• Summary

  • The Addicted Mind Podcast is about understanding addiction from a research and treatment perspective. We will dive into what drives the addictive process, explore the latest research on addiction, and talk about the latest addiction treatment options. We will also explore what recovery from addiction looks like from a variety of different people. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction then The Addicted Mind Podcast can help.
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Episodes
  • 181: How TMS Treats Addiction, Depression, & Other Mental Health Issues with Ben Spielberg

    181: How TMS Treats Addiction, Depression, & Other Mental Health Issues with Ben Spielberg
    May 16 2022
    Depression sucks and it’s such a hard place to be. On the other hand, addiction used to be framed as this lack of moral character or willpower, and addiction, too, is a very hard place to be. But there's hope. On this episode, Duane speaks with Ben Spielberg, the founder and CEO of TMS & Brain Health clinics. Ben is a specialist in neuroscience, neuromodulation, and neuroimaging. Today, Ben is going to talk about TMS or transcranial magnetic stimulation, and how TMS offers hope to people struggling with addiction and its underlying mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and ultimately, returning joy and passion back to their lives. Ben started working in the field of mental health in 2010 as a biofeedback technician at a Substance Abuse and Recovery Treatment Center in Los Angeles. Part of his work was doing neurofeedback and he was just fascinated at how it impacted people, becoming more resilient to stressors without involving any medication or intervention.  Eventually, Ben got a master's degree in neuroscience at Columbia with the hope to specialize in the overarching field called neuromodulation, which refers to evidence-based, nonpharmaceutical ways to create real changes in the brain. With neurofeedback, all people need to do is to show up. It doesn't really matter what you’re thinking about. Your brain is picking up on the signals regardless. Listen in as Ben sheds some light on how TMS targets and activates specific areas of the brain that help reduce depression, anxiety, and all other underlying issues that lead to addiction. In this episode, you will hear: Ben’s experience in neurofeedback and neuromodulation The concept of neuroplasticity What is TMS and how does it work? Cognitive-behavioral therapy vs. TMS Types of issues TMS can treat The role of ADHD in addiction The history of TMS Key Quotes: [05:54] - "With neurofeedback, all you have to do is show up. It doesn't really matter what you think about. Your brain is picking up on the signals regardless."  [09:53] - "There's a part of the brain called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex... it's the left top side of your head and that area has been shown to be underactive in people with depression." [10:35] - "When people do TMS typically five days a week, week by week, the symptoms of depression start to go away, just as this other part of the brain starts to come back online." [12:55] - "Cognitive behavioral therapy is definitely an evidence-based treatment for depression. But when it's not working, there's nowhere to go unless you're actually creating real changes in the brain." [15:37] - "People with ADHD are much more likely to be addicted than a neurotypical person… as well as way more likely to be incarcerated and a really a number of issues in life." [17:26] - "ADHD is an issue of sustained focus, whereas normally, people have the ability to continue focusing on things when they want to, and they're not necessarily bothered by any external or internal stimulus." [29:41] - "Addiction is really just a symptom of some other underlying mental health diagnosis." 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: TMS & Brain Health Clinics https://www.tmsbrainhealth.com/  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.
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  • 178: Living Undeterred with Jeff Johnston

    178: Living Undeterred with Jeff Johnston
    Apr 25 2022
    It’s so easy to compare your own trauma with somebody else's trauma but trauma is trauma. You can have no kids and not be married, and put your dog down. And that can be just as traumatic as somebody who went through losing a child. All of our pain is unique to us and it's painful to us no matter what it is. But at the end of the day, we are all left with two roads – one is the road of anger, despair, and hatred and the other is a road of inspiration and motivation – which one are you going to take? On this episode, Duane speaks with Jeff Johnston about his story of loss and grief, losing his eldest son and his wife to addiction, and having to deal with his own recovery from alcoholism.   Jeff was a functional alcoholic who has been drinking since he was in eighth grade. He was also a compulsive gambler for 15 years. But his pivot point in his life came in October 2016 when his 23-year-old son, Seth died from fentanyl poisoning and heroin overdose. Jeff initially drank his way to cope with the pain. Then in December 2017, as an alcoholic since eighth grade, he just woke up and realized he was tired of being tired. Although we always have two choices, there was only one choice for him because the bitter road was never an option for him. In June 2021, his wife died of alcohol abuse at the age of 46.  Jeff took the deaths in his family as the beginning of something beautiful. For Jeff, things didn’t happen to him, but things had to happen for him. With this kind of mindset, he is committed to living a life undeterred. He made a choice to turn his pain and suffering into something transformative, not only for him but also for other people. And out of that came his Living Undeterred project, where he tours around the United States, working to change the narrative on mental health, substance abuse, and addiction.    In this episode, you will hear: Jeff’s story of losing his 23-year-old son The two roads you can go down Do things happen to you or for you? Pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice Jeff’s coping mechanisms Keeping yourself from being addicted to your vulnerability Reframing your situation Ending the stigma of addiction About Living Undeterred The opposite of addiction The quiver of arrows metaphor in life  Key Quotes: [08:43] - “Death presented an opportunity for me to be a better man, not a bitter man.” [10:20] - "We have one road of anger, despair, and hatred, and we become alcoholics ourselves. Or we have a road of inspiration and motivation, and this can be the single greatest moment in our lives to make our own lives better and those around us." [11:40] - "As an alcoholic since eighth grade, I just woke up and said, I'm tired of being tired." [13:21] - “Do things happen to you or do things happen for you?” [15:20] - "Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is a choice." [23:00] - “A death of somebody doesn't have to be the end of you. It can be the beginning of something beautiful." [27:59] - “The opposite of addiction is connection.” [31:06] - "We all have a "why" and you just have to find it. And then when you find it, your way gets revealed right in front of you."  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: Living Undeterred https://www.livingundeterred.com/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmGZTTnszWNlkG0sIGcp-YQ  This One's For You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death, and Meaning https://www.thisonesforyoubook.com/  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.
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  • 177: UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness with Etel Leit

    177: UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness with Etel Leit
    Apr 18 2022
    On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Etel Leit, who talks about her own story of living with addiction – not her own addiction, but in her relationship – and how addiction doesn't just impact the person struggling with addiction, but also everyone around that person.  Addiction is not a one-person thing, but it's something that flows all over. It impacts the family, friends, bosses, and the people around them. Most often, too, addiction is looked at as a family disease.  There’s this idea of trying to change the addicted person and becoming obsessed with it, that they eventually lose their identity along the way and it brings about feelings of shame and embarrassment.  Therefore, part of the healing is not only looking into what goes into an addicted person’s mind, but also acknowledging what’s also going on in the mind of the person living next to the addict so then both parties can go through the healing journey together.   If you’re somebody living with a person struggling with addiction, tune in to learn some tools you can use to heal yourself in the process. Etel also shares her healing journey, going through it and coming out the other side of that, and now working to help others going through the same.  Etel’s book, “UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness” is a great read that offers some tools a person living next to an addicted person can use so they can find their spark within them once again. In this episode, you will hear: How relationship problems go all the way back since we were babies What goes on in the mind of a person living with an addicted person Putting a stop to people-pleasing Creating boundaries as a form of self-love Putting down the magnifying the glass and picking up the mirror The 3 C’s of a person living with an addicted person The first step is acknowledgement Key Quotes: "Addiction is not a one-person thing. It's something that flows all over – the family, friends, bosses." “The idea of going and trying to change the other person is something that is really embedded in people who are living next to the addict.” “A person who lives either with an active addict or active alcoholic, they even don't know what their hobbies are. Their hobby is the person.” “People-pleasing is lying– not only do I lie to the other person, but deeply, I lie to myself.” “Mean what you say, say what you mean, but don’t say it mean.”   “When you see someone that isn't next to alcoholic or addict, they don't have the spark, they're in the dark.” “Put down the magnifying glass and pick up the mirror... stop judging others, look at yourself.” Subscribe and Review Have 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.etelleit.com (Promo code: THEADDICTMIND) UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness https://www.amazon.com/UnAddicted-You-Yourself-Through-Darkness/dp/0578871874  Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-addicted-mind-podcast/donations
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Physical Illness & Disease Psychology Hygiene & Healthy Living
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