This series of articles is based on a study of the effects of subliminal exposure to pictures depicting cocaine use to detoxified cocaine addicts in a residential treatment program. They were hooked up to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equipment and exposed to a series of these images at the rate of 33-milliseconds each, below the threshold for conscious awareness. What the fMRI’s captured was the arousal of the limbic system, the earliest development of the brain, which is why it has been nicknamed, “the reptilian brain.” It is hardwired to operate 24/7 to achieve and maintain 3 objectives:

• Insure the survival of the embodied self;
• Avoid and/or minimize pain;
• Seek and maximize pleasure.

What the test subjects experienced was the seemingly sudden craving for cocaine that “came out of nowhere.” Had they not been in a closely supervised environment, they would have relapsed! A few days later, they were retested with different images depicting cocaine use, only this time the exposure was just long enough to register consciously that something had flashed before their eyes. What the fMRI recorded was a direct correlation between the intensity of arousal at the subliminal level and the barely conscious level. To get a copy of the original study’s synopsis and/or the NIH press release, contact me at: Lauralyn@embodysuccess.net

Because chronic obesity and yoyo dieting have been identified as addictive behavior, this series of articles examines the implications for weight loss treatment.

For food addicts, this study would suggest that the way to reduce the incidence of cravings for “comfort” foods is to remove them from one’s environment! It’s not enough to take the cookie jar off the kitchen counter and put it in a cabinet, even on a high shelf! If your eye sweeps over that cookie jar while your limbic system is in a state of high anxiety, whether you consciously “see” it or not, you’ll suddenly “remember” the cookie jar and grab it!

When we begin to reflect on the power of the reptilian brain to veto the “rational” aspirations of our minds, it is easy to understand why the NIH has reported that all non-surgical weight loss programs have a 90% failure rate 5-years out! And, as the popularity of various forms of weight loss surgeries (WLS) increases, we are now seeing a dramatic rise in the rate of surgical revisions – giving patients who have “stretched out” their surgically reduced stomachs another surgical reduction!

To date, no official treatment program has adequately addressed how to work with the addict’s reptilian brain to re-program it not to experience arousal for the addictive substance/ activity.

Classic psychotherapy relies upon our rational personality to supervise changes in behavior based on the acquisition of insights that illuminate why we have behaved destructively.

But research scientists are discovering how powerful the limbic system is, and the various ways it dictates to the “higher functioning” parts of the brain that, collectively, create the mind you know as your Self. Thanks to fMRI’s and other technology, we are discovering a shadow administration of “covert behavioral operations” directed by the limbic system! Self-sabotage is the first inkling that the reptilian brain is taking charge of our judgment and behavior.

Going back to the study reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one thing really troubled me: the direction future research would take in light of these findings. It ended with this quote from one of the research team’s co-leaders, Dr. Anna Rose Childress:  

“We are looking at the potential for new medications that reduce the brain’s sensitivity to these conditioned drug cues and would give patients a fighting chance to manage their urges.”  [emphasis added]

While I am totally supportive of the supervised administration of psychotropic medications to intervene and stabilize persons in acute distress or chronic pain (and have been the grateful beneficiary of a few of them), I continue to believe that our future health lies in the discovery and practice of holistic therapies that effectively integrate the power of the human mind, the wisdom of its energetic spirit and the body’s physical intelligence to heal  when we are suffering from dis-ease, rather than managing the symptoms of our illness.

I appreciate that it is beyond the scope of medical research to address the societal components causing ever growing numbers of people to seek relief from a world that is so alienating that oblivion is all one can imagine and achieve.

I got my hands on a copy of the actual study and sifted through the findings to see if I could, by inference, imagine a treatment protocol for addictive behavior that would not require chronic medication. 

I found it! I’ll give you a hint: fight passion with passion!

CRAVINGS! Those powerful, irrational, often irresistible urges of escalating intensity that will not be denied. “The Devil made me do it!” comedian Flip Wilson’s character, Geraldine, used to declare defiantly when caught in compromising behavior, and we’d all laugh.

The biological reality is much simpler and less scary. Your reptilian brain will stop wrecking your efforts to transform your life when it recognizes your dream and your action plan for achieving it as:
• Comfortingly familiar!
• Safe and minimally unpleasant!
• Highly pleasurable and rewarding!

What if the things that trigger anxiety are unavoidable, you’re asking? And, thanks to this study, I can promise you, they are! By definition, our minds are incapable of monitoring subliminal stimuli! Those of us who are food addicts cannot abstain from our “drug of choice” without fatal consequences; the prognosis for anorexics surviving their illness is discouraging.

In Part 3, I will share the secret to turning our reptilian brain from an enemy to be tricked or overpowered into a powerful ally and champion of our efforts!! The limbic system responds to emotional sensations and physical stimuli. It will not respond to abstract ideas, the mechanical repetition of certain words or phrases or the sight of visual ideals. We will enlist the support of our reptilian brain. The same relentless vigilance that made it the enemy of our dreams can be harnessed to insure our success!

To learn more about Lauralyn Bellamy, her coaching program, her art workshops, spiritual development coaching, and more! Visit: www.embodysuccess.spaces.live.com  www.yourchaplain.com/yourspirituality.htm www.yourchaplain.com/workshops.htm
www.lbellamy.dreamcoach.com
and www.youtube.com/lauralynbellamy