Whether you believe that the world was created in seven days several thousand years ago or that humankind evolved slowly over millions of years, there is little argument that the brains of animals and humans have a component called a hippocampus. The hippocampus is the “control center” for emotions and long-term memory among other functions and is important in how humans become addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Anyone who has taken a high school level psychology course knows of the famous experiments of Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist, that led to his discovery of “classical conditioning” using meat, salivating dogs and a bell. He conditioned the dogs to associate the ringing bell with food so that the ringing bell alone would cause the dogs to salivate.
What is not so well known is that Pavlov continued the experiment by ringing the bell but not offering any food. The dogs soon stopped salivating when the bell rang. They had been de-conditioned, the urge to salivate had become “extinct,” and their hippocampi had returned to a “pre-bell” status.
ARC and TSM
Pavlov’s work is the basis of an alcohol addiction treatment program pioneered by Dr. David Sinclair called The Sinclair Method (TSM). The method works to help alcoholics ignore the urge to drink even when that “bell” goes off in the brain that creates the conditioned response to imbibe.
And at Addiction Recovery Center (ARC), a rehab for addiction in Phoenix, TSM has been proven to be an effective way for alcoholics to conquer their addiction with a 78% success rate.
TSM involves the use of the drug Naltrexone and is best used on an alcoholic who is still functional in most day to day activities but recognizes the need to reduce alcohol intake. Some may be surprised that an addiction to alcohol may be harder to treat than other addictions so a “cold turkey” approach is best reserved for those who have extreme addictions and cannot function in a healthy environment
With TSM the Naltrexone blocks the brain’s pleasure-seeking endorphins associated with alcohol. Over time, this will reduce or even eliminate the urge to drink. But at ARC there is much more to TSM than just supplying that magic pill and letting the user go his or her merry way. This rehab for addiction in Phoenix, which is the ARC, will first perform a medical exam to make sure that any person is eligible for Naltrexone before writing any prescription. Then there is a six-month period of regular counseling with experienced and certified addiction counselors.
Naltrexone is administered in three ways. An oral pill that is taken daily, an injection that lasts 28 days or as an implanted pellet that can last up to 10 months. The pellets have the advantage to people who forget to take pills or keep appointments and because the daily dosages are continuous and at a lower amount, any side effects are minimized.
If you believe that your hippocampus has you “salivating” over your five o’clock martini rather than that juicy barbecued steak, then you might want to give ARC in Phoenix a call to get the help you need. Not reducing or eliminating that urge to drink will likely cause more serious difficulties in the years ahead.
The number is toll-free at 1-855-393-4673 and is available 24/7. The email is hope@addictionrecoverycenters.com or use the online form to send a message to ARC in Phoenix.