The latest accepted belief in the mainstream addiction recovery community is that 1) addiction is a chronic and incurable disease, comparable to other such labeled diseases as asthma, diabetes and hypertension, and 2) that the treatment is a life-long symptom management program that includes some combination of pharmaceutical drugs, behavioral and cognitive therapies.
What if this belief, well-meaning as it is, is incomplete or even incorrect? What if the disease of addiction can be overecome? What if treatment can be completely effective and allow a person to not just “function” in the world, but to really tap into vitality, creativity, meaning and purpose in their lives? What would this mean to a person suffering from addiction?
Scientific discoveries in biology and neuroscience have provided new data that show we can change our DNA, create new neural networks and grow new brain neurons throughout our lifetime. This is a huge revolutionary, or more to the point, evolutionary, paradigm shift in our understanding of how our bodies and minds can heal. Rather than viewing our genetic code as a fixed blueprint for our lives, or that the brain is a hardwired, programmed organ unable to adapt and change or grow new brain neurons, the sciences of Epigenetics, Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis have proven otherwise.
Groundbreaking new discoveries in biology called “Epigenetics” have shown that our genes are not locked into a predetermined and unchangeable blueprint at birth. Dr. Bruce Lipton’s book, The Biology of Belief, clearly explains that beliefs and perceptions of ourselves and our environment, including our consciousness, actively influence our genes.
New discoveries in neuroscience are also challenging and disproving the old paradigm that the brain is a fixed and hardwired organ and that it is limited to a set number of neurons in one’s lifetime. Alberto Villoldo, PhD and David Perlmutter, M.D., F.A.C.N., in their book Power Up Your Brain, provide compelling new scientific data about Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis.
The implications of this new research are compelling enough for any person suffering from addiction to explore the possibility that they can overcome their addiction and live a life where they are no longer defined by a disease.
Written by Dean Taraborelli, M.A.
Founder, Director, Energy Medicine Practitioner & Teacher
Sanctuary at Sedona
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