Do you or somebody you love have an addiction?
Is it interfering with your lives?
Well in this video, we're going to be looking at five different techniques that you can use
to help treat addiction
So that by the end of this video, you'll be better equipped to deal
with your addiction or help somebody that you care about with their addiction
G'day there, I'm Jesse Crowe, The Travelling Scientist
And after spending years studying pharmacology,
I'm here to help you live smarter, happier and healthier lives!
In my last video, I talked all about the causes and symptoms of addiction
And you can check that out just up here
And I've also made an e-book all about dealing with addiction, and that's just here as well,
it's totally free & you can download it from the description just below
Right here, right now, I'm going to be talking about five different
techniques that YOU can use to deal with addiction, starting with this weird animal
Cold Turkey is when you just stop doing...whatever it is that you're addicted to
And Cold Turkey works well for some addictions, like smoking or gambling
But for serious drug addictions, cold turkey just doesn't work!
In fact...It can KILL you!
I know, your brain and body become so dependent on a substance that if you suddenly take it away,
it can cause serious withdrawals which can lead to death!
...Obviously that's an extreme situation, but you know...Think about it...
Anyway, you can try cold turkey yourself. You might ask your friends for some help,
and it works for certain people with certain addictions but it's definitely not for everybody
Detox with medicine. If you have a strong physical or psychological dependence on a specific drug,
you might need to use medical detoxification
It involves taking a specific medicine from a doctor based on your addiction, and the medicine
should help to reduce the symptoms of withdrawal to help wean you off your drug of dependence
Now you CAN'T do this technique alone, you should talk to a doctor if you think
you need some medical detoxification from the drug that you're dependent on
& note that this technique doesn't work for
activities like gambling or social media or... pornography
We don't have medicine for that, I'm sorry!
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT
involves seeing a psychologist, and it's based on the idea that addiction stems
from a negative thought pattern or negative behavioural pattern occurring in the brain
CBT is a method of helping you recognise those negative
thoughts and replacing them with more positive actions
CBT is well proven to help people with addiction,
anxiety and depression and personally, it's helped me in the past so i can't recommend it enough
So definitely consider cognitive behavioural therapy
if you're finding yourself in a negative headspace
Motivational interviewing. If you know somebody who's struggling with addiction,
this is a technique that you can use to help them
A motivational interview is essentially a conversation where you ask the person
about their motivations and their needs, and listen with empathy and understanding
Don't tell them what's wrong or what they need to do, ask them questions that
help them to realise and make those decisions on their own
Finally, give them positive affirmations,
offer them support and empower them to start taking action
It sounds a bit complicated, but basically, you're being there for them, not judging them,
but showing compassion and support in hopes that it will motivate them to work on their addiction
Group Therapy involves regularly joining a group of people
going through similar struggles led by a therapist
& I know it sounds really cringy, but that crap helps...apparently
You have discussions about addiction, sharing your personal thoughts and stories,
and it's a great way to connect with other people and remind yourself that you're not alone
In group therapy, you can be vulnerable,
you can help others as well as yourself, and you can find the strength to beat your addiction!
So there you have it guys, there's five ways to deal with addiction,
and... oh... I forgot rehab... ah, there's a sixth one... you can google that later.
But it's important to note that you don't have to pick just one technique
Recovery from addiction can and probably should involve a combination of the
techniques that we've discussed here, and it's important to take action now!
Addiction affects a lot of people around the world, and it can ruin lives,
so if you want to make a change, start by googling the word addiction,
followed by the technique that you think would work best for you
Or download my free e-booklet in the description just below
And be proud that you're taking steps and doing the right thing
for yourself and the people that love you
Remember, you are not alone. You can do this!
Anyway, that's all for today guys. Thank you so much for watching
If you enjoyed this video, click the LIKE button down below
And let me know where you're at in your addiction journey in the COMMENTS section down below
Finally, next week's video is going to be all about...something
completely different, I don't know what it is yet, but we'll find out
So make sure you SUBSCRIBE for more Travelling
Science every single week, and I'll see you guys next Science Sunday!
Cheers!