxiety.
I've been working as an addictions counselors in an intense 8 weekend substance abuse treatment facility for federal parolees in Canada and I never bought the "addiction is a disease" modality. Here, our treatment philosophy is based on the social learning theory in that addiction is a learnt behaviour. When Mark wrote The Biology of Desire, it reinforced exactly how we approach addiction. We'd be doing the parolees a disservice if we told them they were sick and they're was no cure. We're even encouraging our clients to read it. We need more people like Mark Lewis to destroy this house of cards that's been built and the crap the medical establishment has been peddling since the 1950s.
Please explain how your theory that addiction is a learned behavior contradicts the disease model of addiction. Of course it's a learned behavior. I don't see how that dispels the disease model in any way
The American Medical Association recognized addiction as a disease back in the 1950's. There is no "cure" it is simply put in remission by continued abstainance. I learned long ago, from experience, that one drink will send me right back to my active addiction ( last bottom) , and through CBT, group self help ( A.A,) and staying away from that first drink, I have managed to keep clean and sober for 24 years. I have no desire to drink today, but I am convinved that one drink will start the cravings leading to total destruction. No alcholic ever recovers control.
Matteo Rivera yes sir entertaining, funny, but he's the worst kind of fraud. He shows the improvement in the prefrontal cortex because that fits his opinion. But science is not opinion. It's factual evidence. He doesn't talk about the changes to the primitive brain which is what drives everything we do. If you want easy to understand facts watch parts 1-5 Dr Montes. Here's part 1 ua-cam.com/video/ioCSJDa_VFY/v-deo.html
Recovered Nation - First off, you've stolen Dr Montes' video, the real link is here: ua-cam.com/video/SfxSA1hWjJM/v-deo.html ; second, "the worst kind of fraud", seriously!? Marc Lewis used to be a HARD CORE drug addict, is now fully recovered, and a highly respected neuroscientist and psychologist. Is that not science? Dr Montes's lecture is both educational and helpful, absolutely, but is a pure disease model in reference to actual recovery. Dr Monte and Marc Lewis seem to agree on the science of what's going on in the brain (which Dr Monte explains brilliantly), but disagree on the recovery solution. From personal experience of 12 steps, rehab centres etc., and having studied and applied in my own recovery, I agree with Marc Lewis 100%. He gets it. He's been there. And it works! Dr Monte is empathic and understands what's going on in the brain, but has never been there. It's all theory. Plus his company 'The Treatment Centre' makes a fortune from addicts, he has an agenda to boot by following the disease model. Final note: Marc Lewis's books on addiction are pure brilliance, and extremely readable. Highly recommended.
I once attended an NA meeting with a girlfriend who was fighting pot / ecstasy addiction. I was really put off that, at the beginning of the meeting, she had to open with, “I’m Clare and I’m an addict.” On the way back to her house, I told her that this was beginning the session of getting away from the drugs with an AFFIRMATION. The AA meetings do the same thing. This is simply wrong. They should at least change it to say, “Hello, I’m Bill and I WAS a heroin addict, but I’m living sober now.”
The overlap of unacceptable (drugs , over indulgence ) & the acceptable ( smoking , drinking , binge eating maybe) is uber important to understand in its subtlety / variableness; and Marc Lewis gave very good tools to envision them ; hence practically take ownership in why & how and what can be done at individual level thereon ... Simply Brilliant ... Two Thumbs up !
31 years ago, I was addicted to cocain...I quit cold turkey, to this day have never relapsed...I do not go to meetings, or counseling, ...I never ever crave for it. Have no desire what so ever!
Yvette, you must have changed something about the way you were living. Which from my own experience, is how I continue to recover from alcoholism and drug addiction. A day at a time, I started moving my feet differently and began to believe in the process of living in the solution, instead of the problem. Best wishes to you!
Awesome talk. I have been addicted to various drugs through out my life. I was a complete mess until I decided on my own that it wasn't a disease but a habit. I still do drugs occasionally but not habitually. Somethings that helped me was deciding to never doing drugs when I am in a bad mood, never going out of my way to find them and being mindful of when and why I have a craving. Also, hitchhiking through Kansas.
Sounds like a plan, Stan. Those are good rules to live by for people who can get through the first hurdles of sobriety. "...neither abstinence nor excess ever rendered a man happy"- Voltaire
You are not an addict if you can use substances recreationally. Not everyone’s an addict. I get your insight because as a recovering addict of one specific drug myself.. I could use other drugs and put them down but god forbid I get ahold of my drug, it’s like I no longer possess any form of self control.
@Richard Balliet WELL SAID. I'm the same way. Did dope for over 20 years and I tried numerous times to use other drugs and not dope it always brought me back to my drug choice..... Maybe not right away.. but eventually I was back shooting dope. And congrats for the 1.5 years for an addict that's a miracle.
@Phantom Jerker You cant generalize YOUR experience. And yes of course it registers the difference between drugs. Just because you cannot use anything does not mean that the brain works that way in general.
Finally and finally I found something that perfectly, logically and scientifically explains addiction & recovery after multitude of research. Thank you.
I would like to say, respectfully, that the recommendations made here for rehabilitation are EXACTLY in line with 12 step programs. I won't list examples, but, each of his SUGGESTIONS are the same as ones given to me by a sponsor in AA.
This is gold. It makes me want to learn more. I have been told sections of this in some of my addiction recovery but its so refreshing to hear an expanded version now. I think there are pathways from this knowledge to ponder on to remain more self away in critical times. This brings me immediate hope. I will to listen to it again, take notes and implement this into my life. I want to help others too and to find how.
Two points of clarification: The Twelve Steps never say "don't do" anything. They are about do this, do that... do an inventory, list character defects, make amends, pray, meditate etc. Also, AA says don't worry about never drinking again; just don't drink today.
Lewis is quite the inspiration; a human being who overcame his addictions and transformed himself into a world class neuroscience. His model of addiction as being a “pathological overlearning” is excellent and I believe is a great addition to the body of research already established in addiction science. I’m also an avid fan of Dr. Kevin McCauley, who explains what constitutes something as a disease. According to McCauley the disease model developed through Germ Theory, which states there is a defect in the organ which leads to signs and symptoms. The defect would occur in reward pleasure pathway, and can be amended. This would then impact the signs and symptoms. I really like Lewis, however, the argument if we say it is a pathological overlearning, still requires the same type of treatment, CBT at first, then the deep trauma, attachment wounding repeat and resolution. I look at disease as dis-ease. Again, Lewis is a powerhouse and an inspiration.
Cross addiction... happens very often, we replace the one drug for another. The addiction part is that as soon as you take the first, you cant stop. I advice you kindly to go and attend a nice AA / CA meeting in your area. You are not alone in this and it does help you get out of this dark place. Good luck!!
Good stuff. ~44mins where he points out that just turning down an addiction once, or sometimes begins to rewire the brain very interesting and a good take to take the pressure off an addict from the all or nothing approach
This is such an incredibly powerful and useful presentation and I just want to thank Marc Lewis so much for sharing his incredibly insightful knowledge. This truly is life changing and life saving stuff. As an addict, I have such deeply immense gratitude for having this been shared. Godspeed!
i find the classes i am taking rather frustrating because they blame their action son the disease of addiction ... like a pit for blame of why they made poor choices . as i go through the class i find my self more and more in disbelief of the process . which is why i found myself at this video and looking for supporting information.
This is great information. But therapy is often very expensive and not available to many addicts. Especially semi-functioning addicts who aren't low income enough to qualify for state funded therapy.
Life is a spiritual experience! We are here to reach our full potential. Drug addiction reveals an immense amount of pain and misery and depending on the person over time an amazing spiritual awakening occurs achieving a higher level of consciousness and enlightenment. This doesnt occur with all addicts but I can ensure understanding the mechanisms of the brain will not prevent or solve the core problem. Back to my point , life is a spiritual experience and some of use have to suffer through the means of addiction and what it brings is to achieve enlightenment, ability to know truth , and the understanding having a conscious contact with God was and is the solution. As an addict I've learned God didnt give me a choice. If I dont live by spiritual principles which represent love and truth I self destruct through drugs. I've tried every other method . Knowing oneself and knowing God and spiritual principals and practicing them is part of the solution.
Thumbs up to Marc Lewis! Not only because he gives a brilliant talk on a highly controversial topic - in my view the only reasonable perspective (addiction as neural learning). He is also willing to leave his neuroscience lab in order to reach out to 'ordinary' people in the open public. I read his excellent book "Memoirs ..." and I'll soon acquire his latest book with lots of anecdotal cases of genuine drug addicts.
Addiction IS a permanent condition. Any addict who has relapsed after years or even decades of sobriety can tell you it picks right back up where it left off. Alcoholics will be back to a 12 pack a day within a week of relapsing. Or by the very next day. You may regain brain matter that allows you to reflect on your decisions more, but the powerful neurocircuits that form during addiction never fade. Relapsing is like a time machine that brings the compulsion back as powerfully as if it never left. I agree that AA is not a good model for everyone. Most alcoholics get sober on their own, according to the largest study ever conducted by the NIH. The reason is similar to what this guy describes: AA demands too much effort. It works when a person is able to define their life as being about sobriety. But it comes at the expense of some of your other goals, your free time, your personal autonomy and identity, and the constant mental effort of "living god's will." It's an enormous drain that asks more than most people are willing to give. Recovery does demand a lot more than abstinence. But personal growth can happen many ways. AA seems to work best for people who are conformist, social, and capable of religiosity. There aren't many good options outside of AA, so most of us just find our own path. I'm glad I did. I don't "work" to be sober. I work to improve my life because I want to, not because I have to. That's a much less demanding effort in the long run. I was never able to stay sober in AA. Just did not like the lifestyle at all.
Motivational interviewing, cognitive behavior therapy/addiction, and dialectical behavior therapy have high rates of efficacy when employed in a therapeutic setting with persons presenting with addiction. That being written, I suspect this lecturers assertion that addiction isn't a disease is largely shaped by the material he presented that represents that there are structural changes that account for long term abstinence. His assertions are grounded, also, in that he believes that the brain (which is always seeking homeostasis) learns new ways to achieve a dopamine response to the external stimuli. We know from several studies, both longitudinal and constellar, most people suffering addiction relapse at least three to five times before achieving total sobriety. The key difference in the lasting sobriety is the conscious seeking of and implementation of alternative behaviors to meet the big three of triggers: people, places, and things.
Yup all that it will probably do for me is meet someone who has very good prices and that will trigger me to buy some because it brings me pleasure when I find a cheaper plug with good quality
No it isn’t. It’s the belief in the disease idea that causes more harm than anything. Hence people who are in formal recovery groups and attend rehabs binge eat harder than they relapse. My drinking spanned about 10 years and my usage through out varied from moderate to daily to frequent blackouts to everywhere in between. I stopped without any formal help and had 3 slips my first year. None of these slips resulted in return to use, let alone heavy use. People need to know they’re completely capable of adjusting or quitting with the right information and right mindset. Our brains are hijacked by misinformation far more than they are by drugs and alcohol.
I've thought for years that the medical model of addiction was underplaying the role of the psychological. This was a fascinating lecture and has given me much to contemplate.
People don't understand that getting sent or made to go by law or guilt from family is not going to rehab that's just being sent away. You ain't stopping till you want to when you want to go the rehabs work amazingly well for those ready to learn and learn how to quit
56:00 How do we help addicts? * Help them own other goals. Meditation, tai chi, etc. * Once they get started, they will start to feel responsibility and ownership. * See life as a story. I went through a tough time, but then it got better, and will continue to get better. * Treatment works by connecting the self to the social world, which is connecting the striatum to the PFC. * Combination of medical, spiritual, and psychological tools * CBT, motivational interviewing, mindfulness meditation, dialectical behavior therapy * Social support, scaffolding * Brain never stops changing. (I interpret this as meaning, there's always hope!)
My experiences with heroin/cocaine among other substances labeled as "addictive" left me feeling like its meaning is somewhat fictional. In the 19th century the word addiction had no negative connotations at all. It was just a love for something you do often. Then in the 20th century with the drug war taking off it became a part of the propaganda arsenal. My experience with addictive drugs was that addiction is not what I thought it was. I realized I was lied to and that people with serious problems with drugs have traumatic sorrowful lives often filled with different forms of abuse. Its fundamentally wrong that our loving governments try to encourage us to hate these people. I think if drug prohibition were to end everybody would be able to have that first hand experience and grasp exactly what is going on. There would be much more understanding and ability to authentically care for our fellow citizen. Don't be lied to. End drug prohibition. Have your first hand experience. Realize they are waging a war over fuck all. Get those innocent people out of jail.
The 12 steps is a suggested program of action, by taking those actions the persons thinking changes and he or she loses the desire, the obsession and craving to use whatever the drug is. It only works when a person is in a group of others in recovery and if the person is willing to take the action if the are forced or court mandated it wont work. Done correctly it does work
"You never hear let's get high next week". Actually, that is exactly what I do, wait until the weekend. But then, I am not an addict. This talk is very helpful in understanding addiction from the non-addicts standpoint. I don't think you can ever understand addiction completely if you aren't one, on the other hand, I don't think addicts fully appreciate the level of stress and energy drain it takes to deal with them, regardless if it is a disease or not!
Did you miss the fact that he was an addict? He is talking from an ex-addict point of view. Why comment on something like this when you have no idea of the context...
I believe addiction is a disease, however I also feel like addiction is a coping mechanism that worked for a while then stopped. The definition of disease does not actually say you are sick; it states that the function and structure of a person, animal, or plant has changed. Treatment programs do work; they use medicine during the detox phase, but once in the treatment phase all of the things you suggest are used. I should say they are used in a good program. I enjoy the lecture.
The disease model has been pounded at me [I am an addictionologist] but I could never explain why the treatment [i.e.,wanting to get better] could put "the disease" in remission. We don't tell cancer patients that they will get better if they want it bad enough. 3:00
Does the cancer patient refuse to show up for treatments or refuse to do what the doctor suggest? The "want it bad enough" has a very low success rate. Most seriously addicted people very much want to quit. Many would give anything to stop. The disease of alcoholism and addiction is not a model. Please tell me folks are not teaching it as a "model". The disease explains the symptoms, why they need to be treated, and describes why they use drugs or alcohol differently than normal people.
@@TTTCWW I have always considered return to use formerly known as relapse to be non compliance with treatment recommendations. So I suppose one can construe the non-compliant diabetic or cancer patient in that light. I don't blame my patient's for having this illness but I do hold them responsible for return to use and I do believe that is a choice. The thing that most puzzles me is that non-compliance with cancer patients for example is quite low and yet non-compliance rates with a substance use disorder appear to be pretty high. Maybe one day I will find the Holy Grail: a way to get my clients to be compliant with treatment recommendations.
@@astrodad656 the difference between "non-compliant cancer patients" and substance addicts, is that when the substance addict chooses "non-compliance", they are getting what is generally a euphoric feeling, a ceasing of the craving, and some time to forget about their problems. When a cancer patient chooses not to comply with treatment, does that give them a euphoric high? Do they crave not complying with treatment? Does non-compliance with treatment somehow allow them to forget all about their problems? Obviously not. This should have been obvious to you.
#1 rule. If you try to feel good all the time, with a legal script or illegal drugs, you will build up a tolerance and get addicted. I'm not preaching. I'm on legal opiates because of a bad accident. I am in daily pain. But If I take enough to be pain free all the time, my tolerance quickly builds and I'm on the path to addiction.
I've encountered Lewis' approach to beating addiction before… in Carr's "Only Way to Stop Smoking." Carr would go to great lengths to ridicule and dismiss the "disease" and "addiction" rhetoric, and encourage one to instead, be more attentive to one's own senses, empowerment and choices. Carr's "Only Way to Stop Smoking." is the worst book I ever read. Seriously. I got about a third of the way and stopped reading. But I also stopped smoking for 8 years! I will seek out Marc Lewis book now. Good talk.
Great talk. Just one thing to clarify. 55:26 Baclofen is not a benzodiazepine as structurally does not have a diazepine ring fused with benzene ring (to be precise - does not have diazepine ring at all!) . Baclofen may be helpful in the short-term management of craving and withdrawal in patients with BZ, alcohol dependence. Thanks
I'm in drug court now and the out come if I were to use would be a lot of years in prison and I've been a everyday several times a day meth user for years but now I'm clean and don't even think about it so I think mark is right and I would like to know how to become a part of his study
I am watching this for my Psycopharmacology class. I definitely agree that addiction is not a disease. It is a disorder that can be treated. I always say someone with diabetes cannot go to rehab and choose to quit diabetes.
Going to rehab doesn’t cure an addiction it only helps you manage it. Same concept applies to the lifestyle and medical changes that need to be made to manage diabetes
There is always a choice….cancer is a disease, aids is a disease diabetes is a disease,addiction is not a disease it is a disorder. I realize the health industry is trying to push addiction as a disease but it is not one.
Very Informative talk. His effort to explain this complex topic is commendable. The profound psychological basis of addiction is clearly explained. The role of Mindfulness meditation (Vipassana) in alleviating addiction is scientifically proved and his emphasis on this is great 👍
In my opinion. Addiction is separate from the self. In the form of a Vasana (Separate from the Body? And is very difficult to eradicate... Plus addiction also interferes with spiritual progression...
I find it interesting he unaware of Sinclair Method (for alcohol) that specifically addresses the 40+ week time period slide (earlier in lecture) for the brain to gain back (reconnect) self control. It specifically addresses alcohol as a brain skill (reward system) not a disease.
Like how kids will con their parents into rewarding them for another cookie without doing what was intended in the first place. I don't think more studies or rhetoric is necessary. Addiction is what you make of it. Depression is an adverse side effect of oppression, primarily derived from economical abuse, but any of the forms of abuse will produce the same results. Psychologists are looking for intrinsic evidence to support things which are caused by existential factors. They should stick to studying things instead of insisting their work is some kind of important science. Psychometrics is just used by the government to socially engineer people for the sake of special interests. Economics, education, and politics also are not real sciences. They're just used for marketing purposes. "Fundamentally people have a great misconception. Physical capital is not really very important. What's really important is human capital." -- Milton Friedman About 8 minutes into his Tyranny of the Status Quo talk here: ua-cam.com/video/N9yRdj4tjC4/v-deo.html
Exactly. The Sinclair Method (TSM) uses medication (naltrexone) to block the reward from drinking alcohol, thereby helping you unlearn the addiction. Once you have unlearned the addiction, you don't have to take naltrexone anymore. The naltrexone wasn't correcting some pathological dysfunction in the brain (i.e. as the disease model would suppose); it was just an adjunct to help you return your alcohol-reward circuitry to its pre-addicted state. Of course, TSM does not help with the underlying psychological pain that drove you to drink in the first place. But it does get you out of the hole so you can be relatively free of addiction while you work towards wholeness. Really wish more addiction counselors and rehab facilities knew about TSM. They'll never accept it because it is not Abstinence Only. But it works! Rehab centers may prescribe naltrexone, but they don't use TSM; they follow the disease model, which says, "You have a problem with your brain. Here, take this medication every morning forever just like a diabetic takes insulin." But this just isn't how it works. Sinclair was a genius.
This was awesome 😎-one of the best and most helpful videos I have ever seen. Just brought everything together in an unforgettable and neuroanatomic heuristic. I now fully understand all the other videos and what is wrong with many of them. If you don’t talk in an evolutionary sense about overcoming human limitations and obstacles then you really can’t be truly helpful. Because that’s the why and the how of everything. Literally everything. Thanks so much !!! 🙏🏻💖
I'm a recovering addict from alcohol. Thankfully for me cognitive behavioral therapy completely made me recover. I sometimes get cravings and imagery and think damn it would be so nice to have a drink right now but my prefrontal cortex is strong enough and I can inhibit myself from doing it
The psychological mechanisms ARE dealt with in recovery. I'll grant you that not many treatment centers focus on that aspect of the disease, they instead approach it from the physical with behavior modification. But anyone who's spent any time working a program of recovery, are most likely addressing the psychological component of addiction. That's literally what the steps do. Their purpose is to rewire your brain. The founders of AA likely didn't think that. I'm sure they looked at it as addressing a spiritual malady, but the action plan they created definitely does address the psychological underpinnings that keep a person going back to substances over and over to cope with life.
Okay, this is a long comment and serves no purpose other than to express my views. That said, you have been warned. Read on if you're interested, don't if you're not. First, I'll start by saying this is a very good video. His information is accurate and valuable. He explains complex concepts simply and clearly, and seems, to me as someone who is not a neuropsychologist, extremely well versed in his field. Interestingly, only four years prior to this video he scoffed at the idea of process addictions, so I'm glad he can change his views according to new information. The pity is that his information is so valuable, and he is so knowledgable, yet toward the end he comes off as a 12 step basher. Look, there are as many ways to get clean and sober as there are clean and sober people. There is no need to try to discredit other methods. So he states that most 'addicts' quit on their own. I submit that those people are not 'addicts'. An addict, by definition, is someone who cannot, through their own willpower, stop using. This may reduce the number of 'addicts', but it should. Not everyone who suffers from the negative effects of a substance or process 'addiction' is an addict. The age old question has always been where do you draw the line between the heavy drinker and the alcoholic. He then shows a clear lack of understanding about the concept of powerlessness, the fundamental principle behind 12 step recovery programs, when he goes on to answer the question, "How do we help addicts?". If addicts aren't powerless, why do they need help? He then says that addicts need to be empowered. Why, if they aren't powerless? Why seek help if an addict has the ability, the power, to stop? What difference does it make, then, if they are 'empowered' by a belief in a higher power, or if they do yoga? By admitting powerlessness over their addiction, the addict is empowered. He also states that 12 step fellowships have a very low success rate, but there is only one study that I know of, since 12 step fellowships are anonymous, that addresses this directly. He doesn't say if this success rate is over a single episode, or lifelong, an important distinction in my opinion. His thoughts on recovery are absolutely correct, but they are correct for him. His concepts, nevertheless, would fit nicely in a 12 step recovery program. I do agree that treatment programs should offer clients (not patients) alternatives to the 12 steps. The principles behind the 12 steps are very tempting therapeutically, thus it is very easy to fall back on them when the staff in most treatment centers are undertrained, underpaid, and the programs are underfunded. Also, and finally, I hate his explanation for why he became an addict. Simply being a depressed kid who was bullied will not an addict make. Lots of kids who were depressed and bullied don't end up shooting dope. Lots of kids who had loving caring childhoods did. It's an oversimplification that just lends to the stigma of addiction. Other than that I like him :)
No he's correct, 60% quit without ANY outside help, meetings, programs, jails, etc. We are not told this because our culture & language are set up to keep us dependant, to not trust ourselves or believe that we are capable of knowing what we need. The recovery industry is a huge money maker. What works for each of us is as different as our personalities. I'm just stoked there are lots of options for people to help themselves.
Thankyou for saveing me time 😂..i agree with all you said.. Bren sober for 15 years through AA..and I was NEVER told I could never drink again... DAY AT A TIME man!!! Cause our brains will kick against NEVER... Get informed.. Also AA tells you it's all only a suggestions NOT rules.. Addicts hate being told what to do.. An the god thing FFS... Don't get me started.. Of your own understanding!!!!.. Wish people would stop bashing and misquoting AA...or throwing out their own sick spin on it.. It is in essence cognitive restructuring...
Pete T I beg to differ with your opinion that the recovery industry is a huge moneymaker. My father was on the board of a very successful recovery center for about 15 years. They were always struggling to stay out of the red and eventually had to close their doors for going broke. Sadly I just recently (last week) heard that a popular rehab center filed for bankruptcy after treating thousands of clients successfully. What our culture needs with our opiate epidemic is to study what Portugal did when approximately 15 years ago 10% of their adult population were shooting heroin. They used a fantastic treatment modality that involved treatment vs punishment legalizing all drugs and putting all those resources into a “compassionate, connection building, treatment modality and followed up for a period of time with job training, housing, and continued monitoring. That being said - - they eliminated their drug abuse problem!
That's the most critical point of being in denial which is repeated behavior pattern. It only makes sense to people who carry it out. Especially if the masses continue to do it.
I think the problem with all of these different interpretations and approaches to addiction is that people latch onto one being right and the rest are wrong. Addiction fits the criteria of a disease, but it's not a disease in the sense that reinforced feedback loops of habitual behavior are a cause of addiction. Just like AA, when done as it was originally intended, isn't about disempowerment but rather dissolving the self gratifying ego centric sociopethy that becomes part of the addicts psyche. Approaching addiction with the restrictive discernment that Dr Gabor's Hungry Ghost theory is right and medicated assisted heroin therapy is wrong, disables people to the idea that all of these approaches enlightening us to the very complex and multifaceted truth of what addiction really is. It's a reinforced bundle of nerves sending signals creating ritual habits that may be predetermined to be worse through genetics, modeling behaviors of our caregivers from conception through childhood and our temperaments as our characters develope. Other factors can contribute like trauma and risk taking but even people who have the least contributing factors can still become treatment resistant addicts. Whether they think they are better than everyone else or they are the lowest of the low on earth, or everyone in their family does drugs or no living relative they know of does drugs is still just scratching the surface as to why the science and spiritual development are all valid reasons as to why addiction is the great chameleon of social, biological, spiritual, neurogical, medical, and cultural sicknesses that humans endure. Where Marc Lewis seems to have the most in common with spiritual based programs is that if the root of this affliction has more to do with habitual strengthening of the synaptic connections through pleasure and memory then trauma has much less to do with addiction. Trauma might lead to negative feelings that can exasperate wanting to feel better, but for an addict, you don't use everyday 5 times a day because something bad happened to you at some point in your life. You use because you've trained your brain and altered your neuro and bio chemistry as a result of repeated use. In Step programs anything bad or good, trauma or happiness, are excuses because at the end of the day you were going to use no matter what. Blaming use on anything other than your neurological state is trying to excuse the fact that you've lost the power to choose whether or not to use because your brain stem sends signals that taking that drug is as important as breathing and it's more important than just about anything else. So it's the culmination and combination of all this research and these approaches to addiction that give the most accurate depiction of what this disease, that's not exactly a disease, is.
Since he doesn't completely dismiss medical doctors, and spokespersons for the opposite of his thesis (disease theorists), it shows that he is indeed genuinely interested in helping addicts, and nothing else. Many authors just want to sell their book/propaganda.
I dont know if anyone has done research on the blind and addiction. The reason I ask is that the feedback loops seem to triggered by visual stimuli. What happens when visual stimuli is not present, are addiction rates lower?
It's a great question. I would be inclined to believe that you are right but I have no proof. Blind people may in fact be less prone to several sorts of addictions because the visual stimuli is very potent in most humans
Blind people seem to report that their other senses get more intense to compensate and it makes sense that the brain would adapt in that way. I suppose for certain things like porn, there is clearly a difference in the addictive power for blind people, but for drugs I wonder if the smell or feel of drugs and drug paraphernalia might add up to the same addictiveness as for sighted people.
In the first three minutes of the lecture, conflating the influence of Twelve Step Programs on Science ("these two strange bedfellows") he cites the National Institute on Drug Addiction's assertion that "the disease is produced by chronic administration of the drugs themselves". NIDA is not a branch of the Twelve Step philosophy, and clearly is not reflecting the principles of AA when it made this statement, which he quotes. According to the principles of AA, chronic drinking or drug abuse is a symptom of the psychological disease that precedes the organic damage done by alcohol and other drugs. The disease is characterized by behavioral and cognitive patterns that can be modified. It is this treatment that initiates a process of recovery. In much the same way that a stroke patient may regain faculties of cognition, speech and movement even after irreparable damage to specific brain tissue by relying on the plasticity of the nervous system in rerouting stimulation and regrowing neural connections, the recovery from the effects of alcoholism and drug abuse depends upon rigorous practice and abstinence from further use of drugs and alcohol. Thus, it is not the drugs that cause the addiction, it is the chronic use of drugs that inevitably cause organic damage to the brain structure. The disease (which he terms a "skill") is the cause of the compulsive behavior that leads to that use. The next serious misapprehension about Twelve Step programs is revealed following his discussion of the Now Trials around 39:00, when he describes the "perfect experiment" designed to demonstrate the concept of Ego Fatigue. He makes a point that the cognitive dissonance of being faced to choose between a bowl of cookies and a bowl of radishes is analagous to addiction because, "You can't keep trying not to do something". The Twelve Step program does not consist of an endless effort to keep trying to do something. It is based upon inner reflection, on a wider context of perception to those impulses affecting one's behavior, deliberate action in service of those who are struggling to gain this balance in their own lives. In other words the effort of recovery is based upon other choices beyond the simplistic and unimaginative one of cookies and radishes, or drugs and hard reality. In its "perfection" Science often simplifies at the expense of comprehension.
Addicts are aware of the cravings growing constantly once the thought is in your mind - extremely hard to control. Would it be possible to prescribe some xanax-like pills to reduce the physical manifestation of the temptation (rapid heartbeat etc) or to just put you to sleep before you know it escalates to a level you can’t control and give in?
Maybe I've never been a true addict, but I used to plan ahead for months with my buddies to get completely trashed. And I used to save up cash every week so I could score when I had enough cash. I don't do any of those things now, I just kinda gave it up because I had to and now I don't have any connections! Which is kind of a downer... 🤣
Great talk. Could it be that imagining, daydreaming, fantasizing (whatever you want to call it) in and of itself could be addictive? As I understand it, imagining plays a role in the release of dopamine into the brain, so it´s just logical to see it as a potentially addictive behaviour.
Wonderful explanation! So to overcome we basically want to strengthen the connection between the Prefrontal Cortex and the Striatum. Does anyone have any references (videos, books, links) to therapy that focuses on this idea?
How ever what about the physical allergy, the abnormally physically high tolerance. A nonalcoholic can seldom drink as much as an alcoholic. They will become sick or pass out. How do you explain that?
Most people are addicted to something. Money, materials, pleasure, drugs, power, control, information, knowledge, relief, happiness. Saying that everyone in the world has or has had a disease kind of ruins the idea of what a disease is suppose to be. What do you mean by disease?
Consider this though. Most addicts are addicts because they suffer from a neurological "issue." Something is making them uncomfortable, and usually it involves malfunction of the neurotransmitter being stimulated with the drug of choice. So then, if the consequences of NOT using ALSO expose the individual to harmful consequences, when the harmful consequences of drug seeking and use are often not because of the drug itself, but instead the SOCIAL consequences of seeking and using.. then what? Is it then society and its response to addiction that is the disease?
In my opinion, people who have never been addicted to hard drugs (hard drugs=not marijuana) are not qualified to speak on the subject as an authoritative source.
I don't know where those numbers come from saying addiction is self-limiting, but they are bs. MOST people die of addiction, they do not recover, and without a recovery program the deaths are much higher.
Also alcohol is far more medically involved with withdrawals than opiates and it’s important to address the medical impacts of what’s happening with the body and brain in other to prevent death. Not all medical concerns can be chronic and can be reversed with lifestyle change. Also my understanding is that Baclofen is not a benzodiazepine.
I don't care whether Marc is a good or bad lecturer, whether he did or did not do a line before the speech as many commented. All I care about is - this is the best explanation of addiction that I've ever encountered. And I will probably have to watch it many times and write down all important points and suggestions because I am sugar and food addict. Nothing I read or watched before helped me understand what is happening with me and now that I do, I feel empowered to change it. Just want to thank Marc Lewis for this great speech!
Nastya Tru huge tip. Read “awaken the giant within by Tony Robbins. Top psychologist. Changed my life
That was the same thing I was thinking when listening to his way of speaking. I was going to post a comment whether he took a bump before the seminar.
Asuhh Dude Robbins is a hack, in my opinion.
James Marcus Solzan is you would read his book / try out one of his seminars you wouldn’t believe that (:
Take a look at ACEs and their effects in adulthood, most of the neuropathways are set in childhood up to the age of 25, although these can be changed later in life.
ACEs can have a massive impact on adult behaviours as during childhood the reptilian brain triggers more often and the fight or flight response is activated, this can lead to toxic stress.
Check out Dr. Karen Treisman.
I am an addict. I have never watched this sort of thing before as if felt uncomfortable. I am in a situation where I could loose everything I hold dear. I’m glad I have watched this.
Keep on track I am in the same boat just make a list and focus on fixing one thing at a time I also Wright down my issues never thought it would help but it did for me best of luck
🙏🏾💗You can do anything you put your mind to. 🧠
Lose the extra 'o' while you're at it.
try SMART recovery. great alternative to AA, unless AA or NA works for you.
It is all physical biochemistry.
Most addicts and alcoholics do not process the drug the same as the rest of society.
A.A. tells folks they need to change all of their thinking through new action.
Anything that you can commit to for the long term, will set you on a course that will lead to permanent
sobriety.
A.A. offers the shared experience and the understanding of others while suggesting you will get immediate relief by helping others with their problem.
Addiction creates its own false reality. That is what makes it so frustrating to those that have it and those trying to help those who have an addicition.
As an addict who has said "This is day one!" many times and has sat in the Anonymous meetings having to say I'm powerless and give myself to god (which is all the more fun when you arent religious), it was really inspiring to once not feel a death sentence. To hear that there is a way out and that I can get past it. This is of course my next "Day One" and very well may not be my last, but it's certainly the first one where I truly felt hopeful about my future.
I'm also not religious. I attend AA. The thing about being powerless is, as I understand it, that we have to accept that when we drink or drug (whatever it may be) we make ourselves vulnerable to extremely poor decision making. As addiction is progressive and our behaviours become more and more dangerous over time, that's what we don't want. Basically, we lose the ability to look after ourselves when we use, and it will only get worse with time. Unless someone convinces me otherwise I strongly believe that we have got to accept that as fact. At the same time as far as I'm concerned God isn't anything to do with it - it is partially a hangover from the origins of AA and partially a clumsy understanding of our need for connection and the effectiveness of making yourself useful, accountable, and integrating into a group of people. You know, the kind of stuff that gives us goals, meaning, etc.!
How is it going for you?
Yeah. How's it going? I always hated AA because of the whole God thing.
@@jimmahgee look at the Freedom Recovery model. It dispels this myth that you don’t have control. We feel like we don’t because of a belief system that has soaked into us by the recovery and 12-step community. You DO have control. You have the choice. You have to reach a point where you sincerely believe that you do have a choice and that you are not powerless
@@azula3906 It’s been pretty good. I’m now a year and three months sober, and I stick by what I said in my comment before. Though before I say anything else - there’s different ways of getting and staying sober, and I don’t think AA is for everyone. Other options can be more effective. And I just flat out disagree with a lot of what AA says, and even for myself I choose to identify as a “person with Alcohol Use Disorder” rather than “alcoholic”.
But I still go to meetings and I have a sponsor. I do one, sometimes two meetings a week. I’ve made connections with people and we support each other and encourage one another to figure out what kind of person we are/want to be, and live the values that we admire in others. For me it is about being in fellowship with decent people. We all just happen to have AUD/be alcoholics.
These people have supported me a lot. So yeah, it’s not perfect but it is still helpful to me!
I seriously appreciate when someone with a Ph.d refrains from unnecessarily complexifying data/ideas just to prove themselves as an intellectual. Marc's humility and relatability (using his own personal stories) is so refreshing in the medicalized world of addiction. Not to mention his integration of behavioral changes, pharmaceutical intervention, meditation, psychotherapy, and the idea that the brain can always change gives the addict many tools and hope.
People should always read his book “ memoirs of an addicted brain “ i just finished reading it a week ago and he talks about him as an addict and what he went through! Really good !
I had bought into the disease model. It was drummed into me. How absolutely enlightening this talk was. Empowerment and compassion focused therapy are always missing from all the programs I have seen.
I suffered from addiction as a result of abuse and poverty and social isolation. I view this as a normal response to trauma and a learned behavior. Exactly. He is spot on.
Thanks, I haven't watched this yet though I've read his book, it's interesting to look at the comments because along with yours someone else was saying the fact that he has a PhD probably means he's privileged and has nothing to say about the content of the lecture at all.
You made a choice, and the BDM makes an excuse for your choice.
yes. And yet, school psychologists are surprised that coercive school breeds addictions
If you haven't yet, check out Dr. Gabor Mate.
Sir
ur vedios have help me recovering from drug addiction. I had hit flat rock bottom emotionally financially n mentally n had no choice but to face it brutally but honestly. I relapsed n had no idea of why. u explained brain n it's pathological role in addiction
thx from the bottom of my heart
I am an addict too. I have been studing addiction for several years and I find the content of this lecture of very high quality. Thank you!
I agree that addiction is NOT a disease... I see it, as do many in the addiction field, as a mental illness, or mental disorder, not unlike bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADD/ADHD, PTSD, clinical depression, etc. It's treatable, not "curable". It's absolutely possible to "rewire" your brain enough to cope with the illness/disorder, and live a functional life, without using drugs, or whatever else your addiction focus is. You were an addict before you used drugs, or whatever, but whatever you're addicted to does make the illness worse over time, as any mental illness/disorder does, if left untreated.
Good info ... He sounds like he had first hand experience before the presentation. Better than listening to people that have no idea what they are talking about. Thanks Marc
his book "memoirs of an addicted brain" is absolutely amazing, hands down the best book i've ever read
I'm really addicted to youtube.
May Loma Not by coincidence. Former data scientists having worked for UA-cam said the recommendations are tailored not to satisfy what a user wants to actually see but slightly miss the mark and keep people clicking the next video to drive up watch time.
That’s exactly how slot machines are designed
Tech companions are drug dealers.
Me too. That is why I watch this. But also interested in neuroscience, because of jhanas and nirodna.
It's not bad for you so its not an addiction but a habit. And it's a good habit because you like to learn and be informed ;)
I wouldn't say that the 12-step programs are the only way to recovery, but I will say that it works very well for me, and has for many years. A common misconception about AA and NA is that the people who utilize those means of recovery are in a constant state of barely holding on their recovery, needing constant reminders of what might happen if they use again. That's not been my experience at all. It's true that in early recovery, those are helpful, but an addict who only focuses on what would happen as a result of relapse is an addict who is much the same person as they were before, only without the drug flowing through their system. The 12-step programs are frameworks for real change. All one has to do is look at the other steps after the first step. It is a process of getting out of an extreme self- obsession and thereby learning to have a more rational, balanced sense of self. It's a reintegration with society. I don't care what anyone says, there is no person that can relate to addiction like someone who has experienced it themselves. A major part of the 12-step programs is addicts who have time in recovery working with other addicts. We have a saying; "You have to give it away to keep it". It would be great if people could go to a counselor every day, but that's generally not possible unless one is very wealthy. There are NA meetings every day of the week where I live, and even after years, I still average five each week. Not because I have to make that many to stay clean, but because I WANT to! I want to be there for those who come brand new (or come back after brutal relapse) I consider it a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to help these people, to be an example to them, and it is such a wonderful thing to watch people have positive change in their lives, re-enter the job force, mend relations with families, and turn into such different people than they were, to the point that they become almost unrecognizable compared to their former selves, physically, mentally, and yes, spiritually. I should note here that the twelve-step programs are not religious programs. There is no compulsion for religious affiliation of any kind, and AA and NA are in no way allied with any religious or other outside entities. Each person is permitted and encouraged to form their own opinion of a "higher power". Powerless over my addiction? You bet! I've proved that enough to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that if I take any mood-altering substance, I will be right back on that other track, and the results are going to be devastating and immediate. It's black and white, night and day for me. What's odd is that the simple undeniable knowledge of that fact is not enough in the long run for me to manage to stay clean long-term. I have to guard myself against falling into that self-centered mindset that is so prevalent with people like me, and the best way I know how to do that is to be meaningfully involved in other people's lives and becoming a responsible, acceptable and productive member of society. NA has given me a way to do that within the framework of the 12 steps, and a wonderful group of extremely close friends who know me well enough and care enough about me go out of their way for me. We stick together. We don't do it alone.
Exactly :) thank you for posting this.
It is very religious when "God" is on every other page of the books. I have over a year clean and recently came back to the rooms for fellowship. I do not believe in God nor do I believe in the disease of addiction or alcoholism. I'm struggling with literature and limiting my sharing because of my views. Therefore limiting my experience. I've replaced people places and things. I've replaced my bad habits with healthy ones. I'm doing 90 in 90 to find my meetings and people but I feel like imposter even though I have earned that sear many times over. I have an amazing testimony and I have hope to share. I have returned to college and I immerse my self in these lectures which are the latest and greatest in the science but conflict with the spiritual malady expressed in literature. In short I'm learning how to interpret and constructively express my emotions, and maintain a healthy self esteem/ personal inventory. I journal. I 10th step every night. But I do not believe God has anything to do with the breath in my lungs.
Tricia
I found 12 step program al anon helpful. It helps my ocd aka compulsive behaviors. I think my church helps me too. I get help by praying the rosary. I do not take any medications for my ocd.
@@seansmith5547 I wonder if alcohol is a compulsion. So, with ocd, I get anxiety from a thought, the compulsion is anything that lessens the anxiety. The way out is to resist the compulsion, and allow the anxiety.
I've been working as an addictions counselors in an intense 8 weekend substance abuse treatment facility for federal parolees in Canada and I never bought the "addiction is a disease" modality. Here, our treatment philosophy is based on the social learning theory in that addiction is a learnt behaviour. When Mark wrote The Biology of Desire, it reinforced exactly how we approach addiction. We'd be doing the parolees a disservice if we told them they were sick and they're was no cure. We're even encouraging our clients to read it. We need more people like Mark Lewis to destroy this house of cards that's been built and the crap the medical establishment has been peddling since the 1950s.
Please explain how your theory that addiction is a learned behavior contradicts the disease model of addiction. Of course it's a learned behavior. I don't see how that dispels the disease model in any way
@@bobbycecere1037 You obviously didn't watch the whole video. He talks about why the disease model is harmful @ 48:40
@@AB-wf8ek
Cute.
You clearly didn't read my comment.
Where did I say anything about The disease model being harmful or not harmful?
The American Medical Association recognized addiction as a disease back in the 1950's. There is no "cure" it is simply put in remission by continued abstainance. I learned long ago, from experience, that one drink will send me right back to my active addiction ( last bottom) , and through CBT, group self help ( A.A,) and staying away from that first drink, I have managed to keep clean and sober for 24 years. I have no desire to drink today, but I am convinved that one drink will start the cravings leading to total destruction. No alcholic ever recovers control.
Tough crowd, I found his jokes funny. Entertaining and informative, excellent talk!
me too.. lol
Matteo Rivera yes sir entertaining, funny, but he's the worst kind of fraud. He shows the improvement in the prefrontal cortex because that fits his opinion. But science is not opinion. It's factual evidence. He doesn't talk about the changes to the primitive brain which is what drives everything we do. If you want easy to understand facts watch parts 1-5 Dr Montes. Here's part 1
ua-cam.com/video/ioCSJDa_VFY/v-deo.html
Matteo Rivera but you should watch it when you can watch the whole lecture
BreakFree Addiction no
Recovered Nation - First off, you've stolen Dr Montes' video, the real link is here: ua-cam.com/video/SfxSA1hWjJM/v-deo.html ; second, "the worst kind of fraud", seriously!? Marc Lewis used to be a HARD CORE drug addict, is now fully recovered, and a highly respected neuroscientist and psychologist. Is that not science? Dr Montes's lecture is both educational and helpful, absolutely, but is a pure disease model in reference to actual recovery. Dr Monte and Marc Lewis seem to agree on the science of what's going on in the brain (which Dr Monte explains brilliantly), but disagree on the recovery solution.
From personal experience of 12 steps, rehab centres etc., and having studied and applied in my own recovery, I agree with Marc Lewis 100%. He gets it. He's been there. And it works!
Dr Monte is empathic and understands what's going on in the brain, but has never been there. It's all theory. Plus his company 'The Treatment Centre' makes a fortune from addicts, he has an agenda to boot by following the disease model.
Final note: Marc Lewis's books on addiction are pure brilliance, and extremely readable. Highly recommended.
I once attended an NA meeting with a girlfriend who was fighting pot / ecstasy addiction. I was really put off that, at the beginning of the meeting, she had to open with, “I’m Clare and I’m an addict.” On the way back to her house, I told her that this was beginning the session of getting away from the drugs with an AFFIRMATION. The AA meetings do the same thing. This is simply wrong. They should at least change it to say, “Hello, I’m Bill and I WAS a heroin addict, but I’m living sober now.”
I know of some that use the phrase, "I am a recovered addict".
The overlap of unacceptable (drugs , over indulgence ) & the acceptable ( smoking , drinking , binge eating maybe) is uber important to understand in its subtlety / variableness; and Marc Lewis gave very good tools to envision them ; hence practically take ownership in why & how and what can be done at individual level thereon ...
Simply Brilliant ... Two Thumbs up !
ThIs is a superb talk. Techy enough without excluding a general audience.
31 years ago, I was addicted to cocain...I quit cold turkey, to this day have never relapsed...I do not go to meetings, or counseling, ...I never ever crave for it. Have no desire what so ever!
Then you were not truly addicted or you’re god
Must be nice
Your not a addict
It wasnt you...God helped you whether you know this or not.
Yvette, you must have changed something about the way you were living. Which from my own experience, is how I continue to recover from alcoholism and drug addiction. A day at a time, I started moving my feet differently and began to believe in the process of living in the solution, instead of the problem. Best wishes to you!
Awesome talk. I have been addicted to various drugs through out my life. I was a complete mess until I decided on my own that it wasn't a disease but a habit. I still do drugs occasionally but not habitually. Somethings that helped me was deciding to never doing drugs when I am in a bad mood, never going out of my way to find them and being mindful of when and why I have a craving. Also, hitchhiking through Kansas.
Sounds like a plan, Stan. Those are good rules to live by for people who can get through the first hurdles of sobriety. "...neither abstinence nor excess ever rendered a man happy"- Voltaire
You are not an addict if you can use substances recreationally. Not everyone’s an addict. I get your insight because as a recovering addict of one specific drug myself.. I could use other drugs and put them down but god forbid I get ahold of my drug, it’s like I no longer possess any form of self control.
@Richard Balliet WELL SAID. I'm the same way. Did dope for over 20 years and I tried numerous times to use other drugs and not dope it always brought me back to my drug choice..... Maybe not right away.. but eventually I was back shooting dope. And congrats for the 1.5 years for an addict that's a miracle.
@Phantom Jerker You cant generalize YOUR experience. And yes of course it registers the difference between drugs. Just because you cannot use anything does not mean that the brain works that way in general.
"I used to do drugs...I still do, but I used to too"
Finally and finally I found something that perfectly, logically and scientifically explains addiction & recovery after multitude of research. Thank you.
I would like to say, respectfully, that the recommendations made here for rehabilitation are EXACTLY in line with 12 step programs. I won't list examples, but, each of his SUGGESTIONS are the same as ones given to me by a sponsor in AA.
This is gold. It makes me want to learn more. I have been told sections of this in some of my addiction recovery but its so refreshing to hear an expanded version now. I think there are pathways from this knowledge to ponder on to remain more self away in critical times. This brings me immediate hope. I will to listen to it again, take notes and implement this into my life. I want to help others too and to find how.
Two points of clarification: The Twelve Steps never say "don't do" anything. They are about do this, do that... do an inventory, list character defects, make amends, pray, meditate etc. Also, AA says don't worry about never drinking again; just don't drink today.
Yup. Y did he bash AA? Ugghhh
Ya that's suppression which doesn't work . Watch the vid again.
About halfway through he talks about addiction cycle, around 48:00 he starts talking about recovery
Lewis is quite the inspiration; a human being who overcame his addictions and transformed himself into a world class neuroscience. His model of addiction as being a “pathological overlearning” is excellent and I believe is a great addition to the body of research already established in addiction science. I’m also an avid fan of Dr. Kevin McCauley, who explains what constitutes something as a disease. According to McCauley the disease model developed through Germ Theory, which states there is a defect in the organ which leads to signs and symptoms. The defect would occur in reward pleasure pathway, and can be amended. This would then impact the signs and symptoms. I really like Lewis, however, the argument if we say it is a pathological overlearning, still requires the same type of treatment, CBT at first, then the deep trauma, attachment wounding repeat and resolution. I look at disease as dis-ease. Again, Lewis is a powerhouse and an inspiration.
I've quit cocaine few months ago, but struggling with alcohol, that's the tough shit, especially when you're alone af
hope u made it :)
It's so bizarre that alcohol is legal.
@@zigmasj6572 yeah it's a crime against humanity to allow alcohol, literally in every bloody corner of the town
Cross addiction... happens very often, we replace the one drug for another. The addiction part is that as soon as you take the first, you cant stop. I advice you kindly to go and attend a nice AA / CA meeting in your area. You are not alone in this and it does help you get out of this dark place. Good luck!!
did you try increasing exercise to replace or soften the habit?
Good stuff. ~44mins where he points out that just turning down an addiction once, or sometimes begins to rewire the brain very interesting and a good take to take the pressure off an addict from the all or nothing approach
This is such an incredibly powerful and useful presentation and I just want to thank Marc Lewis so much for sharing his incredibly insightful knowledge. This truly is life changing and life saving stuff. As an addict, I have such deeply immense gratitude for having this been shared. Godspeed!
Stop calling yourself an addict. You're not an addict. You used now you don't. There's a huge difference
Excellent! Thank you for the detailed explanation. I’m a Chemical Dependency Counselor, so this topic really sparks my interest!
i find the classes i am taking rather frustrating because they blame their action son the disease of addiction ... like a pit for blame of why they made poor choices . as i go through the class i find my self more and more in disbelief of the process . which is why i found myself at this video and looking for supporting information.
This is great information. But therapy is often very expensive and not available to many addicts. Especially semi-functioning addicts who aren't low income enough to qualify for state funded therapy.
Life is a spiritual experience! We are here to reach our full potential. Drug addiction reveals an immense amount of pain and misery and depending on the person over time an amazing spiritual awakening occurs achieving a higher level of consciousness and enlightenment. This doesnt occur with all addicts but I can ensure understanding the mechanisms of the brain will not prevent or solve the core problem. Back to my point , life is a spiritual experience and some of use have to suffer through the means of addiction and what it brings is to achieve enlightenment, ability to know truth , and the understanding having a conscious contact with God was and is the solution. As an addict I've learned God didnt give me a choice. If I dont live by spiritual principles which represent love and truth I self destruct through drugs. I've tried every other method . Knowing oneself and knowing God and spiritual principals and practicing them is part of the solution.
Thumbs up to Marc Lewis! Not only because he gives a brilliant talk on a highly controversial topic - in my view the only reasonable perspective (addiction as neural learning).
He is also willing to leave his neuroscience lab in order to reach out to 'ordinary' people in the open public.
I read his excellent book "Memoirs ..." and I'll soon acquire his latest book with lots of anecdotal cases of genuine drug addicts.
Addiction IS a permanent condition. Any addict who has relapsed after years or even decades of sobriety can tell you it picks right back up where it left off. Alcoholics will be back to a 12 pack a day within a week of relapsing. Or by the very next day. You may regain brain matter that allows you to reflect on your decisions more, but the powerful neurocircuits that form during addiction never fade. Relapsing is like a time machine that brings the compulsion back as powerfully as if it never left.
I agree that AA is not a good model for everyone. Most alcoholics get sober on their own, according to the largest study ever conducted by the NIH. The reason is similar to what this guy describes: AA demands too much effort. It works when a person is able to define their life as being about sobriety. But it comes at the expense of some of your other goals, your free time, your personal autonomy and identity, and the constant mental effort of "living god's will." It's an enormous drain that asks more than most people are willing to give.
Recovery does demand a lot more than abstinence. But personal growth can happen many ways. AA seems to work best for people who are conformist, social, and capable of religiosity. There aren't many good options outside of AA, so most of us just find our own path. I'm glad I did. I don't "work" to be sober. I work to improve my life because I want to, not because I have to. That's a much less demanding effort in the long run. I was never able to stay sober in AA. Just did not like the lifestyle at all.
Motivational interviewing, cognitive behavior therapy/addiction, and dialectical behavior therapy have high rates of efficacy when employed in a therapeutic setting with persons presenting with addiction. That being written, I suspect this lecturers assertion that addiction isn't a disease is largely shaped by the material he presented that represents that there are structural changes that account for long term abstinence. His assertions are grounded, also, in that he believes that the brain (which is always seeking homeostasis) learns new ways to achieve a dopamine response to the external stimuli. We know from several studies, both longitudinal and constellar, most people suffering addiction relapse at least three to five times before achieving total sobriety. The key difference in the lasting sobriety is the conscious seeking of and implementation of alternative behaviors to meet the big three of triggers: people, places, and things.
hated AA. didn't help only made me worse. I quit on my own when I made up my mind I was not going to stop at a store and buy any more.
Yup all that it will probably do for me is meet someone who has very good prices and that will trigger me to buy some because it brings me pleasure when I find a cheaper plug with good quality
Maybe you should watch the video before commenting.
No it isn’t. It’s the belief in the disease idea that causes more harm than anything. Hence people who are in formal recovery groups and attend rehabs binge eat harder than they relapse. My drinking spanned about 10 years and my usage through out varied from moderate to daily to frequent blackouts to everywhere in between. I stopped without any formal help and had 3 slips my first year. None of these slips resulted in return to use, let alone heavy use. People need to know they’re completely capable of adjusting or quitting with the right information and right mindset. Our brains are hijacked by misinformation far more than they are by drugs and alcohol.
Fascinating, and as a physician I totally agree!
I've thought for years that the medical model of addiction was underplaying the role of the psychological.
This was a fascinating lecture and has given me much to contemplate.
The medical model of addiction includes the psychological component
Memoirs of An Addicted Brain - Marc Lewis. He knows his stuff.
People don't understand that getting sent or made to go by law or guilt from family is not going to rehab that's just being sent away. You ain't stopping till you want to when you want to go the rehabs work amazingly well for those ready to learn and learn how to quit
Never thought of it as a disease but it fits all the requirements for being one.
56:00 How do we help addicts?
* Help them own other goals. Meditation, tai chi, etc.
* Once they get started, they will start to feel responsibility and ownership.
* See life as a story. I went through a tough time, but then it got better, and will continue to get better.
* Treatment works by connecting the self to the social world, which is connecting the striatum to the PFC.
* Combination of medical, spiritual, and psychological tools
* CBT, motivational interviewing, mindfulness meditation, dialectical behavior therapy
* Social support, scaffolding
* Brain never stops changing. (I interpret this as meaning, there's always hope!)
OUTSTANDING WORK BREAKING THIS TRUTH OUT OF THE BOX
My experiences with heroin/cocaine among other substances labeled as "addictive" left me feeling like its meaning is somewhat fictional. In the 19th century the word addiction had no negative connotations at all. It was just a love for something you do often. Then in the 20th century with the drug war taking off it became a part of the propaganda arsenal. My experience with addictive drugs was that addiction is not what I thought it was. I realized I was lied to and that people with serious problems with drugs have traumatic sorrowful lives often filled with different forms of abuse. Its fundamentally wrong that our loving governments try to encourage us to hate these people. I think if drug prohibition were to end everybody would be able to have that first hand experience and grasp exactly what is going on. There would be much more understanding and ability to authentically care for our fellow citizen.
Don't be lied to. End drug prohibition. Have your first hand experience. Realize they are waging a war over fuck all. Get those innocent people out of jail.
My thoughts exactly. Thankfully your comment has shown me that there are others like myself. Perhaps there's only the two of us but, it's a start.
The 12 steps is a suggested program of action, by taking those actions the persons thinking changes and he or she loses the desire, the obsession and craving to use whatever the drug is. It only works when a person is in a group of others in recovery and if the person is willing to take the action if the are forced or court mandated it wont work. Done correctly it does work
Wow just wow. Finally something that makes sense to me . Finally ......
"You never hear let's get high next week". Actually, that is exactly what I do, wait until the weekend. But then, I am not an addict.
This talk is very helpful in understanding addiction from the non-addicts standpoint. I don't think you can ever understand addiction completely if you aren't one, on the other hand, I don't think addicts fully appreciate the level of stress and energy drain it takes to deal with them, regardless if it is a disease or not!
What you are describing is an indication that you are not addicted.
Did you miss the fact that he was an addict? He is talking from an ex-addict point of view. Why comment on something like this when you have no idea of the context...
He is saying things I’ve been trying to say for the last year but is back by Science
Excellent! Bravo! Finally the solid truth and not manipulation for continued maintenance/profiteering schemes.
I believe addiction is a disease, however I also feel like addiction is a coping mechanism that worked for a while then stopped. The definition of disease does not actually say you are sick; it states that the function and structure of a person, animal, or plant has changed. Treatment programs do work; they use medicine during the detox phase, but once in the treatment phase all of the things you suggest are used. I should say they are used in a good program. I enjoy the lecture.
This gave me so much understanding of addiction. Excellent.
The disease model has been pounded at me [I am an addictionologist] but I could never explain why the treatment [i.e.,wanting to get better] could put "the disease" in remission. We don't tell cancer patients that they will get better if they want it bad enough.
3:00
Does the cancer patient refuse to show up for treatments or refuse to do what the doctor suggest?
The "want it bad enough" has a very low success rate. Most seriously addicted people very much want to quit. Many would give anything to stop.
The disease of alcoholism and addiction is not a model. Please tell me folks are not teaching it as a "model".
The disease explains the symptoms, why they need to be treated, and describes why they use drugs or alcohol differently than normal people.
@@TTTCWW I have always considered return to use formerly known as relapse to be non compliance with treatment recommendations. So I suppose one can construe the non-compliant diabetic or cancer patient in that light.
I don't blame my patient's for having this illness but I do hold them responsible for return to use and I do believe that is a choice. The thing that most puzzles me is that non-compliance with cancer patients for example is quite low and yet non-compliance rates with a substance use disorder appear to be pretty high. Maybe one day I will find the Holy Grail: a way to get my clients to be compliant with treatment recommendations.
@@astrodad656 the difference between "non-compliant cancer patients" and substance addicts, is that when the substance addict chooses "non-compliance", they are getting what is generally a euphoric feeling, a ceasing of the craving, and some time to forget about their problems. When a cancer patient chooses not to comply with treatment, does that give them a euphoric high? Do they crave not complying with treatment? Does non-compliance with treatment somehow allow them to forget all about their problems? Obviously not. This should have been obvious to you.
#1 rule. If you try to feel good all the time, with a legal script or illegal drugs, you will build up a tolerance and get addicted. I'm not preaching. I'm on legal opiates because of a bad accident. I am in daily pain. But If I take enough to be pain free all the time, my tolerance quickly builds and I'm on the path to addiction.
I've encountered Lewis' approach to beating addiction before… in Carr's "Only Way to Stop Smoking." Carr would go to great lengths to ridicule and dismiss the "disease" and "addiction" rhetoric, and encourage one to instead, be more attentive to one's own senses, empowerment and choices. Carr's "Only Way to Stop Smoking." is the worst book I ever read. Seriously. I got about a third of the way and stopped reading. But I also stopped smoking for 8 years!
I will seek out Marc Lewis book now. Good talk.
I don't believe in the disease model but I agree, carr's book was rubbish!
Carr's book is rubbish for a book, but it worked for me. I am no longer a smoker for two years. It's not a book you read for fun, it's a conversation
Great talk. Just one thing to clarify. 55:26 Baclofen is not a benzodiazepine as structurally does not have a diazepine ring fused with benzene ring (to be precise - does not have diazepine ring at all!) . Baclofen may be helpful in the short-term management of craving and withdrawal in patients with BZ, alcohol dependence. Thanks
Yeah... im not sure if bashing AA was the right thing to do either 🤔
@strooom546 it was. Its a flawed archaic system.
I'm in drug court now and the out come if I were to use would be a lot of years in prison and I've been a everyday several times a day meth user for years but now I'm clean and don't even think about it so I think mark is right and I would like to know how to become a part of his study
Same, but with opiates. We dont need it, only want it. Its a compusion that will slowly fade away. We are learning to reward from long term goals.
@@Josh-rn1em
You literally just described recovery
I am watching this for my Psycopharmacology class. I definitely agree that addiction is not a disease. It is a disorder that can be treated. I always say someone with diabetes cannot go to rehab and choose to quit diabetes.
The disease model is an allegory. They only call it a disease because it acts in a similar manner
Going to rehab doesn’t cure an addiction it only helps you manage it. Same concept applies to the lifestyle and medical changes that need to be made to manage diabetes
@@shav12
Nothing cures an addiction.
It's about arresting the disease and maintenance
@@bobbycecere1037 absolutely. That’s one of the hardest things for people to accept
There is always a choice….cancer is a disease, aids is a disease diabetes is a disease,addiction is not a disease it is a disorder. I realize the health industry is trying to push addiction as a disease but it is not one.
Very Informative talk. His effort to explain this complex topic is commendable. The profound psychological basis of addiction is clearly explained. The role of Mindfulness meditation (Vipassana) in alleviating addiction is scientifically proved and his emphasis on this is great 👍
Thank you so much for helping to dispel the widespread BS notion of the "disease model" in a really articulate and personal way.
In my opinion. Addiction is separate from the self. In the form of a Vasana (Separate from the Body? And is very difficult to eradicate...
Plus addiction also interferes with spiritual progression...
I find it interesting he unaware of Sinclair Method (for alcohol) that specifically addresses the 40+ week time period slide (earlier in lecture) for the brain to gain back (reconnect) self control. It specifically addresses alcohol as a brain skill (reward system) not a disease.
Like how kids will con their parents into rewarding them for another cookie without doing what was intended in the first place.
I don't think more studies or rhetoric is necessary.
Addiction is what you make of it.
Depression is an adverse side effect of oppression, primarily derived from economical abuse, but any of the forms of abuse will produce the same results.
Psychologists are looking for intrinsic evidence to support things which are caused by existential factors. They should stick to studying things instead of insisting their work is some kind of important science.
Psychometrics is just used by the government to socially engineer people for the sake of special interests. Economics, education, and politics also are not real sciences. They're just used for marketing purposes.
"Fundamentally people have a great misconception. Physical capital is not really very important. What's really important is human capital." -- Milton Friedman
About 8 minutes into his Tyranny of the Status Quo talk here:
ua-cam.com/video/N9yRdj4tjC4/v-deo.html
@@PreciousBoxer wowwwww everything alright?
Exactly. The Sinclair Method (TSM) uses medication (naltrexone) to block the reward from drinking alcohol, thereby helping you unlearn the addiction. Once you have unlearned the addiction, you don't have to take naltrexone anymore. The naltrexone wasn't correcting some pathological dysfunction in the brain (i.e. as the disease model would suppose); it was just an adjunct to help you return your alcohol-reward circuitry to its pre-addicted state.
Of course, TSM does not help with the underlying psychological pain that drove you to drink in the first place. But it does get you out of the hole so you can be relatively free of addiction while you work towards wholeness.
Really wish more addiction counselors and rehab facilities knew about TSM. They'll never accept it because it is not Abstinence Only. But it works! Rehab centers may prescribe naltrexone, but they don't use TSM; they follow the disease model, which says, "You have a problem with your brain. Here, take this medication every morning forever just like a diabetic takes insulin." But this just isn't how it works. Sinclair was a genius.
And it absolutely works.
This was awesome 😎-one of the best and most helpful videos I have ever seen. Just brought everything together in an unforgettable and neuroanatomic heuristic. I now fully understand all the other videos and what is wrong with many of them. If you don’t talk in an evolutionary sense about overcoming human limitations and obstacles then you really can’t be truly helpful. Because that’s the why and the how of everything. Literally everything. Thanks so much !!! 🙏🏻💖
I'm trying to get off of methadone right now!!! I am determined!! I hate being on it!!
I really want you to know I love your stuff. It’s great. Thank you for simplification and your thought process.
John
The addiction guy
"The density of connections is lost over time."
I'm a recovering addict from alcohol. Thankfully for me cognitive behavioral therapy completely made me recover. I sometimes get cravings and imagery and think damn it would be so nice to have a drink right now but my prefrontal cortex is strong enough and I can inhibit myself from doing it
The psychological mechanisms ARE dealt with in recovery. I'll grant you that not many treatment centers focus on that aspect of the disease, they instead approach it from the physical with behavior modification.
But anyone who's spent any time working a program of recovery, are most likely addressing the psychological component of addiction.
That's literally what the steps do. Their purpose is to rewire your brain. The founders of AA likely didn't think that. I'm sure they looked at it as addressing a spiritual malady, but the action plan they created definitely does address the psychological underpinnings that keep a person going back to substances over and over to cope with life.
This is the best video I have ever seen on addiction. ❤
Okay, this is a long comment and serves no purpose other than to express my views. That said, you have been warned. Read on if you're interested, don't if you're not.
First, I'll start by saying this is a very good video. His information is accurate and valuable. He explains complex concepts simply and clearly, and seems, to me as someone who is not a neuropsychologist, extremely well versed in his field. Interestingly, only four years prior to this video he scoffed at the idea of process addictions, so I'm glad he can change his views according to new information. The pity is that his information is so valuable, and he is so knowledgable, yet toward the end he comes off as a 12 step basher. Look, there are as many ways to get clean and sober as there are clean and sober people. There is no need to try to discredit other methods.
So he states that most 'addicts' quit on their own. I submit that those people are not 'addicts'. An addict, by definition, is someone who cannot, through their own willpower, stop using. This may reduce the number of 'addicts', but it should. Not everyone who suffers from the negative effects of a substance or process 'addiction' is an addict. The age old question has always been where do you draw the line between the heavy drinker and the alcoholic.
He then shows a clear lack of understanding about the concept of powerlessness, the fundamental principle behind 12 step recovery programs, when he goes on to answer the question, "How do we help addicts?". If addicts aren't powerless, why do they need help? He then says that addicts need to be empowered. Why, if they aren't powerless? Why seek help if an addict has the ability, the power, to stop? What difference does it make, then, if they are 'empowered' by a belief in a higher power, or if they do yoga? By admitting powerlessness over their addiction, the addict is empowered.
He also states that 12 step fellowships have a very low success rate, but there is only one study that I know of, since 12 step fellowships are anonymous, that addresses this directly. He doesn't say if this success rate is over a single episode, or lifelong, an important distinction in my opinion.
His thoughts on recovery are absolutely correct, but they are correct for him. His concepts, nevertheless, would fit nicely in a 12 step recovery program. I do agree that treatment programs should offer clients (not patients) alternatives to the 12 steps. The principles behind the 12 steps are very tempting therapeutically, thus it is very easy to fall back on them when the staff in most treatment centers are undertrained, underpaid, and the programs are underfunded.
Also, and finally, I hate his explanation for why he became an addict. Simply being a depressed kid who was bullied will not an addict make. Lots of kids who were depressed and bullied don't end up shooting dope. Lots of kids who had loving caring childhoods did. It's an oversimplification that just lends to the stigma of addiction.
Other than that I like him :)
No he's correct, 60% quit without ANY outside help, meetings, programs, jails, etc.
We are not told this because our culture & language are set up to keep us dependant, to not trust ourselves or believe that we are capable of knowing what we need. The recovery industry is a huge money maker.
What works for each of us is as different as our personalities. I'm just stoked there are lots of options for people to help themselves.
Agreed
Very civilized.
Thankyou for saveing me time 😂..i agree with all you said.. Bren sober for 15 years through AA..and I was NEVER told I could never drink again... DAY AT A TIME man!!! Cause our brains will kick against NEVER... Get informed.. Also AA tells you it's all only a suggestions NOT rules.. Addicts hate being told what to do.. An the god thing FFS... Don't get me started.. Of your own understanding!!!!.. Wish people would stop bashing and misquoting AA...or throwing out their own sick spin on it.. It is in essence cognitive restructuring...
Pete T I beg to differ with your opinion that the recovery industry is a huge moneymaker. My father was on the board of a very successful recovery center for about 15 years. They were always struggling to stay out of the red and eventually had to close their doors for going broke. Sadly I just recently (last week) heard that a popular rehab center filed for bankruptcy after treating thousands of clients successfully. What our culture needs with our opiate epidemic is to study what Portugal did when approximately 15 years ago 10% of their adult population were shooting heroin. They used a fantastic treatment modality that involved treatment vs punishment legalizing all drugs and putting all those resources into a “compassionate, connection building, treatment modality and followed up for a period of time with job training, housing, and continued monitoring. That being said - - they eliminated their drug abuse problem!
That's the most critical point of being in denial which is repeated behavior pattern. It only makes sense to people who carry it out. Especially if the masses continue to do it.
I think the problem with all of these different interpretations and approaches to addiction is that people latch onto one being right and the rest are wrong. Addiction fits the criteria of a disease, but it's not a disease in the sense that reinforced feedback loops of habitual behavior are a cause of addiction. Just like AA, when done as it was originally intended, isn't about disempowerment but rather dissolving the self gratifying ego centric sociopethy that becomes part of the addicts psyche. Approaching addiction with the restrictive discernment that Dr Gabor's Hungry Ghost theory is right and medicated assisted heroin therapy is wrong, disables people to the idea that all of these approaches enlightening us to the very complex and multifaceted truth of what addiction really is. It's a reinforced bundle of nerves sending signals creating ritual habits that may be predetermined to be worse through genetics, modeling behaviors of our caregivers from conception through childhood and our temperaments as our characters develope. Other factors can contribute like trauma and risk taking but even people who have the least contributing factors can still become treatment resistant addicts. Whether they think they are better than everyone else or they are the lowest of the low on earth, or everyone in their family does drugs or no living relative they know of does drugs is still just scratching the surface as to why the science and spiritual development are all valid reasons as to why addiction is the great chameleon of social, biological, spiritual, neurogical, medical, and cultural sicknesses that humans endure. Where Marc Lewis seems to have the most in common with spiritual based programs is that if the root of this affliction has more to do with habitual strengthening of the synaptic connections through pleasure and memory then trauma has much less to do with addiction. Trauma might lead to negative feelings that can exasperate wanting to feel better, but for an addict, you don't use everyday 5 times a day because something bad happened to you at some point in your life. You use because you've trained your brain and altered your neuro and bio chemistry as a result of repeated use. In Step programs anything bad or good, trauma or happiness, are excuses because at the end of the day you were going to use no matter what. Blaming use on anything other than your neurological state is trying to excuse the fact that you've lost the power to choose whether or not to use because your brain stem sends signals that taking that drug is as important as breathing and it's more important than just about anything else. So it's the culmination and combination of all this research and these approaches to addiction that give the most accurate depiction of what this disease, that's not exactly a disease, is.
34:46 - delayed gratification bookmark
Thank you for the presentation. It really has helped me understand some things.
Since he doesn't completely dismiss medical doctors, and spokespersons for the opposite of his thesis (disease theorists), it shows that he is indeed genuinely interested in helping addicts, and nothing else. Many authors just want to sell their book/propaganda.
"Drugs don't cause addiction..." (trauma does mainly) - Dr Gabor Mate has been saying that for decades.
I dont know if anyone has done research on the blind and addiction. The reason I ask is that the feedback loops seem to triggered by visual stimuli. What happens when visual stimuli is not present, are addiction rates lower?
It does not have to be visual. After all, perceptual experience does not solely consist of visual sensation.
It's a great question. I would be inclined to believe that you are right but I have no proof. Blind people may in fact be less prone to several sorts of addictions because the visual stimuli is very potent in most humans
Blind people seem to report that their other senses get more intense to compensate and it makes sense that the brain would adapt in that way. I suppose for certain things like porn, there is clearly a difference in the addictive power for blind people, but for drugs I wonder if the smell or feel of drugs and drug paraphernalia might add up to the same addictiveness as for sighted people.
Perhaps body memory triggers triggered by association with substance- be it by smell, touch, sound ...any other cueing.
In the first three minutes of the lecture, conflating the influence of Twelve Step Programs on Science ("these two strange bedfellows") he cites the National Institute on Drug Addiction's assertion that "the disease is produced by chronic administration of the drugs themselves".
NIDA is not a branch of the Twelve Step philosophy, and clearly is not reflecting the principles of AA when it made this statement, which he quotes. According to the principles of AA, chronic drinking or drug abuse is a symptom of the psychological disease that precedes the organic damage done by alcohol and other drugs.
The disease is characterized by behavioral and cognitive patterns that can be modified. It is this treatment that initiates a process of recovery. In much the same way that a stroke patient may regain faculties of cognition, speech and movement even after irreparable damage to specific brain tissue by relying on the plasticity of the nervous system in rerouting stimulation and regrowing neural connections, the recovery from the effects of alcoholism and drug abuse depends upon rigorous practice and abstinence from further use of drugs and alcohol.
Thus, it is not the drugs that cause the addiction, it is the chronic use of drugs that inevitably cause organic damage to the brain structure. The disease (which he terms a "skill") is the cause of the compulsive behavior that leads to that use.
The next serious misapprehension about Twelve Step programs is revealed following his discussion of the Now Trials around 39:00, when he describes the "perfect experiment" designed to demonstrate the concept of Ego Fatigue. He makes a point that the cognitive dissonance of being faced to choose between a bowl of cookies and a bowl of radishes is analagous to addiction because, "You can't keep trying not to do something". The Twelve Step program does not consist of an endless effort to keep trying to do something. It is based upon inner reflection, on a wider context of perception to those impulses affecting one's behavior, deliberate action in service of those who are struggling to gain this balance in their own lives.
In other words the effort of recovery is based upon other choices beyond the simplistic and unimaginative one of cookies and radishes, or drugs and hard reality. In its "perfection" Science often simplifies at the expense of comprehension.
Addicts are aware of the cravings growing constantly once the thought is in your mind - extremely hard to control. Would it be possible to prescribe some xanax-like pills to reduce the physical manifestation of the temptation (rapid heartbeat etc) or to just put you to sleep before you know it escalates to a level you can’t control and give in?
Maybe I've never been a true addict, but I used to plan ahead for months with my buddies to get completely trashed. And I used to save up cash every week so I could score when I had enough cash. I don't do any of those things now, I just kinda gave it up because I had to and now I don't have any connections! Which is kind of a downer... 🤣
I have not suffered from addiction as a result of abuse, poverty, social isolation, and trauma. Not that it has done me any good.
Imo, Nora Volkow is the GOAT in the neuroscience of addiction business.
This is an interesting talk show about drug abuse, amazing !
Thank you for your work and book and speaking out .
Great talk. Thank you, sir!
This was the most empowering ever! Thank you:)
Stellar audio quality, again. ASMR as you don't want it. (That goes to the audio guy or the person who decided an audio guy was not necessary)
Great talk. Could it be that imagining, daydreaming, fantasizing (whatever you want to call it) in and of itself could be addictive? As I understand it, imagining plays a role in the release of dopamine into the brain, so it´s just logical to see it as a potentially addictive behaviour.
Thank you so much Sir! It helps me a lot. People treated me with the brain decease model but didn't work.
Great work Marc.
Nora Volkow(a) (changed to Volkow) should learn from you.
Learned a lot from this lecture!
Wonderful explanation! So to overcome we basically want to strengthen the connection between the Prefrontal Cortex and the Striatum. Does anyone have any references (videos, books, links) to therapy that focuses on this idea?
How ever what about the physical allergy, the abnormally physically high tolerance. A nonalcoholic can seldom drink as much as an alcoholic. They will become
sick or pass out. How do you explain that?
Tolerance levels
Awesome perspective
Focus on the person you would like to become and the life you want to have, rather than what you "don't want."
13:25 Synaptic growing and synaptic pruning
Most people are addicted to something. Money, materials, pleasure, drugs, power, control, information, knowledge, relief, happiness. Saying that everyone in the world has or has had a disease kind of ruins the idea of what a disease is suppose to be. What do you mean by disease?
Consider this though. Most addicts are addicts because they suffer from a neurological "issue." Something is making them uncomfortable, and usually it involves malfunction of the neurotransmitter being stimulated with the drug of choice. So then, if the consequences of NOT using ALSO expose the individual to harmful consequences, when the harmful consequences of drug seeking and use are often not because of the drug itself, but instead the SOCIAL consequences of seeking and using.. then what? Is it then society and its response to addiction that is the disease?
In my opinion, people who have never been addicted to hard drugs (hard drugs=not marijuana) are not qualified to speak on the subject as an authoritative source.
What a marvelous and addictive lecture ! Really informative and engaging.
Very interesting, bought the book.
I don't know where those numbers come from saying addiction is self-limiting, but they are bs. MOST people die of addiction, they do not recover, and without a recovery program the deaths are much higher.
Also alcohol is far more medically involved with withdrawals than opiates and it’s important to address the medical impacts of what’s happening with the body and brain in other to prevent death. Not all medical concerns can be chronic and can be reversed with lifestyle change. Also my understanding is that Baclofen is not a benzodiazepine.