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| English: Location of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex shown on ventral and medial views of the brain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The EVOPROGRAM addresses recovery from alcoholism disease and addiction is not only possible, but much more likely to be successful when the recovery approach focuses on restoring balance to the neurotransmitters in the brain. While the success rate of AA is less than .05 percent for more than five years of sobriety, the success rate for treatment centers that address neurotransmitters is 74 to 90 percent.Balance can be restored through diet, nutritional supplements, lifestyle changes and addressing each of the issues that disrupts neurotransmitter function. When this is achieved, then cravings for alcohol and other addictive substances cease to exist and staying sober is no longer a struggle.As dependence grows, alcoholics also lose the ability to properly regulate their behavior. This regulation is the responsibility of the prefrontal cortex, which is charged with keeping the rest of the brain apprised of the consequences of harmful actions. But mind-altering substances slowly rob the cortex of so-called synaptic plasticity, which makes it harder for neurons to communicate with one another. When this happens, alcoholics become less likely to stop drinking, since their prefrontal cortex cannot effectively warn of the dangers of bad habits.
This is why even though some people may be fully cognizant of the problems that result from drinking, they don’t do anything to avoid them. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, my family is falling apart, I’ve been arrested twice,’” says Peter Kalivas, a neuroscientist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “They can list all of these negative consequences, but they can’t take that information and manhandle their habits.”The loss of synaptic plasticity is thought to be a major reason why more than 90 percent of recovering alcoholics relapse at some point.
Just look at the twelve steps, many of which are all about the admission of mistakes, from step number 1 (“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable”) to step number 8 (“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all”) to step number 10 (“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it”). I’d suggest that the presence of these steps helps people break through the neuromodulatory problem of addiction, as the prefrontal cortex is forced to grapple with its massive failings and flaws.
Step 1: There's a power that will kill me.
Step 2:There's a power that wants me to live.
Step 3:Which do I want? (If you want to die, stop here. If you want to
live, go on.)
Step 4: Using examples from your own life, understand that
selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear control your actions.
Step 5: Tell all your private, embarrassing secrets to another person.
Step 6: Decide whether or not you want to live that way any more.
Step 7: If you want your life to change, ask a Power Greater Than
yourself to change it for you. (If you could have changed it yourself,
you would have long ago.)
Step 8: Figure out how to make right all the things you did wrong.
Step 9: Fix what you can without causing more trouble in the process.
Step 10: Understand that making mistakes is part of being human (When
you make a mistake, fix it, immediately if you can.)
Step 11: Ask for help to treat yourself and others like you, the way
you want your higher power to treat you.
Step 12: Don't stop doing 1 through 11. And PASS IT ON!
This is why even though some people may be fully cognizant of the problems that result from drinking, they don’t do anything to avoid them. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, my family is falling apart, I’ve been arrested twice,’” says Peter Kalivas, a neuroscientist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “They can list all of these negative consequences, but they can’t take that information and manhandle their habits.”The loss of synaptic plasticity is thought to be a major reason why more than 90 percent of recovering alcoholics relapse at some point.
Just look at the twelve steps, many of which are all about the admission of mistakes, from step number 1 (“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable”) to step number 8 (“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all”) to step number 10 (“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it”). I’d suggest that the presence of these steps helps people break through the neuromodulatory problem of addiction, as the prefrontal cortex is forced to grapple with its massive failings and flaws.
Step 1: There's a power that will kill me.
Step 2:There's a power that wants me to live.
Step 3:Which do I want? (If you want to die, stop here. If you want to
live, go on.)
Step 4: Using examples from your own life, understand that
selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear control your actions.
Step 5: Tell all your private, embarrassing secrets to another person.
Step 6: Decide whether or not you want to live that way any more.
Step 7: If you want your life to change, ask a Power Greater Than
yourself to change it for you. (If you could have changed it yourself,
you would have long ago.)
Step 8: Figure out how to make right all the things you did wrong.
Step 9: Fix what you can without causing more trouble in the process.
Step 10: Understand that making mistakes is part of being human (When
you make a mistake, fix it, immediately if you can.)
Step 11: Ask for help to treat yourself and others like you, the way
you want your higher power to treat you.
Step 12: Don't stop doing 1 through 11. And PASS IT ON!
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