With prescription drug abuse being the fastest growing drug problem in the nation and the US recognized as one of the biggest consumers of recreational drugs, three times the expected rate worldwide, a novel idea may be catching hold.
It's not to suggest abstaining from drugs, but something much more elegant than that. It's to continue using all the medications and recreational drugs we need but also to focus on raising the brain's set point. Over time, the natural homeostatic "healing" chemicals become dominant, and people notice they feel great without the meds and drugs or with fewer of them.
Use natural chemicals...
An EBT participant, "Pamela," shared that one of her daughters was murdered by her roommate, who was high, and that Pamela's stepson overdosed on a cocktail of oxycodone and methamphetamine. She was on anti-depressants, and her husband was taking Suboxone for an undisclosed mental health problem, and her 14-year-old was taking Dexedrine for ADD and Ativan for anxiety.
She said, "I think the whole world is going crazy. My goal is to be..."
I said, "Naturally Drug-Free," or NDF."
Do you want to be Naturally Drug-FREE (NDF)?
The program is EBT, but to be safe, it's important that Pamela NOT stop taking any drugs that are medically indicated but stick with her EBT prescription of 10-5-1: 10 spiral ups, 5 minutes learning a new EBT skill, and 1 Community Connection to practice the skills.
In a recent discussion with EBT Providers, they reported that most people were off the meds/drugs in about one year, some in two years. There are two key elements of the approach...
Two key elements of the NDF approach
One is that the tapering of drugs only occurs when the emotional brain is sufficiently rewired so the person can be at Brain State 1 without needing them. The other is the focus on the rewards of purpose. Pamela wasn't engaging in the program because she wanted to wean off drugs but because she wanted freedom from all of them.
By using EBT to get to a natural high and using the extreme resiliency skills of EBT to get there, people can change. EBT rewires the circuits that control our physiology and the more optimal our physiology, the less we need external chemicals to see results.
I explained to Pamela, "The change in the brain is natural, and there are no side effects other than joy."
She said, "Sign me up."