Everyone knows that addictions are harmful because they often 00:00:30.53\00:00:34.66 cause physical, psychological, social, and financial problems 00:00:34.70\00:00:40.17 for people who struggle with them. 00:00:40.20\00:00:41.87 Addictions kill thousands of people every year and impact 00:00:41.90\00:00:46.07 millions of lives. Addiction is an intense craving for something 00:00:46.11\00:00:51.81 that you know is bad for you but you just can't seem to stop. 00:00:51.85\00:00:56.18 Somehow this thing has gotten a hold on you without your 00:00:56.22\00:01:00.26 realizing it and now it has you strongly in its grasp. 00:01:00.29\00:01:04.79 We long for that state of euphoria, pleasure, and 00:01:04.83\00:01:09.36 happiness so we keep coming back for more only to discover 00:01:09.40\00:01:13.50 that the more we indulge, the less fulfilled we feel. 00:01:13.54\00:01:17.37 If you are searching for the keys to fulfillment and 00:01:17.41\00:01:20.74 lasting happiness, then join me Gary Kent as we discuss 00:01:20.78\00:01:25.68 the science behind addictions with a special guest 00:01:25.71\00:01:29.18 and uncover the secrets that can set people free 00:01:29.22\00:01:33.09 and bring us happiness. 00:01:33.12\00:01:34.56 No one ever intends to become addicted, but at sometime 00:01:56.58\00:02:00.98 when we feel sad or empty on the inside, 00:02:01.02\00:02:03.89 we search for something to make us feel better. We make a choice 00:02:03.92\00:02:08.52 and we reason that just doing it once won't hurt us. 00:02:08.56\00:02:12.33 We feel that we are still in control of our lives, 00:02:12.36\00:02:16.33 but maybe we aren't as in control as we thought. 00:02:16.36\00:02:20.17 In fact statistics show that 00:02:20.20\00:02:23.27 over 00:02:26.74\00:02:28.08 which is the highest rate of gambling in the world. 00:02:32.81\00:02:35.15 In fact, we gamble away $23 billion dollars a year 00:02:35.18\00:02:40.46 and it's increasing every year. 00:02:40.49\00:02:42.82 Sometimes we choose alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gambling, 00:02:42.86\00:02:47.36 gaming, or even seemingly harmless things like 00:02:47.40\00:02:50.57 social media, sugar, and chocolate, to give us a few 00:02:50.60\00:02:54.90 moments of pleasure. We long for that feeling so we keep 00:02:54.94\00:02:59.07 coming back for more until soon we're in a vicious cycle 00:02:59.11\00:03:03.41 of indulge, binge, feel guilty and then we do it all over 00:03:03.45\00:03:08.38 again. Drug abuse is escalating around the world at an alarming 00:03:08.42\00:03:14.82 rate. Statistics reveal that one in ten people 00:03:14.86\00:03:18.83 are addicted to alcohol. 00:03:18.86\00:03:20.40 Although we think it is our choice what we do, 00:03:20.43\00:03:23.60 the results of our addictions can seriously impact the people 00:03:23.63\00:03:27.77 around us through related crime, disease, 00:03:27.80\00:03:31.34 and mental health issues. Addictions destroy marriages, 00:03:31.37\00:03:35.88 friendships, careers, and threaten a person's basic health 00:03:35.91\00:03:39.88 and safety. 00:03:39.91\00:03:41.25 What started the path to pleasure and happiness 00:03:41.28\00:03:44.05 ends in emptiness, heartache, and brokeness. 00:03:44.09\00:03:49.82 If you think you know someone battling an addiction, 00:03:49.86\00:03:53.96 and you would like to learn more about the warning signs 00:03:54.00\00:03:57.70 and find out what you can do to help, then join me as we visit 00:03:57.73\00:04:02.07 Doctor Neil Nedley, a specialist in internal medicine 00:04:02.10\00:04:05.37 with an emphasis on mental health and lifestyle medicine. 00:04:05.41\00:04:09.81 Doctor Nedley is the president of Weimar Health Institute 00:04:09.84\00:04:14.32 and is the author of the acclaimed Depression and 00:04:14.35\00:04:17.99 Anxiety Recovery Program. He's done extensive research 00:04:18.02\00:04:21.42 into addictions, how to identify them, what causes them, 00:04:21.46\00:04:25.63 and the damage they do to our brains and what it takes to 00:04:25.66\00:04:29.96 untangle yourself from them when they have taken a hold 00:04:30.10\00:04:33.40 on you. 00:04:33.44\00:04:35.17 Dr. Nedley, It's a pleasure to have you on our program 00:04:38.91\00:04:41.18 today to discuss this important topic. 00:04:41.21\00:04:44.05 What are the most common addictions today that people 00:04:44.08\00:04:47.25 are struggling with? 00:04:47.28\00:04:48.62 Well, it's great to be here again Gary, thanks for having me 00:04:48.65\00:04:51.09 and the most common addictions are actually becoming more 00:04:51.12\00:04:55.19 common but there are many. 00:04:55.62\00:04:57.16 There are Benzodiazepine addictions these are drugs 00:04:57.19\00:05:02.26 like Zanax, Ativan, Lorazepam, Alprazolam, there's a whole 00:05:02.30\00:05:07.14 class in there's a host of people in the western society 00:05:07.17\00:05:12.24 that are addicted to the these drugs. 00:05:12.27\00:05:14.38 Even more serious are the narcotic addictions 00:05:14.41\00:05:19.88 these are pain relievers, morphine and it can get even 00:05:19.91\00:05:23.82 into the point of heroin. In fact in the United States 00:05:23.85\00:05:28.02 and Australia deaths due to overdose of those narcotics 00:05:28.06\00:05:32.83 are rising rapidly and it's actually due to the addictive 00:05:32.86\00:05:39.50 component of these drugs and needing more and more. 00:05:39.53\00:05:42.60 Now in addition of course alcohol, some of the ones that 00:05:42.64\00:05:46.11 been around for a long time, alcoholism is still way too 00:05:46.14\00:05:51.01 high and still kills many people prematurely. 00:05:51.05\00:05:56.32 We also have tobacco and some people actually kind of because 00:05:56.35\00:06:02.99 these other addictions gotten so big so we forget about 00:06:03.02\00:06:05.16 the big tobacco problem. 00:06:05.19\00:06:07.20 Some of the other addictions are gambling which is rapidly 00:06:07.23\00:06:11.83 rising in western societies and also sexual addictions, 00:06:11.87\00:06:17.94 pornography is at an all-time high in both males and females. 00:06:17.97\00:06:22.71 Female pornography rapidly rising significantly 00:06:22.74\00:06:27.02 in the western world. 00:06:27.05\00:06:29.75 And in regards to self-mutilation just to show you 00:06:29.78\00:06:35.86 how rapidly some of these addictions are rising, in 1993 00:06:35.89\00:06:42.56 only 1% of girls or females under the age of 25 cut. 00:06:42.60\00:06:47.30 Now at that time, that was seen as a lot because 00:06:47.34\00:06:50.14 self-mutilation was very rare, much more rare prior to 00:06:50.17\00:06:54.04 this in the 50's and '60s and 70's but every seven years 00:06:54.08\00:07:00.12 there's a national survey and in 2000, 2% at the age of 25 cut 00:07:00.15\00:07:06.49 in 2007 it was 4%, so you can see the exponential rise 00:07:06.52\00:07:12.46 and so in 2014, 25.6%, so even broke the exponential curve 00:07:12.49\00:07:20.64 that was forming before, one out four females now self-mutilate 00:07:20.67\00:07:25.87 under the age of 25 and this is due the active component 00:07:25.91\00:07:31.11 Yes, there's anxiety and depression in those things 00:07:31.15\00:07:33.92 behind it but when people self-medicate through these 00:07:33.95\00:07:38.69 types of addictions it actually starts to accelerate and so 00:07:38.72\00:07:44.79 they don't want to do it per sae but they don't know how to stop 00:07:44.83\00:07:48.96 and that's one of the characteristics of addictions. 00:07:49.00\00:07:52.17 Are there other addictions that we are not aware of? 00:07:52.20\00:07:55.94 Yeah, there are a lot of addictions out there that 00:07:55.97\00:07:58.87 people don't actually don't necessarily classify that way 00:07:58.91\00:08:01.84 but they actually fit the addiction definition. 00:08:01.88\00:08:06.31 Caffeine is an addictive drug and so coffee, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, 00:08:06.35\00:08:12.52 Mountain Dew, all these thing actually are addictive. 00:08:12.55\00:08:16.83 And of course, it's a good commercial business enterprise 00:08:16.86\00:08:20.50 when you can when you can give somebody something that is 00:08:20.53\00:08:23.40 addictive because they are going to go back to it and that's 00:08:23.43\00:08:26.47 how business's thrive is to put things that are addictive 00:08:26.50\00:08:30.51 in these types of beverages and food. 00:08:30.54\00:08:33.74 Marijuana actually is addictive and there are people that have 00:08:33.78\00:08:37.01 denied that but we've had many marijuana patients 00:08:37.05\00:08:39.81 come and they have withdrawal, nausea, vomiting when they're 00:08:39.85\00:08:44.49 on it on a regular basis in consuming large amounts. 00:08:44.52\00:08:48.89 And then there are things like sugar, sugar can be quite 00:08:48.92\00:08:55.80 addictive and there are non- substances as well like 00:08:55.83\00:09:01.50 technology, social media can be addictive, entertainment on 00:09:01.54\00:09:07.58 television, a rapid scene of reference changes, movies, 00:09:07.61\00:09:10.25 people can get addicted to entertainment television movies. 00:09:10.28\00:09:14.28 Gaming, video gaming, a huge addiction and it can be quite 00:09:14.32\00:09:20.99 problematic, even entertainment sports and particularly watching 00:09:21.02\00:09:27.16 sports can fit that classification of addiction. 00:09:27.20\00:09:31.70 And then music, particularly the music that has a syncopated 00:09:31.73\00:09:37.37 rhythm. Now some music is actually not addictive, 00:09:37.41\00:09:39.81 other music is addictive, this is why some people say, 00:09:39.84\00:09:43.71 well, I have an addiction to food, that's not really true, 00:09:43.75\00:09:46.68 they're only addicted to some foods and it's the sugary foods 00:09:46.72\00:09:52.59 that tend to have that addictive component and it's the 00:09:52.62\00:09:56.42 syncopated rhythm aspect of music that tends to be addictive 00:09:56.46\00:09:59.79 and also not healthy as far as the frontal lobe is concerned. 00:09:59.83\00:10:03.40 Gaming is a big issue, we have a lot of people come to our 00:10:03.43\00:10:08.54 program with this addiction and it's rapidly rising. 00:10:08.57\00:10:12.37 They even have gaming sporting events online and things where 00:10:12.41\00:10:18.15 they'll give prizes so people are trying to get better and 00:10:18.18\00:10:21.75 better at these video games and they can encompass 00:10:21.78\00:10:24.89 14/16 hours a day where they're just totally engrossed 00:10:24.92\00:10:29.69 and they think, boy, there's this prize at the end, 00:10:29.72\00:10:32.19 I can get better. But the problem is, there's millions 00:10:32.23\00:10:35.46 of others trying to do the same thing and it is a rapidly rising 00:10:35.50\00:10:41.10 addiction that causes all sorts of mental health problems 00:10:41.14\00:10:44.87 and then they don't know how they can get away from it 00:10:44.91\00:10:49.74 and they end up in our program before they are able 00:10:49.78\00:10:53.42 to get the victory over their gaming habits. 00:10:53.45\00:10:56.99 A lot of us are involved in some of these activities 00:10:57.02\00:11:00.62 how do we know whether we are addicted? 00:11:00.66\00:11:03.26 Well, some of the clues that we are addicted are if we are 00:11:03.29\00:11:08.53 lying about our behavior, that's a major clue in other words 00:11:08.56\00:11:13.94 kind of denying when someone asks us if we're involved 00:11:13.97\00:11:17.71 in this or we act like as we are not involved as we are. 00:11:17.74\00:11:21.24 If we notice that we are needing a little more of this 00:11:21.28\00:11:25.91 and there is this craving, this kind of need and then 00:11:25.95\00:11:30.79 also, if we stop using it if we actually feel kind of worse, 00:11:30.82\00:11:35.09 in other words, if we are having kind of withdraw symptoms 00:11:35.12\00:11:38.09 those are major clues that there is an addiction there. 00:11:38.13\00:11:42.76 And of course the other aspect of it is the addiction is often 00:11:42.80\00:11:47.14 what the addicted person doesn't realize is there is an adverse 00:11:47.17\00:11:51.07 effect on them and others. So are others being adversely 00:11:51.11\00:11:54.71 affected? Can you admit that you are actually being adversely 00:11:54.74\00:11:59.35 affected? Those are out there, that is a major clue 00:11:59.38\00:12:03.25 that there is an addiction there. 00:12:03.28\00:12:05.49 In fact, a study was done recently showing that those in 00:12:05.52\00:12:10.26 generation Z which is the young generation, those born after 00:12:10.29\00:12:15.10 1995, 40% of them actually admit to being addicted to their 00:12:15.13\00:12:20.24 IPhone or their electronic device in fact they can't 00:12:20.27\00:12:24.84 even imagine life without them and so their life seems to 00:12:24.87\00:12:28.68 totally centered in these devices but yet we recognize 00:12:28.71\00:12:33.31 things are not going right with these kids, they're that way. 00:12:33.35\00:12:35.88 They are not relating right socially more inept, 00:12:35.92\00:12:39.49 they don't have good strong relationships with their parents 00:12:39.52\00:12:42.79 and their siblings, their ability to learn is down 00:12:42.82\00:12:46.19 and their ability to manage their emotions and so 00:12:46.23\00:12:48.96 some have intuitively put two and two together but a good 00:12:49.00\00:12:53.13 share of people do not recognize 00:12:53.17\00:12:55.50 what this is causing until they see the evidence. 00:12:55.54\00:12:59.67 And then once they see the studies and the evidence 00:12:59.71\00:13:02.24 are becoming abundant, just look up complications are 00:13:02.28\00:13:05.61 risks of devices and you'll be able to see some of the 00:13:05.65\00:13:09.32 studies...Then they realize, you know what a lot of my 00:13:09.35\00:13:13.49 problems I had no idea was linked to this gripping device, 00:13:13.52\00:13:17.23 I carry around in my pocket all the time and I'm having 00:13:17.26\00:13:20.33 trouble staying off of. 00:13:20.36\00:13:21.90 And so they need to be educated and that's why I'm glad for 00:13:21.93\00:13:26.20 shows like your' s Gary that are getting the word out there. 00:13:26.23\00:13:29.37 Because the technology companies are not going to get the word 00:13:29.40\00:13:32.31 out there. Dr. Nedley, how do addictions 00:13:32.34\00:13:35.18 work? How do they such a hold on us? 00:13:35.21\00:13:38.81 How addictions work and how they take hold of us, 00:13:38.85\00:13:41.58 actually has to do with brain chemistry...They're involving 00:13:41.62\00:13:44.92 our dopamine pathway. And addictive substances actually 00:13:44.95\00:13:49.02 more of a surge in a spike in dopamine levels 00:13:49.06\00:13:54.53 and so it can get us up into a euphoric stage, particularly 00:13:54.56\00:13:59.00 the first few times we are using the addictive substance. 00:13:59.03\00:14:02.30 And then the dopamine starts to go down pretty fast 00:14:02.34\00:14:08.88 as well, but at first it just goes down a little less than 00:14:08.91\00:14:12.98 neutral, but the more we utilize the substance, the less surge 00:14:13.01\00:14:17.92 we're getting the dopamine isn't going up as high now. 00:14:17.95\00:14:21.92 But in between times our levels are going far less than neutral 00:14:21.96\00:14:27.66 and after we use it hundreds of times, we're actually 00:14:27.70\00:14:31.23 no longer using it for euphoria we're just using it to feel 00:14:31.27\00:14:35.57 neutral or numb. And in between times there's this deep 00:14:35.60\00:14:40.41 distressing sense of deprivation even though there's nothing 00:14:40.44\00:14:43.78 bad going on in your life, and so in reality we first do it 00:14:43.81\00:14:49.15 in order to gain this pleasure and this euphoria but eventually 00:14:49.18\00:14:54.39 we're only to get numb. But because this process is so 00:14:54.42\00:14:58.26 gradual, we often don't recognize that we're actually 00:14:58.29\00:15:03.03 getting far less dopamine in our day above neutral 00:15:03.06\00:15:06.47 than what we used to get before we ever had this addiction 00:15:06.50\00:15:10.94 to begin with. And so what's interesting is people that 00:15:10.97\00:15:14.64 aren't addicted to substances they actually have dopamine 00:15:14.68\00:15:19.35 levels far above neutral the vast majority of their day 00:15:19.38\00:15:23.49 because simple things just resolved in pleasurable 00:15:23.52\00:15:26.72 activities and pleasurable levels of dopamine 00:15:26.76\00:15:29.99 without it surging downwards. So going for a nice walk 00:15:30.03\00:15:33.86 for instance, if you're not addicted, that can produce a 00:15:33.90\00:15:36.93 nice dopamine high and it will last much longer than going to 00:15:36.97\00:15:40.74 and addictive substance. 00:15:40.77\00:15:42.10 Reading a good book, listening to healthy music, 00:15:42.14\00:15:46.98 these things can produce nice dopamine levels and what the 00:15:47.01\00:15:50.45 addict does not realize, they get to the point where they're 00:15:50.48\00:15:53.95 thinking, you know this is bad for most people but 00:15:53.98\00:15:57.32 because of who I am, I need this, I need this 00:15:57.35\00:16:00.72 because without it, I'm just in bad shape, 00:16:00.76\00:16:03.63 but they don't realize that if they recovered, 00:16:03.66\00:16:06.23 their happiness and success and fulfillment in life 00:16:06.26\00:16:10.40 would be far greater than this dependency to have to go back 00:16:10.43\00:16:15.30 to this in order to try to feel more neutral or normal. 00:16:15.34\00:16:18.67 What is the best way to over- come an addiction? 00:16:18.71\00:16:22.08 The best way to overcome an addiction is to first recognize 00:16:22.11\00:16:26.11 that your habit is destructive that it's not healthy for you 00:16:26.15\00:16:30.35 and it's not healthy for people around you and that you can 00:16:30.39\00:16:34.06 actually live a far better life once you recover and 00:16:34.09\00:16:37.46 get over this addiction. 00:16:37.49\00:16:38.93 So that's step number one is to recognize that it is destructive 00:16:38.96\00:16:44.43 and then step number two is make a choice 00:16:44.47\00:16:46.94 and say, you know what, I'm going to do what it takes 00:16:46.97\00:16:50.04 to get rid of this, this is adversely affecting my life. 00:16:50.07\00:16:53.61 And then step three is where the work begins. 00:16:53.64\00:16:58.15 That involves a decision point where you are going to abstain 00:16:58.18\00:17:02.58 from it and you might suffer from withdrawal symptoms. 00:17:02.62\00:17:07.02 These withdrawal symptoms are not going to kill you per se, 00:17:07.06\00:17:11.03 unless it's heavy alcohol all the time, or unless it's 00:17:11.06\00:17:15.46 heavy narcotics or benzos, those might need a professional 00:17:15.50\00:17:18.90 involved. These other addictions don't require necessarily 00:17:18.93\00:17:25.11 a professional to help you, you just have to make this 00:17:25.14\00:17:28.24 decision and be willing to go through withdrawal symptoms. 00:17:28.28\00:17:31.78 Now, how is the best way to do this? 00:17:31.81\00:17:33.55 Exercise regularly, try to get enough sleep, 00:17:33.58\00:17:37.39 and then also rely on spiritual resources. 00:17:37.42\00:17:42.02 One of the things we are finding is that virtually everybody 00:17:42.06\00:17:46.23 that overcomes an addiction that has a grip on that 00:17:46.26\00:17:49.56 does it through spiritual resources. 00:17:49.60\00:17:52.80 That means the frontal lobe has to be involved and you have to 00:17:52.83\00:17:56.77 recognize that this is not something that you can 00:17:56.81\00:17:59.27 get over yourself, yes, you are the one that makes the 00:17:59.31\00:18:02.01 choice, it's the willpower, it's not going to do it without 00:18:02.04\00:18:04.51 your choice. But then once you make that choice, ask God 00:18:04.55\00:18:08.95 to help you, and God does actually, help those who are 00:18:08.98\00:18:15.22 who are willing to put their all in to develop that 00:18:15.26\00:18:20.30 relationship with him to help them overcome these powerful 00:18:20.33\00:18:24.53 addictions and then a life starts to improve. 00:18:24.57\00:18:29.00 At first, they are wondering, boy, my life is worse 00:18:29.04\00:18:31.47 but over time they will actually as I mentioned, 00:18:31.51\00:18:36.24 they'll actually have much higher Dopamine levels 00:18:36.28\00:18:39.61 just doing the simple pleasures in life that are not addictive 00:18:39.65\00:18:42.72 and they will have far better relationships, 00:18:42.75\00:18:46.09 far more productivity at work far better family life 00:18:46.12\00:18:49.56 it's worth all the effort you can do to overcome any addiction 00:18:49.59\00:18:53.83 that you might have. 00:18:53.86\00:18:55.96 Well, you know interestingly Gary in the medical/psychiatric 00:18:56.00\00:18:59.30 establishment the highest rates of agnosticism and atheism 00:18:59.33\00:19:03.64 are in the psychiatric profession. 00:19:03.67\00:19:05.44 So in my psychiatry learning, I learned from these individuals 00:19:05.47\00:19:09.94 that didn't really have God in their life but what I would 00:19:09.98\00:19:13.82 notice is that when they had people with powerful addictions 00:19:13.85\00:19:16.99 coming to them and begging them as a psychiatrist 00:19:17.02\00:19:20.62 please, is there anything that you can give me to overcome 00:19:20.66\00:19:24.29 this addiction, don't you have a pill for it doc? 00:19:24.33\00:19:26.53 Or don't you have...and the doctor would say 00:19:26.56\00:19:29.26 I have nothing, there is no pill that's going to help you. 00:19:29.30\00:19:32.83 I actually don't have anything to help you but I can 00:19:32.87\00:19:36.37 tell you that my patients that have gotten help, 00:19:36.40\00:19:39.34 they've all gone the spiritual route and let me tell you 00:19:39.37\00:19:43.24 where you can go where the other patients have gone to get help. 00:19:43.28\00:19:46.31 He said I don't know what happens there but I know the 00:19:46.35\00:19:49.92 spiritual part is the way my patients have overcome 00:19:49.95\00:19:53.36 addictions like that. So you need to see them. 00:19:53.39\00:19:55.99 So, in general, the psychiatric community recognizes God in a 00:19:56.02\00:20:01.03 spiritual power is involved in that, they're not necessarily 00:20:01.06\00:20:04.07 in contact with that power but they recognize from 00:20:04.10\00:20:07.07 their own experience that patients who overcome addictions 00:20:07.10\00:20:10.47 have a strong spiritually influence that helps them to 00:20:10.51\00:20:14.71 overcome. To overcome an addiction obviously requires 00:20:14.74\00:20:18.68 change, can you tell us a little about that? 00:20:18.71\00:20:22.08 Yes, overcoming addiction, there are four stages of change. 00:20:22.12\00:20:26.22 The first stage is when the addict doesn't even realize 00:20:26.25\00:20:30.03 that they need to change, that's what we call unconsciously 00:20:30.06\00:20:33.46 incompetent. They are incompetent but they don't 00:20:33.50\00:20:37.30 recognize that they are incompetent. 00:20:37.33\00:20:38.93 The second stage is to become consciously incompetent. 00:20:38.97\00:20:44.04 That means that you actually are convinced that it is harmful 00:20:44.07\00:20:48.48 and it often takes knowledge for an addict to recognize that. 00:20:48.51\00:20:51.91 And so some good knowledge this is why we have to teach 00:20:51.95\00:20:55.48 people the harms of this behavior, what it would be like 00:20:55.52\00:20:59.92 without the behavior and then show them the evidence 00:20:59.95\00:21:02.29 and then they realize, alright, this is more of a problem 00:21:02.32\00:21:05.99 than I thought it was, it's probably causing all sorts of 00:21:06.03\00:21:08.73 problems in my life that I don't even recognize. 00:21:08.76\00:21:11.40 But they still haven't changed as far as getting rid of the 00:21:11.43\00:21:15.14 addiction they are now just conscious that they are 00:21:15.17\00:21:18.14 incompetent. And that's an important step an addict 00:21:18.17\00:21:21.08 will not overcome without some knowledge. 00:21:21.11\00:21:23.48 And then the third aspect is now to become 00:21:23.51\00:21:27.05 consciously competent, that means that you have with your 00:21:27.08\00:21:32.62 willpower and choice, you've made a decision, 00:21:32.65\00:21:35.36 you are giving up this addiction. 00:21:35.39\00:21:37.93 And it is no more going to be a part of your life. 00:21:37.96\00:21:41.13 Yes, ask God to help you, recognize your dependence 00:21:41.16\00:21:45.73 on Him and do what you can with your own body with exercise 00:21:45.77\00:21:49.14 and sleep and type of things to get over it but you need 00:21:49.17\00:21:52.27 to recognize...Let's just talk a simple addiction. 00:21:52.31\00:21:55.14 If you're addicted to Pepsi, when you get thirsty 00:21:55.18\00:21:58.68 your still going to think of Pepsi and you're going to 00:21:58.71\00:22:01.55 have to say No, not Pepsi, it's going to be water. 00:22:01.58\00:22:05.05 The next time your thirsty, you're going to think of Pepsi 00:22:05.09\00:22:07.86 again and you're going to have to say, No, not Pepsi, 00:22:07.89\00:22:10.93 it's going to be water. That's conscious competence 00:22:10.96\00:22:14.00 and you have to continue in that competence phase 00:22:14.03\00:22:18.03 differing amounts of time depending on the addiction. 00:22:18.07\00:22:21.24 But with caffeine, it's about a month and after one month 00:22:21.27\00:22:24.74 when you get thirsty, you're now thinking of water. 00:22:24.77\00:22:28.74 Your actually enjoying water that you didn't like 00:22:28.78\00:22:31.48 the taste before and you recognize, you know what? 00:22:31.51\00:22:34.72 I don't have the problems with caffeine anymore, 00:22:34.75\00:22:36.52 I'm not irritable, I don't have my reflux, I don't have 00:22:36.55\00:22:41.22 those types of symptoms and that's when you have reached 00:22:41.26\00:22:44.06 stage four which is unconsciously competent 00:22:44.09\00:22:48.30 and so it's no longer a struggle. 00:22:48.33\00:22:50.37 A lot of addicts think it's going to be this lifelong 00:22:50.40\00:22:53.74 struggle and they are going to go back and forth between stages 00:22:53.77\00:22:56.54 two and three, conscious competence and they don't 00:22:56.57\00:23:00.34 realize if they stick with it, there is unconscious competence 00:23:00.38\00:23:04.11 coming and that's when the Dopamine levels are above 00:23:04.15\00:23:06.92 neutral a vast majority of the day we're getting nice Dopamine 00:23:06.95\00:23:11.92 satisfactions, irritations, the usual irritations or the nuances 00:23:11.95\00:23:16.06 of life don't get them down at all anymore and they are 00:23:16.09\00:23:18.89 able to live above the fray and they become more productive, 00:23:18.93\00:23:22.40 relationships improve, and success and fulfillment 00:23:22.43\00:23:25.77 skyrockets. That's unconscious competence and its waiting 00:23:25.80\00:23:31.11 every addict that goes through those four stages of change. 00:23:31.14\00:23:35.14 Dr. Nedley, what message would you give to those who were 00:23:35.18\00:23:39.61 struggling with addictions? 00:23:39.65\00:23:40.98 The message I would give for those struggling with an 00:23:41.02\00:23:43.85 addiction is I don't care who you are, I don't care what your 00:23:43.89\00:23:47.62 addiction is, you can overcome with the power of God 00:23:47.66\00:23:53.09 in your life. Do what it takes to make this choice, depend 00:23:53.13\00:23:58.23 upon God, He will help you and you can break free. 00:23:58.27\00:24:03.14 Dr. Nedley, thank you for being on our program today 00:24:03.17\00:24:06.51 and for sharing such valuable information with us. 00:24:06.54\00:24:09.98 Thanks for having me, Gary, it's always great being here. 00:24:10.01\00:24:12.88 Happiness and fulfillment are what we all really want 00:24:15.95\00:24:19.49 in life, turning to things that only fill us for a moment 00:24:19.52\00:24:23.93 but lead to heartache and misery, anxiety, and depression, 00:24:23.96\00:24:27.30 are like seeing a mirage after a long walk through a thirsty 00:24:27.33\00:24:31.13 desert but never experiencing the life-giving water that we 00:24:31.17\00:24:36.71 desperately crave. 00:24:36.74\00:24:38.07 In the Bible, there was a woman with addictions that had 00:24:38.11\00:24:42.41 taken a hold on her leaving her socially isolated and empty 00:24:42.44\00:24:46.95 inside. Jesus met her one day at a well in the desert and 00:24:46.98\00:24:51.52 offered her the water of life that could truly quench her 00:24:51.55\00:24:55.26 thirst and fill her deepest needs. He said to her, 00:24:55.29\00:24:59.56 This woman had been looking for happiness and fulfillment 00:25:16.54\00:25:20.42 in all the wrong places. But what she was really missing 00:25:20.45\00:25:24.79 was Jesus. The day she met her savior, she found hope. 00:25:24.82\00:25:29.96 The day she let Him into her heart, she found peace, and 00:25:29.99\00:25:33.70 real joy that satisfied the deepest needs of her soul. 00:25:33.73\00:25:39.23 If you would like to begin a journey with Jesus, 00:25:39.27\00:25:41.94 receive some practical suggestions on how to overcome 00:25:41.97\00:25:46.34 an addiction that you are struggling with or if you 00:25:46.37\00:25:48.98 know somebody who is struggling with an addiction, 00:25:49.01\00:25:51.21 then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have for all our 00:25:51.25\00:25:55.52 Incredible Journey viewers today. 00:25:55.55\00:25:57.99 It's the booklet called 12 Proven Steps for Overcoming 00:25:58.02\00:26:03.86 Addiction. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely 00:26:03.89\00:26:08.30 Free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 00:26:08.33\00:26:12.83 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive 00:26:12.87\00:26:17.41 the gift we have for you today. Phone or text 0436.333.555 00:26:17.44\00:26:25.11 in Australia or 020.422.2042 in New Zealand. 00:26:25.15\00:26:30.72 Or visit our website TIJ.tv or simply scan the QR code 00:26:30.75\00:26:36.39 on your screen and we'll send you today's free offer 00:26:36.42\00:26:39.93 totally free of charge and with no obligation. 00:26:39.96\00:26:43.03 Write to us a GPO Pox 274 Sydney NSW Box 2001 Australia 00:26:43.06\00:26:49.94 Or PO Box 76673 Manukau Auckland 2241 New, Zealand 00:26:49.97\00:26:57.08 Don't delay, call or text us now. 00:26:57.11\00:27:00.02 If you've enjoyed today's journey into the world of 00:27:07.66\00:27:10.79 addictions and our reflections on overcoming addictions, 00:27:10.83\00:27:14.56 and finding peace in our lives, then be sure to join us again 00:27:14.60\00:27:19.03 next week when we will share another of Life's Journey's 00:27:19.07\00:27:22.87 together and now I would like to ask you to join me as we pray. 00:27:22.90\00:27:28.68 Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you are the 00:27:28.74\00:27:33.08 water of life that can quench our thirsty souls. 00:27:33.11\00:27:36.38 We've been looking for love and fulfillment in all the wrong 00:27:36.42\00:27:40.29 places. Today, we have discovered that our search for 00:27:40.32\00:27:44.93 happiness and true and joy can only be found in knowing and 00:27:44.96\00:27:49.16 following you, the God who made us and loves us. 00:27:49.20\00:27:53.10 Today we invite you into our hearts and lives. 00:27:53.13\00:27:57.01 In Jesus name, we pray, Amen. 00:27:57.04\00:28:00.88