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You 'R' Not Your Brain, Hermitage, PA (2025)

10/28/2023

Why can't people get a life of their own and quit messing with me?

06/26/2023

It isn't what it used to be but
IT MOST CERTAINLY WILL!!!

06/11/2023

CRAVING…
By, George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com

Craving is an uncomfortable sensation, and it is difficult for many people to see how craving something that brings pleasure and feels good also is an uncomfortable sensation and experience. When people are so focused on the reward of getting high, they don't recognize the pain that precedes it. However, if you really stop and experience it the actual craving is painful—your body feels off, your emotional sensations are unpleasant, and you want those sensations to go away, so you do something that makes you feel better; you get high.
Once you act, you experience a rush or flood of satisfaction. The use of drugs is associated with relief and supersedes anything else in being pleasurable and gratifying--which makes it all the harder to stop the behavior. This means that you truly have to see how detrimental the behavior is for you to change your ways.
The biology generating pleasure is strong for a reason--Nature wants you to take care of yourself, so it developed a region of the brain the accumbens, also known as the reward center to make sure you kept engaging in important survival-based activities, like eating, by making them pleasurable. The problem is many of the things you do, while pleasurable, are not good for you in the long term. Since oh rewards center is intimately connected with the habit center, this can mean trouble if the habit center is left to its own devices and you do not manage your responses in helpful ways. This is precisely how addiction and other unhealthy behaviors conspire out of control.

06/10/2023

OUT-OF-DATE BELIEF SYSTEM
By George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
To say “NO” to a drug, or alcoholic drink, your brain must first create an image of the thing you are saying “NO” to and then nullify it. The problem is that at this point, you are already headed in the wrong direction.
Are you more interested in finding a way to move beyond your drug addiction and lead it productive life, or are you more interested in accepting that you are addicted to drugs and therefore just need to learn ways of coping with it?
People who seek happiness while in their addiction are like the drunkard who can never find his house but is sure that he has one.
So now you must ask yourself; “What thoughts, and what feelings and what beliefs that I have about who I am, and where my life is headed, or about how I perceive life in general, or how I feel about anything at all, that I have knowingly, or perhaps unconsciously, accepted and agreed to, that I need to change to have a more satisfying future free from, all involvement with drugs, free from making bad decisions, free from pursuing unhealthy relationships, free from entertaining unproductive thoughts, free from having to lie, cheat, and steal, and whatever else that I need to consider changing so I can feel prosocial and re-establish my self-esteem and self-respect and dignity, and validate my worth as a human being?
This question warrants serious thought because anybody who wants to feel that they have some kind of purpose in life needs some productive goals for direction. After all, if you don't know where you're going, you will probably end up somewhere else.
It is almost a given that, like so many other people in the world, you may not know where most of your beliefs originated, even though many of the emotions that you have attached to them are negatively influencing your entire existence.
The moment that you consciously accept any belief, or embrace an emotional tag, your sense of self, in your perspective, will be neurologically affected. And because all the beliefs that you are presently holding onto have come from your past, you need to ask yourself; Just how many of my beliefs are even true, or did I just make them up or agree to an idea that I didn't put much thought into?

Even if my beliefs were true at some point in time that doesn't necessarily mean that they are still true today.
I call this an “out-of-date belief system”; however, like many others, you may not look at it like this because you have grown to value all your feelings and beliefs with high regard, and as a result thereof, these beliefs have influenced how you interpret all that you perceive, and this relationship defines whom you believe you are as a person.
It is because you see your beliefs as absolute truths, and not superficial ideas that can be easily changed or modified under any circumstances; that evidence to the contrary could be sitting right in front of you but you won't see it if it doesn't coordinate with your beliefs; what you will see is entirely different. You will only see what you expect to see. The truth is none of us see the world as the world is. We see the world as we are.
Thinking about what you don't want is called; problem thinking, whereas, thinking about what you do want is called; outcome thinking, so don't waste any more of your time and energy thinking about what you don't want, but instead, focus on getting and having what you do want.
focusing on what you don't want or searching for the source of old behavior that you want to end will create more neural connections within your brain while strengthening the brains existing moral networks that you would rather do away with the more you focus on a problem the more ingrained you make it in your brain by putting it on the frontline of your conscious awareness
I try to steer clear of placing too much attention on the nature, or origin, of any problem(s) because focusing on anybody's problem(s) will lead that person back to the negative experience. I impel everybody to stay tuned toward the future and never spend too much time dwelling in the past. Since nobody has the power to change what happened in the past, what's the point of wasting time and energy re-visiting undesirable memories? The future is where we are all headed so it's a good place for you to get interested in since you will be spending the rest of your life there. Focusing on a solution creates positive energy in the mind because it opens up the mind to fresh ideas where you will discover new possibilities that promote change.

06/10/2023

DRUG ABUSE & RECOVERY
(neurotransmitters)
By: George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
Drugs and/or alcohol alter biochemical parts of the brain that are necessary for people to make wise decisions and control their behaviors. People addicted to substances can't stop using them because their brains have been changed.
Recovery is a process far more complicated and complex than just ending the use of chemical substances. It involves the re-wiring of brain circuits that have been altered by drugs and/or alcohol use, or any other addictive behaviors. It is important to not only know what addiction does to the lives of the addicted, but what it is; a "brain dysfunction."
So, you ask the question: "What happens to the brain during a drug-use experience?"
First, you must reject the idea that the brain is a static storage depot of information. Once thought of as a simple reflexive organ, the neurons that make up the communicative pathway within the brain are not simply waiting around quietly for incoming data to rouse them. If that were the case, we would not dream when we sleep. The neurons are always active and choose whether and how to respond to stimuli. If the brain was reflexive, it would never be able to plan future actions. The brain is a powerful prediction machine, continuously making elaborate mental maps of the world that are reliable enough to enable people to predict what lies ahead, both in space and in time.
The neurons within the brain are constantly making new connections that it believes, based on a person's behaviors, will serve them better in the things they do frequently. For the addicted, the brain is shaped by their drug use experience, just as particular muscles become conditioned when a person engages in a new exercise routine.
Research has shown that all drugs of abuse directly or indirectly activate the brain's pleasure pathways, which is the intricate network that controls and regulates one's ability to feel pleasure. When a person experiences something deemed good, a good meal, a beautiful sunset, or even s*x, their brain experiences a surge in the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is involved in emotional arousal. After the said surge, dopamine levels return to a baseline level, and the individual goes about their life, looking forward to the next time because the experience has been recorded and is now logged into their brain's limbic system.
• The limbic system is the center that houses pleasure and emotions. It consists of key memory and motivation circuits. Because our whole system evolved from the biological imperative to survive, meaning; food meant survival, s*x meant procreation, and going back for more meant survival of the species, which makes the dopamine pathway essential, we look forward to doing it again.
There are many different types of messenger chemicals inside the brain that carry information from one neuron to another. And while all drugs of abuse directly or indirectly affect dopamine, there are specific drug effects on other neurotransmitter systems. For example, L*D, Ecstasy, Ma*****na, and Co***ne alter serotonin functions; He**in and Morphine affect op**te receptors; Amphetamine alters norepinephrine functions; and alcohol interacts with almost every neurotransmitter, especially GABA and glutamate.
• GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), modulates motion, memory, and motor behavior.
• Glutamate modulates motivation, learning, and memory.
The first time a person experiences a drug or alcohol high, which most likely exceeds the levels of naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the body by a factor of anywhere from two (2) to ten (10), dopamine levels spike higher than they do even with s*x, and that initial spike typically lasted longer [no pun intended]. All drug-induced experiences, no matter how brief, are processed by the "hippocampus," which is part of the "limbic system."
• The hippocampus does not store memories; however, it does rehearse memory patterns during sleep for which to harden new experiences into long-term memories and/or to keep fading connections alive. The hippocampus sorts and filters all new information and decides what is important and what to ignore. It then sends packets of said information to other parts of the brain. The hippocampus is an important center of motivation and stores all drug-induced experiences.
• The limbic system is the paleomammalian brain. It is the center that houses pleasure and emotions. It consists of key memory and motivation circuits.
Amygdala; Prefrontal Cortex.
The hippocampus and amygdala are important "centers of motivation."
• The amygdala renders a pre-conscious bias of intensity to all stimuli, even before we pay attention to it. It "tags" all stimuli for future judgment. It can and does activate the body, and the rest of the brain, to how significant it deems a stimulus to be to survival. If the said stimulus is rendered threatening, the amygdala activates the alert centers and notifies the hormone system and brainstem to get ready to take action. Dopamine is abundant in the amygdala and all drug-induced experiences are stored here.
Dr. Anna Rose Childress, (Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine), and (Director of the Brain-Behavior Vulnerabilities Division at the Center for the study of Addictions) have termed these "centers of motivation" the: "Go system."
Dopamine spikes that follow an initial drug-high experience don't go quite as high as the first, and over time, the rush becomes smaller and the crash that follows becomes deeper. The user's brain has been fooled into thinking that achieving that high is equivalent to survival, even more than with food, and their "Go light" is on all the time. Eventually, their brain is forced to turn on a self-defense mechanism, that reduces the natural production of dopamine altogether. At this point, the user may be compelled to use the substance, not so much as to get high, but to feel what their brain "now" considers "normal", since there is little or no natural dopamine response to be had.
In addition to the "Go system," the mighty brain also has a built-in "Stop system," also termed by Dr. Childress. This "Stop system" is better known as the prefrontal cortex, which is located within the forehead.
The prefrontal cortex is our working memory. The prefrontal cortex captures and stores all information perceived by the posterior cortex and re-shapes this raw material into a properly timed sequence, by taking bits and pieces of data, actions, and behaviors, then weighing that data by examining any, and all, risks and consequences, it then strings its findings together to fit a new set of demands and/or circumstances for which to strategize a novel plan of action, which those trapped in addiction would be prone to ignore and disregard. The prefrontal cortex is sometimes referred to as "the seat of sober second thought."
When the brain is right and not under the influence or excessive craving, the "Go" circuitry and the "Stop" circuitry are interconnected and are communicating with each other to help us decide when to go, or not to go. It's not that they are separable; they are interactive. They are always linked.
With addiction, it is as though the systems have become functionally disconnected. It is through the "Go system" is running off on its own. It is a rogue system now and is not interacting in a regular, seamless, integrated way with the "Stop system." The prefrontal cortex's influence has been cut off and the addictive process has moved in. It has undone, and/or weakened, what the brain knew before, and taught something else entirely.

06/10/2023

"SU***DE"
INSIDE THE MIND OF THE SUICIDAL
(A Secret Suffering)
By George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
Suicidal ideations, and homicidal thoughts, are similar energy forms that thrive within those who are mentally distraught. This living FORCE is made up of intense, pervasive, and crippling emotions. It has its own primitive intelligence that is directed primarily at survival, and like all life forms, it needs to feed, to take in new energy, and the nutrients that it requires to strengthen itself consist of a substance that is compatible with its own: "NEGATIVITY" (sorrow and/or anger). Any emotionally tribulating (hurtful) experience, past or present, real, or imagined, can be used as food. Therefore, those afflicted with a "Chemical imbalance" often become the "Host."
The greater part of suicidal thoughts are uninvited. These thoughts are part of a recurrent "CONDITION" that results from the overwhelming cognitive distortion caused by this "DYSFUNCTION" (illness), a state-of-mind with only one purpose.
The "CHOSEN" often find themselves at the mercy of an audio hallucination, and/or racing thoughts, which enters their mind. This "MESSENGER" (voice/thoughts/ideations) pretends to be them, "it is Them," and they believe in it. This "Messenger" tells them hurtful and provoking stories about themselves, their lives, and other people; about past, present, future, or even imaginary events; it blames, accuses, and complains.
When experiencing this "FUNCTION," we can wholeheartedly identify with everything the Messenger says. "We," without effort, acquire an ability to relate to all this distorted information and we always react to this "DYSFUNCTIONAL DIALOG" with painful emotions because we always find truth in all that it tells us. We then become possessed by these feelings, and since the mind is conditioned by prior/past experiences, even thoughts, we are forced to repeat the past again and again. At this point, the obsession has set in. The emotions, in turn, feed back into the thoughts that created the emotions in the first place. It is a cycle that has only one objective: to cause "PAIN" and bring "DEATH," which compels its Host to disappear deep within themselves.
These negative emotions are not necessarily a response to an "actual" event or situation. Even though the Sufferer may believe themselves to be highly intelligent and in-tune with their surroundings, we cannot tell the difference between what is, and what seems to be, an absolute reality, past or present. We react to these "Occurrences" as though they have been confirmed. This contortion is seen through the lens of our mental interpretation and we lose all powers of insight concerning the enormous influence that this fallacy has on our self-evaluation, and comprehension, of what is, what has been, or what is to be. It was not realized, at the time, that this might just be a simple thought.
Those of us who are afflicted, often find imposed reasons (sometimes even relatively insignificant things that somebody else would simply shrug off), for being sad, distressed, fearful, and/or angry. These reasons are the "Triggers" that fuel our negative feelings. These Triggers bring back to life the old, accumulated emotions. They then turn back into thoughts that are now augmented. They galvanize our need and desire to die because we contest and filter out all "conflicting" information that does not support our own expectations. Once the pains of sadness, hopelessness, and/or anger have taken over, we, now the injurious individuals, act out in a way that elicits reactions from other people that make our own negative expectations unquestionably justified and reliable. We abrasively strive to make others just as miserable as we are, so we can feed off their furor. Those of us causing these afflictions are looking at the present through the eyes of the emotional pain hidden deep within ourselves. We are completely "trapped" in this experience and all other accompanying emotions. Stepping outside of this developed nightmare is not possible because we do not even realize that there is an "Outside."
At this point, it is not so much that we cannot stop this aggrandizing train-of-thought, but that we DO NOT WANT TO. We have found comfort in the depths of this darkness. This is because we have found solace in the-Knowing that su***de provides a last resort--"Ace in the hole"--way out, and somebody must pay for our suffering by living with the guilt of responsibility. The assurance of being able to escape through Death, and our thinking, evolves into a vicious cycle and all these thoughts continue to feed this Monster growing within us, and, in turn, our credence in the "Now" is a reality, real or imagined, and no other reality is probable. As far as we are concerned, our reaction is the only possible reaction. It is altogether devastating when a person first comes to realize that there is "something" within them that periodically seeks assassination of self.
However, this suicidal-seeking energy does have a dormant stage. When dormant, many easily forget that they carry this Monster and may even come to enjoy periods of freedom from affliction. It is this peace and aliveness, no matter how brief, that makes their life "seem" worth living, but this Creature can be awakened by any stimuli, at any time. Even the most insignificant circumstance, or situation, can be used as a trigger to begin the process.
We have become prisoners. We are constantly trapped in our heads with injurious thoughts and feelings. We become "alienated" from our true selves and the world around us. When people look at us, they often see an absent, staring expression in our eyes; EMPTINESS. And since our attention is absorbed in only our objective, we do not see them; we are not even listening; we are not present in any capacity. We are lost in our calling: "How do I want to do this?"
How long this energy remains dormant varies from person to person. In some cases, it can live in hibernation for years before some event or affair triggers it, real or imagined. The "Beast" within us never rests and is extremely avid. Our pain has no end!
Because we may be smiling, although fraudulently, and making polite conversation, you will never know our heart's sincere desire. You must have amazing powers of observation to see that seething ball of destructiveness within us, just underneath the surface, waiting for the next Trigger to react to; the next person to blame or confront, or the next thing to be miserable about. Many sufferers of major depression are unaware that just prior to the influx of a negative thought, no matter how fleeting, a wave of emotion has already invaded their minds.
Hence, this Savage cannot feed on just any thought or emotion. A joyous or positive thought is indigestible. It can only feed on negativity because only that energy is compatible with its own.
• [TAKE NOTE: It is important to realize that the depressed will not likely spontaneously share their thoughts or impulses. Also, keep in mind; that people entertaining these ideations are often "searching" for a sign, or any indication from fate, the environment, a friend, or a family member; "Should I, or should I not, kill myself?" We tend to misinterpret an everyday remark or comment (e.g., "I'm tired of you being sick all the time!" "Can't you do something about this attitude of yours?" "I don't have time for this! You need to get your life together!"), as a message that you would "prefer," or couldn't care less if we were dead. Just remember, you can easily get annoyed and/or irritable and say things that can be taken out of context which may result in tragedy. So, keep your messages absolutely and unambivalently clear, you want us ALIVE no matter how much grief our condition (illness) is causing both of us.]
This persistent compulsion has no end. It is responsible for millions of innocent lives lost by senseless deaths, and it is always searching for its next feast. So, OPEN your eyes! It may be your own child, friend, or family member planning their demise… PERHAPS YOURS TOO!!!

06/10/2023

CRAVING…
By, George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
Craving is an uncomfortable sensation, and it is difficult for many people to see how craving something that brings pleasure and feels good also is an uncomfortable sensation and experience. When people are so focused on the reward of getting high, they don't recognize the pain that precedes it. However, if you really stop and experience it the actual craving is painful—your body feels off, your emotional sensations are unpleasant, and you want those sensations to go away, so you do something that makes you feel better; you get high.
Once you act, you experience a rush or flood of satisfaction. The use of drugs is associated with relief and supersedes anything else in being pleasurable and gratifying--which makes it all the harder to stop the behavior. This means that you truly have to see how detrimental the behavior is for you to change your ways.
The biology generating pleasure is strong for a reason--Nature wants you to take care of yourself, so it developed a region of the brain the accumbens, also known as the reward center to make sure you kept engaging in important survival-based activities, like eating, by making them pleasurable. The problem is many of the things you do, while pleasurable, are not good for you in the long term. Since oh rewards center is intimately connected with the habit center, this can mean trouble if the habit center is left to its own devices and you do not manage your responses in helpful ways. This is precisely how addiction and other unhealthy behaviors conspire out of control.

06/10/2023

OVERCOMING ADDICTION
By George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
`Even though the substance abusers now discombobulated ecosystem, that their choices have created, can exert a powerful grip on their life, they can overcome it. I am here to explain how.
The substance abuser can re-wire their brain to work for them, by first dismissing the feedback that it has so successfully been selling them, and choosing to behave in a more healthy adaptive way.
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a biological understanding of how the brain should be functioning in comparison with what a substance abuser’s addictive behaviors have achieved. I will provide an innovative, empowering method of how to re-construct the brain circuitry. My goal is to teach the substance abuser to identify and demystify their misleading brain messages so they can defend their true nature and hope of developing healthy neural networks and pathways that promote living a fulfilling life free of uninvited thoughts, emotions, urges, and sensations. They will come to discover that they do not struggle with themselves but are dealing with their brains’ flawed functionality. Hopefully, they can break away from the pain and leave all the acquired bu****it and suffering in the past. They can again discover who they truly are and not what their addictive brain has imposed upon them. They will learn how to put their true selves back in control for the rest of their lives.
This mental dysfunction of addiction can develop in people despite their best intentions or the strengths of their character. Drug addiction is especially insidious because it affects the very brain areas that people need to think straight. apply good judgment, and make good decisions for their lives. After all, no one wants to be a slave to an addicted brain.
I stand firm on the idea that they are not the addict. That they unintentionally lead their brain into an addictive condition. However, they are not their brain. They are themselves and their brain is their brain. The two are not the same, and they are not hopeless. They do have a purpose in this world. My words to them; you are not your brain.

06/10/2023

THOUGHTS & FEELINGS
By George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com
One of the specialties of the human brain is to sustain life, and one of the ways it does this is by managing sensory information, and choosing among alternatives to craft actions that support survival, and the brain does this without much conscious help from you. However, it is your responsibility to know yourself; to learn about the things that you can influence.
To truly know your “self”, you have to learn about the object that drives your logic, feeds your imagination, and assesses your emotions. You have to learn about your “brain”. You should at least attempt to understand basic brain functions and try to discover what it is that gives you your unique way of experiencing the world. You need to have some kind of idea why your brain does what it does, and why your brain doesn't do what you think it should be doing, but getting to know your brain isn't going to be easy, because much of what drives your brain is not of your conscious choosing. Ninety-five percent of your brain activity is outside of your conscious awareness.
To create an everlasting, POSITIVE CHANGE in how you perceive/see anything, you must refine your PERSPECTIVE. You must also take into consideration that humans are creatures of habit. And that even you live a huge part of your life on autopilot. Therefore, many of your thoughts are the same ones that you had the day before. And if you choose to hold on to any of your “OUT-OF-DATE BELIEFS, you will continue to support the same perspective that has conditioned you to perceive the world in the SAME way, which is what got you where you find yourself today, This choice has forged your reality (life) and continues to render the SAME feelings for you ALL the time. And as a result, you feel the SAME way every single day. Yesterdays continue to be your tomorrows. So, in actuality, your past is your future, and you accept this because it is comfortable, effortless, automatic, and requires little effort. And because you have repeated this process often, it has become YOUR hardwired identity which you no may longer desire. An OUT-OF-DATE BELIEF SYSTEM.
If who you “are” is made up of what you THINK, how you FEEL, how you ACT, and what you BELIEVE, then it is the “present “YOU” that has created this personal reality called; YOUR life, which means, if YOU want to live a NEW personal reality you have to CHANGE how you THINK about the world and your “self.” You have to REFINE your perspective and re-think the emotions that you have assigned to what you have come to believe.
Anytime that you have a thought in your life, you have automatically determined its value by assigning a feeling/emotion to it, and it forged an attitude (viewpoint). As you repeatedly maintained conscious awareness of this attitude, it became a belief, and as you revisited this belief, or the thought(s) that created it, again and again, you re-experience the feeling (emotional tag) that you have assigned to it, and this new belief created an automatic, unconscious program. This belief is now neurologically etched in your brain and is a part of your overall belief system. And as you repeat the thought(s) that generated the belief in the first place, and as you continue to feel the same as you did when you first tagged the thought with the feeling, you actually re-lived that moment further reinforcing the belief. You actually bring that past (history) into your present. You end up re-living a past that you cannot change, nor will provide you with any positive growth.

06/10/2023

ADDICTIONS
By, George “Anthony” Bilunka, Jr.
gabilunkajr@gmail.com

Drug-related deaths are at an all-time high and thousands of people are losing their lives, and destroying the lives of others, on a daily basis due to drug addiction. Prisons are housing drug-related offenders like cattle, and many of their drug abuse programs have little to no positive results--and state parolees are repeatedly being re-committed for technical parole violations (e.g., positive urine screens), just about as quickly as others are being paroled out of prison. And, until now, there appeared to be little hope in sight.

I have a proposal. An insightful schema for treating drug addiction and maintaining abstinence. This approach is unlike the most common, faith-based 12-step groups whose members are failing to sustain lasting results in their fight against drug addiction and dependency.
Statistics clearly indicate that the time to expand treatment options--beyond the current faith-based 12-step programs that have shunned millions of people who just can't accept its philosophy--is overdue. The higher functioning brain of today's drug abusers is more cunning than the alcoholic of the 1930s. The all-time high rate of drug-related deaths supports the pressing need to introduce new treatment systems. Therefore, I have created this science-based peer support group/program for the people who refused to be a part of a program that supports the invention of a “higher power”. Freedom from Addiction stems from intellectually structured, cognitive neuroscience, and social biology.
Probable cause for treatment failures
Based on my personal experience, too many self-proclaimed professional drug abuse treatment practitioners, who are employed by certified community drug rehabilitation centers, are failing clients. Many practitioners provide helpful information, but they fail to demonstrate how to apply these specifics for each client independently. These Treatment providers fall short in illustrating how each client can/should utilize the methods and techniques per each individual specific circumstances; therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that the practitioner lacks the skills required to connect these dots.
Many community drug rehab centers expect the client to be intellectually competent enough to comprehend the obscure information being pitched at them without adequate instructions on how to apply it specifically, and as a result, the client, left to his or her own device, sees no relevance and disregards the whole lot of information.
Many practitioners working in the mental health and drug addiction field make the mistake of believing all human brains function as all other human brains do. This way of thinking is a sign of “perception impairment”. Too many counselors/therapists believe that they can effectively input a client's problem into their own brain, and in searching for a resolution, they construct links that their own brain would employ to solve/correct the problem. Then, believing to have found the client’s solution, the practitioner tells the client what the client needs to do to remedy the problem--based on what the practitioner believes would work best for themselves. And when the client’s situation/condition fails to improve, the self-proclaimed expert is fast to place all the blame on the client--refusing to accept any accountability for their own failure in reaching the client--claiming that the client is resisting treatment or refusing to put forth the necessary effort.
I have invested over a decade of my life in research and I have explored and elaborated on the beneficial possibilities of organizing and presenting its long overdue science-based peer support group/program for today's advanced drug addictions.
What you are holding in your hands is a fundamental preview to innovation what I believe will redefine one’s impression of a social support group.
Statistics support, and the years are showing us, it is not possible for just one treatment method (e.g., 12-step groups), to contain the solution to addictive problems for all individuals. We are in need of some major changes/modifications in how we treat drug addiction. And because the average person is not likely to spend hours in research libraries where they may learn about different approaches and concepts, it is my obligation as a pro-social researcher to bring this new treatment approach to society's awareness so that those who are opposed to faith-based support groups (e.g., N.A. & A.A.), may also take advantage of a social support system with the philosophy based on science and not on the mental manifestation of a higher power
Through self-realization, I have discovered that a simple shift in perspective is essential for combatting any habit of mind, i.e., how a person perceives drugs and the concept of addiction; how they perceive their self as an always changing/growing system; and how they perceive the external world that they are having difficulty functioning in, which can liberate, or imprison them.
However, recovery is a process far more complicated and complex than just ending the use of addictive substances. Pre-recovery begins with abstinence, but recovery requires the rewiring of altered brain circuits, i.e., a condition resulting from repetitive drug abuse.
Therefore, the first step towards recovery is being able to depict how biology lies at the root of addiction. Freedom from Addiction teaches fundamental brain functions (pre-, and post-drug abuse) in an easy-to-understand language that entertains as well as educates.
Freedom from addiction is modeled--in part--by Doctor Anna Rose Childress’ view that the human brain is made up of two separate, but parallel, distinct systems, i.e., a “dual thinking process”.
There is the primitive reptilian brain, or limbic system, (i.e., the Amygdala: sentinel of emotion, the basal ganglia: home of habit, etc.). And, the paleomammalian cortex, or neocortex, (i.e., the brain’s frontal regions; higher cognitive functions, etc.).
The primitive reptilian brain (here and after “brain”) consists of the ancient limbic structures. This system is reflexive and operates largely in the preconscious and unconscious realms; known to some as the intuition. It is automatic, effortless emotional, and the fastest of the two systems. It acquires its configuration through habit and repetitiveness. Much of what it believes, and how it perceives, is based on implicit learning, i.e., learning that is not intentional; information that is acquired just by going about once daily business.
The paleomammian cortex, (hereinafter “self”), Consists of the frontal brain regions. This system is reflective in his conscious reasoning. This is the conscious mind. because it is controlled by reason, and is rule-governed, it is a slower system. It is home to the higher brain centers where information is managed, decisions are made, and planning and action are taken.
When drug use becomes drug abuse, and its abuse becomes repetitive due to the drug’s addictive nature, chemical dependency is born in the two systems clash. They become functionally disconnected as the addictive brain (reflective system) begins to run off on its own. The brain no longer interacts with the self in a regular, seamless, integrated way and becomes a rogue system. The self’s (prefrontal cortex) influence gets cut off in the addictive process takes over.
However, even though the human brain is the most complex system known to science, it, like everything else, has limitations.
A human brain can only see, or imagine, the world according to its own wiring (i.e., the information it has acquired from what it has experienced), which is why we tend to see and believe things only as we expect them to be. Hence, we do not see the world as the world objectively is, we see the world as we are, through subjectivity. It is our brain’s interpretation of what it believes is a fact--decisions the brain makes of inputs around it--that determines how we perceive what we come to believe is reality. And because all human perception is subjective, freedom from addiction takes no claim to objectivism.
Freedom from addiction holds that people construct, not simply uncover, their psychological realities. So, in order to change one's life they have to literally become someone else; therefore change must begin with one's perspective, i.e., belief system. A shift in one's perspective has the capability of altering how a person interprets subsequent stimuli, which modifies their belief system--changing who they believe themselves to be.
I strive to construct and/or restore people's lives in adaptive and satisfying ways by liberating them from any self-imposed shame, embarrassment, guilt, and/or humiliation that may have been acquired through the role they played in fooling their brains to believe that achieving that next high is essential to survival, even more than food.
Unlike the 12-step groups/programs in America, Freedom from Addiction is not a faith/spiritual-based program, nor do we promote atheism. We do not emphasize belief in a God over scientific findings. The insistence on the primary of a God in curing addiction is not only unconvincing, but it means that treatment cannot change in response to empirical evidence. This leaves us with a rehab system based more on faith than fact, which could explain why so many treatment facilities are failing clients and why drug overdoses are on the rise. Freedom from Addiction stresses that treatment options need to be expanded beyond the 12-step philosophy.
The view that one can only recover via the moral improvement of the 12 steps is doing more harm than good. It is preventing people from getting the treatment they need and hampering research.
Therefore, unlike the 12-step program, freedom from addiction does not offer or assign any shame-invoking labels, titles, tags, or identifiers, e.g., “addict” and “alcoholic”.
Twelve-step programs expect their members to define themselves as addicts or Alcoholics for the rest of their lives in relation to behavior that had taken up so few years of it. Labeling is insulative and will never play a productive role in correcting a behavior that is being condemned. Such degrading tags evoke the brain’s automatic defense system and breed resentment. The identifiers have the capability to shatter an already injured pride and further damage one’s self-worth, sabotaging all their potential.
Furthermore, Freedom from Addiction does not try to break down a person's denial (as a support group we focus on construction not the destruction of the self). Freedom from Addiction does not press anybody to admit to owning any problems or dysfunctions, we focus on solutions. We do not dwell on problems.
Freedom from Addiction does not require anybody to acknowledge, or procure, any sense of powerlessness or incompetency. We are not so naive to support that addiction can be resolved only by accepting that a person is powerless to recover on their own. Freedom from Addiction will never necessitate the concoction of a self-invented higher power or concept thereof to aid in one’s pursuit of recovery. We utilize the strength already within ourselves. Freedom from Addiction does not require or encourage any public disclosure of any defects of character, past or present, we re-discover and embrace our many positive traits.
In our aim to depersonalize addiction, I utilize an externalization format in my particular style of communicating, which is fashioned to disassociate the drug-addicted brain from the “self”. We always refer to the addiction (i.e., the brain), as an entirely separate entity. This aids in reducing one’s sense of accountability. With debilitating defensiveness, we can work towards reinforcing the newly inspired shift in perspective and correct the distorted belief system.

You 'R' Not Your Brain

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