The Addicted Mind Podcast

We have to work and deal with our internal and early trauma. This can be more difficult to see and process without a reliable, trustworthy “other” in our lives. Sometimes it even takes an expert who can walk us through that journey in order for us to get to that safe space for healing and recovery.Today, Duane talks with Andrew Susskind about his book, It's Not About the Sex: Moving from Isolation to Intimacy after Sexual Addiction. They go into depth about attachment, emotional regulation, the need for reliable people to heal your traumatic wounds, and how we can do that when we're in recovery and still struggling with internal chaos.  Andrew is a licensed clinical social worker, a Somatic Experiencing practitioner, a Brainspotting practitioner, and a certified group psychotherapist. The book is Andrew's passion project where he wrote about themes that have been on his mind for three decades now. Since then, so much has changed in the mental health field as well as the addiction and trauma world. Andrew’s book reflects many of those changes. Andrew not only leans on the experiences of his clients but on his personal experience as well. In 1994, Andrew went to his first SCA meeting, which stands for Sexual Compulsives Anonymous. In the therapy room, he noticed that people were learning how to stop their addictive behaviors. However, that's just the starting gate. His book covers some themes and different areas of healing that can happen beyond stopping destructive behavior.In this episode, you will hear: Somatic Experiencing and Brainspotting The mechanism behind our nervous system regulation The concept of upregulation vs. downregulation Why it’s not just about sex Having reliable relationships as a platform for healing Key Quotes:[06:57] - “Somatic Experiencing and Brainspotting are both trauma healing modalities that focus on Nervous System regulation.”[07:40] - “One of the keys to regulating the nervous system is knowing when we're dysregulated.”[08:29] - “Someone who feels most comfortable in their skin feels calm, peaceful, grounded, and hopefully feels resourceful, resilient, and buoyant.”[11:51] - “Even though it looks like compulsive sexual behavior, on the surface, once we scratch the surface, it's really about broken-heartedness.”[14:20] - “When someone is trying to regulate themselves, it's actually an attempt to feel better.”[17:49] - “If you scratch the surface on anyone who's sexually compulsive, you're going to find some kind of avoidant attachment within that.”[23:08] - “If we're connected within and to one another, and to something greater than ourselves, that's going to create a platform for healing.”Subscribe and ReviewHave you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.westsidetherapist.comIt's Not About the Sex: Moving from Isolation to Intimacy after Sexual Addiction by Andrew Susskind www.Brainspotting.com  Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patients with substance use disorder have every right to be pregnant and have children as much as anyone else. Some people look at it as being irresponsible but who are we to judge? In fact, our guest today explains how certain medications for substance use disorders could have played a part in improving the hormonal milieu of patients enough that a pregnancy might occur.On this episode, Duane speaks with Dr. Charles Schauberger, an OB/GYN and Addiction Medicine doctor who specializes in helping women who are struggling with substance use disorder go through pregnancy. This is an issue that doesn't get talked about or thought about a lot unless someone is in this situation. A strong advocate for addiction treatment and compassionate care, Charles shares his story of getting into this specialty and how women dealing with substance use disorder can have a very healthy and successful pregnancy if they’re given the right support. His motivation for helping these women comes from recognizing the discrimination against this group of underserved people who have limited resources, not to mention the stigma associated with their drug use which makes their pregnancy even harder.  Charles started practicing as an obstetrician in 1982 and has delivered about 5,000 babies over the course of his career. In 2008, he experienced burnout, left his clinical practice, and became a hospital administrator. After two and a half years, he went back into practice again because he missed patient contact.In this episode, you will hear: Charles’ journey into medicine Some myths around pregnancy and substance use The stigmas that pregnant women struggling with substance abuse have Using MAT during pregnancy The real treatment for recovery Key Quotes:[08:06] - “Patients who have substance use disorder, have every right to be pregnant and have children as much as anyone else.”[10:28] - "I do suggest patients are better off if they are stable in their treatment and recovery before achieving a pregnancy. But I never talk down to anyone who gets pregnant while they're still actively using."[11:53] - "There are a lot of women who fear that their babies are going to be taken away from them."[13:31] - “I've never seen a baby with that severe of withdrawal symptoms. If they have received care, and are carefully monitored, their babies will not suffer.”[14:15] - “There have been theories that acute withdrawal from heroin or other opioids might be associated with greater risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. But for the most part, that's probably not the case.”[14:58] - “A dead mother leads to a dead baby so we really want to emphasize the importance of the use of those medications.”[15:57] - "Alcohol is particularly a bad drug when we think of the effects of alcohol on developing fetuses and newborns. The fetal alcohol syndrome is a significant concern."[19:30] - "Getting a decent job, or, and building relationships with people that are in recovery, clearing up your legal issues so that you can put that behind you – those are the things that build recovery and are so important to people with substance use disorder."[34:37] - "If they can seek help early in pregnancy, we have a better chance to help them through some of the difficulties and make for a successful and safe pregnancy."Supporting Resources:Women and Substance Use Disorders Action Group of the American Society of Addiction MedicineEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when your pain is greater than your fears? On this episode, Duane speaks with Recovery Pastor Craig Brown and author of the book, Stop Hiding, Start Healing. Craig shares his recovery journey coming out of an abusive, dysfunctional family and how he peeled off the layers of his pain, shame, and guilt, and finally found freedom again once he decided to surrender and give his life over to Christ-centered recovery. One of the striking things Craig also mentioned during this interview is that people think recovery is about addiction and about the drug addict, but recovery is about restoring souls. Growing up, Craig was feeling the pressure of having a dad who was a pastor, being in an environment where they were forced to fake it so his dad would look good in public. But the man he saw standing in the pulpit was entirely different than the one he saw at home. He had a lot of demons within him as well as a lot of struggles that he took out on Craig and his siblings.So at a very young age, Craig had to learn some coping mechanisms to deal with what he was going through. He didn't have good nurturing nor did he have any emotional, mental, or spiritual development. Once he got to high school, he started drinking. He felt a huge void and he wanted to get away from God and his family. From there, he began his descent to what he calls the pit of hell. He was partying everywhere and had no self-control. He felt totally isolated and didn’t have anybody he could talk to and trust. He just didn’t feel safe. His streak of unfortunate events continued on as he dropped out of college and took a job at a bar restaurant owned by the biggest cocaine dealer on the East Coast at the time. There, he got sucked up into the drug world. He was depressed and dark with no mission or vision until the pain in his life got greater than his fear of changing. It was then that he finally decided to surrender and God took over his life. From that surrender came freedom.In this episode, you will hear: Craig’s addiction and recovery journey The conscious decision to get well Shattering the bondage of shame and guilt Why the Bible is a blueprint for recovery Replacing negative self-talk with positive input The role of community in recovery Key Quotes:[06:28] - "Oftentimes, we take on the identity of our struggle, our pain. our shame. our guilt, failure."[07:09] - “When the pain is greater than my fear of changing, my fear of shame, my fear of embarrassment, when you're at that point, more often than not, you're going to do whatever it takes to get well.”[13:00] - “People have so many resources available to get well. But the shame of their past is debilitating.”[13:49] - “That shame and that guilt that is just keeping you in bondage. Let it be cracked and shattered, so you can be set free and begin healing.”[14:31] - “Of all places that people should be accepted. It's the church. And oftentimes that's not the case, unfortunately.”[15:56] - “If you've had adverse childhood events and painful events, you're going to find a way to cope, and you're more likely to turn to a substance, or pornography, or sex or food or whatever it is to make yourself feel medicated.”[18:31] - “Churches that teach practical application of Scripture, do extremely well in helping people fully understand how it applies to their situation.”[23:26] - "Whatever your community is, it has to be healthy, it has to be relational."Supporting Resources:Book: www.stophidingstarthealingbook.com  Website: www.craigdbrown.com Facebook: Stop Hiding Start HealingEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Addictions are many things. But to simplify, they represent parts of our personalities that are out of balance. They represent a part of our body, mind, soul, or spirit that needs a lot of attention and that perhaps was neglected in childhood. As we continue using external substances, these imbalances get louder and louder until they have to be dealt with. Eventually, we get stuck in a cycle of shame and guilt that leads to hopelessness.On this episode, Duane speaks with Paul Churchill, the host and founder of Recovery Elevator. In 2015, Paul launched the podcast, which he thought was a risky move having only been six months sober from alcohol. It was a calculated gamble that actually saved his life. Now, it has opened a lot of doors for him to meet great people and impact other people’s lives.Paul was a normal drinker for about seven years since he was 15 years old. Soon, he found how the drug alcohol let him overcome his insecurities and fears in early childhood. At 22, after he graduated college, he moved to Granada, Spain and bought a bar. Moving to a foreign country with a drinking problem to buy a bar in Spain at a young age was a total dumpster fire. It was both the best time and the worst time of his life.The tipping point came at the very end when he blacked out for three straight days and realized he was tiptoeing around life and death. In 2010, he decided to go a month without alcohol and ended up going two and a half years without it. He was going forward on willpower. When you’re viewing life without alcohol as a sacrifice, your time is limited. So he went back to drinking, stopped again, and then went back to alcohol again. It was a cycle that gave him a sense of hopelessness to the point of him attempting suicide. In 2014, he finally surrendered and stopped fighting.Now, here he is – seven years later. He believes his addiction served a purpose that directed him to move forward in life without alcohol and to go internal instead of external for happiness and support.In this episode, you will hear: Paul’s addiction and recovery journey Being stuck in a cycle of shame and hopelessness How Paul was finding habits or distractions as part of his recovery Addiction as an adaptive behavior The endowment theory that forces us to connect  Ending the stigma of addiction itself and getting help for it Overcoming addiction through community and accountability Key Quotes:[03:13] - “Addictions are many things. But to simplify them, they represent parts of our personalities that are out of balance.”[04:16] - “Alcohol was a self medicating elixir in it. It worked wonders. The problem was it wasn't sustainable.”[07:11] - “It's a real dangerous cycle that we can get on where we have intense anxiety, alcohol relieves it. And then when alcohol goes away, there's more anxiety.”[10:18] - “Hope is constantly looking into the future for a better world, and that's a trap in itself.”[10:23] - “When you have lost all hope, and you really come crashing down into the present moment, that's where the bulk of the recovery work happens in this present moment.”[14:50] - “A lot of these addictions, especially in modern society, they're adaptive behaviors.”[19:40] - “Overall human beings, they're wired to help. And most human beings are really good people.”[23:08] - “It is a societal issue. And it's not the issue for just the addict or the alcoholic. And it's not even really their fault. A lot of this is generational and passed down.”[24:06] - “How to depart from addiction is complicated... but it can also be as simple as community and accountability.”Supporting Resources:https://www.recoveryelevator.com/ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr. Gabor Maté  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we are in deep pain or we have these hardships in our life, we have to learn how to transmute them and turn them into something different – not just overcoming it. As for KL Wells, she decided to transmute her pain into service by helping others whose loved ones are struggling with addiction.KL is a businesswoman and she has a 30-year-old son who is a recovering addict. Through the course of her life, she has lived the generational story around addiction, not struggling with addiction herself, but being able to see addiction from a different perspective. Her mom was addicted to prescription medications, which was something popular back in those days. Then she had a brother who was addicted to cocaine. She married an alcoholic and divorced, and had her son out of that marriage. She subsequently remarried a recovering alcoholic of 28 years. Seeing her son being arrested at gunpoint and who was yelling at her to save him was a very traumatic experience for her. In that moment, every dream she had for him shattered. Her heart broke, but in that "cracking open," she also knew it was meant to happen for her, fully aware that you have to give yourself permission to completely dissolve, and let the emotions work through you. Hearing KL’s story, there's so much resilience flowing through her. When you have a child who is suffering from a disease that could kill him or her, it has a catalytic impact on us, as parents, like nothing else can. She knew she had to put this down in a way that she can help other people because it's incredibly painful to witness the people you love in so much suffering.Today, KL talks about her project, Voices InCourage, a community that provides that space where you actually feel heard on a multitude of layers and levels, and that people get you because they've walked that path. Then you can be raw and real, and transmute it for yourself so it serves your journey.  In this episode, you will hear: KL’s journey as the loved one of different addicts The two major questions from which Voices InCourage was born out of The two life-defining moments for KL Transmuting your challenges instead of overcoming them Embracing our traumas and grief Key Quotes:[06:56] - “Pain pushes until vision pulls.”[08:36] - "When you have a child who is suffering with the disease that could kill him or her, it has a catalytic impact on us as parents, like nothing else can."[12:17] - “You have to give yourself permission to completely dissolve, and let the emotions work through you.”[14:53] - “In the midst of COVID, with all the numbers just skyrocketing in terms of overdoses and relapses, addiction going up, alcoholism going up, and abuse going up… We're in a pandemic of proportions we've never seen before.”[16:59] - “We are on the planet to serve. All of our life experiences are building blocks to service.”[18:26] - “We're human beings, and we have a full component of emotions and sadness and grief are part of life.”[25:37] - "95% of our success or failure is predicated on the community that we surround ourselves with."[26:46] - "One of the top human needs is to be heard and we're not trained to do this as a society, as a culture, as a world."Supporting Resources:https://voicesincourage.com/Man's Search for Meaning Book by Viktor FranklEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For most people who get into recovery, at some point, food and sugar become an issue in their life. It serves as a secondary feel-good mechanism when they're not feeling great. But why is sugar so appealing? Why do some people struggle so much with it that it causes problems in their life? On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane speaks with Mike Collins about the science behind sugar addiction and how it negatively impacts people in recovery. When Mike got sober, he went right back to sugar in massive amounts and a lot of people in recovery do that. Completely sugar-free for over 30 years now, Mike is the Chairman of the Board of a Food Addiction Institute that helps raise awareness about processed food and sugar worldwide. He is the founder of SugarAddiction.com which has been helping thousands successfully quit sugar for over nine years.Mike talks about the concept of an emotional management system where we are literally managing our emotions with a ubiquitous, almost free product that's available anywhere. Some people may stop for 30 days. But they revert back to their emotional management system, which has been co-opted by sugar. There are two major things here. First is how the food industry has weaponized this knowledge of the neurological workings of our brain – sugar being the gateway drug. It has that long shelf life so it's cheap to manufacture. And once they get you kind of addicted to it, they keep selling it to you. It's not just food, it's a mood changer.Mike shares his own story of how sugar impacted his own life when he started recovery, the impact of sugar addiction, and how to work through that process and get away from sugar addiction. In this episode, you will hear: Why sugar is the original gateway drug The science behind sugar addiction Why people are struggling with sugar addiction Sugar as a cultural norm Understanding the emotional management system The epidemic of overweight children and the real problem that’s causing it Key Quotes:[02:59] - “A group of people who are in recovery from drugs and alcohol have struggled with sugar.”[05:46] - “The nucleus accumbens, the dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, adrenal glands, oxytocin, even your endorphins – all these things are affected by sugar.”[07:32] - “We are literally managing our emotions with a ubiquitous, almost free product that's available anywhere.”[08:53] - “We have to separate hyper palatable foods and sugar from real food."[11:32] - “When you stop eating these refined carbohydrates and processed foods, even the gut biome has to start to shift and change and adapt to not having this product in the body.”[18:17] - “When you're consuming a large amount of sugar, your body is putting this hormone out that drives your behavior. Until you shift that, it becomes really hard to even stop the process.”[20:55] - “People fall back to the old emotional management system when something difficult comes up.”[35:13] - “We have an epidemic of overweight children, and they're not out shopping for food.”[36:19] - "The concept of calories needs to be destroyed. It's a ridiculous construct." Supporting Resources:www.sugaraddiction.comHooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions by Michael Mosshttps://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Food-Giants-Exploit-Addictions/dp/0812997298Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine by Robert H Lustighttps://www.amazon.com/Metabolical-Processed-Nutrition-Modern-Medicine/dp/0063027712 Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Being in the restaurant industry, serving alcohol is such a big part of it. It’s intended to create an experience, just like the food, music, and the interior of the space. But if you're struggling with alcohol or drugs, it would be such a hard industry to be in because you're going to be around those all the time. In fact, about 17% to 24% of restaurant workers around the country have issues with alcohol and drugs. And that’s because it’s the only industry where drinking and drugging have become the norm. They’ve created that kind of atmosphere where it's widely accepted and readily available. Our guest today is Mickey Bakst, the co-founder of Ben’s Friends, a recovery community dedicated to helping struggling addicts in the food and beverage industry find sobriety and seek recovery and support – without having to give up their lives and their careers. At the forefront of what they do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in. Active since 2016, Ben’s Friends is a safe space to talk about it knowing that they will not be judged.In the treatment of all kinds of addictions, when people can talk about it and connect with others, and they can feel heard and understood – that's when change happens.38 years sober now, Mickey was found in a hotel room after four days of drugging and drinking and ended up at the emergency room table. Because of his addiction, he also ended up losing his restaurant business, his home, and anybody who cared about him. Now at 69 years old, Mickey continues to live out his passion for helping individuals in the F&B industry who are struggling with addiction and he sets an example for those seeking sobriety. On this episode, Mickey shares a little bit of his own story, some of the unique struggles that come with working in the restaurant community, and why Ben’s Friends can be so helpful for someone in the restaurant industry who’s struggling with alcohol and substance abuse.In this episode, you will hear: His struggles at AA The parts of AA that resonated with Mickey the most How Ben’s Friends started Why the restaurant industry is prone to alcohol and drug addiction How Ben’s Friends is able to create a strong community within their industry  Key Quotes:[08:29] - Nothing happened for me until I made a decision that for me, I wanted to live and I knew I couldn't live the way I was.[14:03] - "Anywhere from 17 to 24% of restaurant workers around the country are having issues with alcohol and drugs."[15:39] - "We're the only industry where drinking and drugging is the norm. It's accepted."[18:14] - "At the forefront of what we do is creating a community of people who not only understand the addiction, but understand the life that the F&B workers live in."[26:18] - "Once you make a decision, and that decision flows through your being that you can no longer drink if you want to live the life you want to live."[26:35] - "Ben's Friends gives people who are struggling with that obstacle a place to talk about it where they're not judged." If you really enjoyed this episode, we’ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com to download it.Supporting Resources:www.bensfriendshope.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/bensfriendsnationalFacebook: www.facebook.com/bensfriendsnational Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mindfulness – everybody hears about it and they have all kinds of ideas of what mindfulness is. A lot of times, they think it's this really complicated thing and that you have to do the whole kung fu thing to be mindful. But you don't have to.On today’s episode, Duane carries an inspiring conversation with Janet Fouts, the author of Microdosed Mindfulness. Janet devolved into depression when her partner was diagnosed with cancer. She found it hard to handle things well, considering how she had to take care of her partner while also running her business. As her way of numbing the pain, she began to drink a lot and tried a few drugs. She found it hard to get out of it but she knew she had to stop.She ended up going to a mindfulness-based stress reduction course, a weekend retreat that blew her mind and led her to learn about mindfulness and dive deep into studying, quitting her job, and becoming a teacher.Janet identifies self-judgment as the biggest hurdle of a person’s mindfulness journey. When you stop to recognize that judgment, you begin to back away and get centered.Recognize that it's okay to come back to it. That's part of the process. So don't be hard on yourself if you didn't get to meditate today. All you need are microdoses, moments to start living mindfully instead of practicing mindfulness.Once mindfulness dawns on you, you realize it’s just about being aware. And when you're aware of the fact that you're not aware, you switch back to being aware again. It’s such a simple concept but it can take a long time for some people to get there.When you're in emotional suffering and a lot of pain, your body's telling you that you've got to get out and do something to stop the pain. It may tell you to do so by using drugs, for instance. In those times, sitting with mindfulness can be really challenging, even if it's just 10 seconds. But it can be done!In this episode, you will hear: How mindfulness came into Janet’s life What awareness means How to get started with practicing mindfulness What it means when you normalize something How mindfulness shifts your perspective The biggest hurdle of starting a mindfulness journey Why you also need to celebrate Key Quotes:[02:45] - "I was convinced that if I just learned to meditate that everything would start to move slower, and I would be able to manage my life and everything would be wonderful."[05:34] - “It's really so simple when it dawns on you that all mindfulness is simply being aware.”[06:08] - “Another word I like to use is ‘notice’ - and that’s the simplest version of awareness.”[08:53] - “When we're aware, and when we're paying attention, we're such better human beings.”[15:39] - "We just need the microdoses. We just need the moments and pretty soon, we start living mindfully, instead of practicing mindfulness."[18:10] - “There's tons of maladaptive behaviors that we can get into if we want to. But sometimes you really just have to go, ‘Wow,’ this really hurts.”[21:08] - "We can actually retrain our brain to be happier, to have more joy simply by recognizing joy more often."Supporting Resources:www.microdosedmindfulness.com Microdosed Mindfulness book: www.microdosedmindfulness.com/#e-book Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest today is AdaPia d'Errico and she is going to talk about intuition and paying attention to our authentic self. Her book is titled Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtle. Often, our intuition and our authentic self can be very subtle and difficult to pay attention to, especially if we've struggled with trauma and hardship. AdaPia is really passionate about her work, sharing her story, and sharing her wisdom. Her StoryAdaPia was at a point in her life where she was so completely lost and essentially went through a spiritual crisis. Everything she knew how to do was not working. She completely lost her marbles. She didn't have anybody to talk to. She was prejudging herself before even going into something new. What life or the universe or God delivered to her was just failure. Her whole identity fell apart and, in that process, she realized it wasn't actually failure; it was a different door she had to go through to get clarity and trust herself.Her book comes out of her last few years of getting that clarity and discovering how intuitive she is, how intuitive we all are, and how to use that intuition intentionally. We all have intuition. Sometimes we use it and it works but we don't understand it. Other times we don't listen to it at all.If we've had trauma or hardship, especially early childhood trauma, listening to intuition can be difficult. In some ways, it doesn't even seem like it's there.We've all had different levels and types of trauma. What connects all of us as humans is trauma. The conditioning and stories we grew up with as well as being told who we should be and how to please were all essentially traumatic.In this episode, you will hear: How trauma connects all humans What the intuitive space is How we're neurologically biologically hardwired for intuition Ways of understanding our intuition Why it’s so hard to let go of a thought This takes work and energy! Key Quotes:[04:30] - "We've all had different levels and types of trauma, and what connects all of us as humans is trauma because we've all had it."[05:49] - “You just know. You're not believing something, you're not listening to a voice, it's not a voice, it's a knowing. And that is inherently tied to intuition.”[07:02] - "It's super important to get the left brain on board to really understand instead of blindly believing, because blind belief isn't going to get us anywhere."[07:40] - “There's all these different mechanisms inside of us that are ways of moving inward instead of outward.”[08:26] - “Noticing our own pattern starts to bring us inward because we're focusing on ourselves instead of on somebody else or on an outside object.”[10:30] - “That emotional, energetic charge lives in our body, which is why so much somatic work is really important to help us release the stories and release the thought.”Supporting Resources:Productive Intuition: Connecting To The Subtlewww.adapiaderrico.com/ Episode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why is addiction so hard to control? Does that mean addiction can’t be treated? On today’s episode of The Addicted Mind Podcast, Duane talks to Dr. Paul Kaloostian. Dr. Paul Kaloostian is a neurosurgeon in Los Angeles as well as an author. His books include The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients and two different poetry books, From The Eyes Of A Doctor and My Surgical Cases Told In Poems.As a neurosurgeon for 17 years now, Dr. Kaloostian has dealt with thousands of cases of people with neurological conditions. Seeing the need for awareness of mental health, he took a poetic approach to his books to make it easier for the world to understand what it’s like for patients who are going through neurological conditions, some of which are caused or aggravated by addiction. On today's episode, he talks about the brain, his patients, and why we do some of the things we do even when we don't necessarily want to do them. No one wants to be addicted. But the brain is such a powerful organ that what our brains decide to do is what we do. We don't really have that much control. That’s why addiction is a hard problem to fight and beat. The brain is a powerful organ so once it gets stimulated, it's difficult to change. It takes work and energy – but it's not impossible. Because of Paul's compassion for his clients and his appreciation for the vulnerability of his clients to come and seek help, this is an episode you need to listen to. While you may not fully understand what people with neurological conditions are going through until you’ve gone through the same experience, having the ability to understand these concepts today is a good way to start to develop empathy.In this episode, you will hear: What drew Paul to neurosurgery Why he took a medical poetic approach in writing his books The need to show empathy to these patients How the brain is linked to addiction Areas of the brain responsible for addiction Why addiction is a pathological condition Why addiction is so hard to control Key Quotes:[04:30] - "A single cell of the brain has so many different functions within it. It's literally a universe within a cell."[06:54] - “We only really use about five to 10% of our brains… And just imagine if we're able to utilize another 10% of our brains, what we would know, and 50% more of our brains, what we would know.”[12:02] - “Addiction is a big, big problem, not only in the field I'm in but just globally, in terms of economic costs, and medical costs and violence that happens."[12:44] - “After a while of doing drugs, alcohol, or smoking, the brain thinks that's normal so it makes your body want to stay in that environment.”[15:08] - "It's really the reward part that dominates because people like that high feeling of winning, being happy and super excited. That always will win over any other type of feeling in your brain. That's just part of the addiction process.”[15:54] - "What our brains decide to do is what we do. That's why the brain is such a fascinating and critical aspect of our lives."[16:37] - "The brain is very, very powerful. And once the brain gets stimulated, it's a powerful organ to change. It takes work and energy. But it's not impossible."Supporting Resources:The Young Neurosurgeon: Lessons from My Patients From The Eyes Of A DoctorMy Surgical Cases Told In PoemsEpisode CreditsIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.