Summary of Dr. Harold C. Urschel, III's Healing the Addicted Brain

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The success rate for addiction treatment is currently only 20 to 30 percent. That means that 70 to 80 percent of the participants in any given addiction treatment program will not be successful.
#2 Addiction is a serious brain disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. The shocking statistics say it all: 45-year-old Simon, a high-level chemist at a Dallas-based manufacturer, was referred to me by a drug court judge when he was charged with his second DWI and facing a ten-year prison sentence. His life was in shambles.
#3 The two main myths about addiction are that it is a personality disease, and that it is untreatable. However, these two fallacies have put a stranglehold on the development of effective new therapies for addiction for years.
#4 The current ways of treating addiction are failing. We need a new approach that will do for the treatment of addiction what insulin did for diabetes, Prozac did for depression, and Viagra did for erectile dysfunction.

Sujets

• General
• Addictions
• Self-help
• General officer
• Substance Abuse

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 11 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822505988
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Dr. Harold C. Urschel, III's Healing the Addicted Brain
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The success rate for addiction treatment is currently only 20 to 30 percent. That means that 70 to 80 percent of the participants in any given addiction treatment program will not be successful.

#2

Addiction is a serious brain disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. The shocking statistics say it all: 45-year-old Simon, a high-level chemist at a Dallas-based manufacturer, was referred to me by a drug court judge when he was charged with his second DWI and facing a ten-year prison sentence. His life was in shambles.

#3

The two main myths about addiction are that it is a personality disease, and that it is untreatable. However, these two fallacies have put a stranglehold on the development of effective new therapies for addiction for years.

#4

The current ways of treating addiction are failing. We need a new approach that will do for the treatment of addiction what insulin did for diabetes, Prozac did for depression, and Viagra did for erectile dysfunction.

#5

There are certain risk factors that make one person more susceptible to addiction than another. These include genetics, emotional state, psychological factors, social and cultural factors, and age.

#6

The brain, when functioning properly, is able to process information and make decisions. When it is damaged from alcohol or drug use, it can become difficult for the person to understand why getting blitzed all the time is dangerous and why they should pay attention to things like work, family, and health.

#7

The brain’s communication system is very complex, and it depends on the right kinds and amounts of chemical messengers being secreted by the speaking cells at the right times. If any of these things goes wrong, the brain’s communication system can be disrupted.

#8

The brain is highly complex, and alcohol damages it, throwing a wrench in the brain’s internal communications. It is difficult for an alcoholic to ignore the bad messages and hear the good ones.

#9

The disease of addiction damages the brain, just as the disease of hypertension damages the arteries and the disease of diabetes damages the kidneys. The I’ve got to have it! messages fade with time, and the brain does repair itself. But it takes a long time to restore it to its original, sober state.

#10

The brain is damaged by alcohol, just like it is damaged by other chronic diseases. The pictures above show some of the physical damage to the brain that’s caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

#11

Addiction is a disease that takes a long time to develop and long to repair. It is a very powerful, life-threatening illness that can befall anyone.

#12

The length of the repair process for the disease of addiction depends on many factors, including the substances that were abused, the length of use, the extent of the abuse, and the individual’s genetic and biochemical makeup. It takes at least four to twelve months of complete sobriety before significant brain repair is achieved.

#13

The primary treatment for addicts in inpatient and outpatient programs has been a combination of detoxification, some form of talking therapy, and 12-step referrals. However, it is difficult for addicts to listen to and understand the therapy, and their emotional drive to get high remains intact.

#14

Addiction is treatable, but many addicts relapse early in the recovery process because they cannot get what their well-intentioned counselors want them to understand.

#15

The new anti-addiction medications help correct imbalances in dopamine and other essential neurotransmitters, and they accelerate healing of the physical damage in both the limbic region and the cortex. Once this damage has begun to heal, a person with addictions will find it much easier to learn, remember, and focus on the suggested cognitive and behavioral changes used in talking therapy.

#16

The anti-addiction program detailed on the EnterHealth. com website, which is based on the results of the latest research on clinical addiction treatment, offers ongoing personalized addiction education and treatment for people at any stage of recovery.

#17

Addiction is a chronic medical illness that attacks the brain, damaging key parts of the cerebral cortex and limbic system. With standard traditional treatment, the chance of recovering from addiction and maintaining that recovery is 20 to 30 percent. With the new Recovery Science approach to treatment, the chance of recovering from addiction and maintaining that recovery can approach 90 percent.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

People with addictions often have certain ideas about their substance of abuse, themselves, and the world around them that are fundamentally incorrect. These thoughts are called thought distortions.

#2

The brain of an addict is constantly battling between pro-addiction thoughts and pro-recovery thoughts. This makes it difficult for addicts to stay focused on recovery.

#3

As you get sober, your thinking will begin to clear up. But getting back to normal thinking won’t simply be a matter of waiting until the last remnants of alcohol or drugs have cleared from your brain, for the physical damage they caused may never be completely healed.

#4

To think clearly, you must understand the nature of thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and how they affect each other. Emotions are feelings like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, or longing. Behavior is the sum total of your actions.

#5

You can control your thoughts, and they may be stuck in a situation, but you can control the negative emotions that come from them. If you stop the pro-addiction behaviors, you can stop the anxiety and the negative emotions.

#6

When you have inaccurate, pro-addiction thoughts, such as I can’t get through this without alcohol or drugs, you experience negative emotions that can push you into drinking or using behaviors.

#7

Until you realize that you have such thoughts, you can’t start to change them. Addiction thrives on inaccurate, pro-addiction thoughts, which means it’s practically inevitable that you’ll experience fearful emotions and harmful behavior.

#8

To learn how your thoughts affect your feelings and behaviors, you must get into the habit of writing down your thoughts on a regular basis.