Opioid Initiative

Everything one needs to succeed in recovery can be found within themselves. What’s happening inside the brain of someone who is using drugs or alcohol? It isn’t the substance that makes them feel different, it’s their very own neurotransmitters. Drugs only amplify how these neurotransmitters can make someone feel. This is why we call the brain a “pharmacy”. These transmitters, also known as endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, amongst others, help create our sense of well-being, contentment, excitement, motivation and joy. But drugs eventually hijack these important neurochemicals and make one’s ability to create them naturally extremely difficult, if not impossible. That is how addiction begins. 

We all take unique pathways along the journey of life, but our destination is the same. The same can be said to be true of recovery. There are many different recovery methods one may choose and different individual goals they may have. Rather than think one method is superior, studies show that meeting an individual where they are at and working with their own personal goals is more helpful than any one single approach. Neuroscience tells us a lot about the nature of healing and how emotions affect our decisions, but even science lessons from quantum physicists, and scientist who studied the nature of reality, like Albert Einstein, can reveal to us ideas that can have a profound impact on our perception.

Healing is more about embracing the good habits than it is about avoiding the negative ones. With persistence, and overtime, the balance begins to shift towards health. Within each part of the holistic approach to recovery (mind, body, spirit) there are many techniques and habits one can use to increase the body’s ability to make those feel-good neurochemical like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin again, without the use of drugs or alcohol. Equally important in recovery is having a safe space with support from either friends, family, or community in which the most important aspect of this support is the belief that someone can succeed.