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Can neurofeedback reduce the effects of another symptom of trauma – gambling?

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As I like to quote renowned addiction expert, Dr. Gabor Maté, “Not all traumatized people become addicted, but all addicted people, including those addicted to opioids, were traumatized in some way.” He has also stated “Addiction is only a symptom, it’s not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is trauma.” This message is very powerful and supports efforts to destigmatize people who struggle with addictive behaviors of all kinds, whether the impulse to soothe is temporarily satisfied by alcohol/drugs, exercise, shopping, eating, caffeine, tobacco/nicotine, internet gaming, sex, TV, social media or gambling. My adaptive behavioral addiction to chronic toxic stress as a child was eating and it did soothe me in the moment, although not for very long. Since the diagnosis of gambling addiction was added in the 5th addition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), research has been able to focus on treatments that might be helpful to healing.

My own healing journey included both talk therapy along with yoga, to reduce the internal conflict and stress I felt and to understand why I felt it in the first place. The contemplative practices in yoga created space in my mind and body to process through talk therapy with more ease. I wasn’t aware of neurofeedback or non-invasive brain stimulation at the time, although it has been around for over 50 years. I think it was due largely to the pharmaceutical marketing push to treat mental health challenges that created our current infatuation with psychopharmacology and moved any non-pharmaceutical options into the shadows for a long time. I’m grateful neurofeedback is making a strong comeback as it does not have the many complex side effects prescription medications cause in both the body and mind!

As we begin to embrace addictions, both chemical and behavioral, as natural adaptive behaviors to chronic toxic stress from adverse childhood experiences, we can begin to expand our treatment options beyond Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and prescription medications. Neurofeedback can expand our window of tolerance (like yoga did for me) to create space to process and release the pain and shame emanating from our past with more ease and without drugs. Although preliminary, research is beginning to show that neurofeedback can significantly reduce the cravings experienced by people struggling with a gambling addiction. If you, or someone you love may be in this space, it is my hope that you might consider neurofeedback as a tool to support the journey of healing.

If you would like to read more about the research related to gambling disorder, click on the button below:

Neurofeedback Reduces Gambling Cravings

How might the trauma of adverse childhood experiences impact the health of older adults?

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As I am now in my 60s, I am even more eager to do what I can to maintain my health, physically, mentally and emotionally. My personal goal is to live to 120 years of age and to be teaching yoga beyond the age of 100! Perhaps I will shoot for breaking the Guiness World Record as the oldest yoga teacher, currently held by Tao Porchon-Lynch, who died at the age of 101 in 2020. Who knows, right? Well, new research into the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in older adults might level set my expectations a bit.

 In 1995, Kaiser Permanente began the original study collecting data on (ACEs). Since the publication of that data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded the scope of such data collection through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Since 2009, every state has begun to collect such data in its efforts for prevent violence, recognizing the long-term health impacts of ACEs. Most of the research to this point has focused on the negative mpact of such ACEs on the health and well-being of children and early to mid-life adults. New research took a look on the potential impact on older adults, specifically ages 50 years and older.

This new research study out of UCSF investigated the connection between ACEs and physical mobility, cognitive impairment, and functional disability in 3,387 participants between the ages of 50 and 97 years of age. Raising the collective awareness of ACEs, along with their traumatic impacts on our children, is important to implement preventive measures moving forward. As the results of this study highlight, it is also vital for implementing trauma-informed geriatric care approaches, since older adults who have had adverse childhood experiences are more likely to experience physical and cognitive functional impairments.

Impact of ACEs on Older Adults

Can neurofeedback be a “Nudge” to a Stuck Nervous System Due to Early Life Stress?

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Growing up in a single-mother household created a lot of stress and fear that stayed with me even as an adult.  Such a household dynamic brings a greater risk of poverty, which creates challenges in securing a safe place to live and putting food on the table on a consistent basis.  Fear in childhood from stressful experiences can change the trajectory of a person’s health over the entire life span if not addressed, specifically an elevated vulnerability to addiction in all of its forms.  Now, with the advent of the pandemic, we might need to add this to the long list of stressors that children struggle to adapt to as it might be years before the impact and lingering effects of the fear and isolation it has caused to be fully understood.  Is it possible that neurofeedback might be able to “nudge” the fearful nervous system back in the direction of health?

What we have learned about adverse childhood experiences and the traumatizing effects of such, is that talking about it may not be enough to move through the fear and calm the emotional centers of the brain.  More is needed and not everyone is willing to tolerate the side-effects of prescription medication, such as suicidal thoughts.  Therefore, research into alternative and complementary non-invasive, non-medication treatments, such as yoga and neurofeedback, has increased over the past couple of decades, with very promising results.

A recent review focused on neurofeedback to determine if it might help move the autonomic nervous system away from fear toward homeostatic equilibrium in people who experienced early life stress.  The researchers conclude that neurofeedback can increase the efficacy of other training protocols and more traditional talk therapy techniques.

Neurofeedback in Early Life Stress

Can primary care physicians jump start the complex PTSD healing journey of the underserved?

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As efforts to shine light on the underlying causes of health risk continue, especially as the disparities have become even clearer during this pandemic, the focus remains on the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the burden created on the human body individually and the healthcare system as a whole.  I am so grateful for Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s Surgeon General who established early childhood, health equity and ACEs and toxic stress as key priorities, with a goal to reduce ACEs and toxic stress by half in one generation.

It still amazes me that so many people are not aware of the ACEs data that show the trauma our children endure, especially within low-income communities of color.  It has been out for years and continues to be collected every year, with expanding definitions of what constitutes adverse childhood experiences.  And it becomes frustrating when our healthcare systems continue to simply look at the symptoms of trauma, such as addiction, depression, and anxiety, without addressing the root cause.

I’m encouraged, and I hope you too find it encouraging, to learn that Dr. Burke Harris is starting with a campaign to provide Medi-Cal providers training, clinical protocols, and payment for screening children and adults for ACEs.  For more information on this campaign, you can click here.

It is also encouraging to hear about the research looking at other approaches to the chronic effects of trauma that are showing positive outcomes, especially within underserved primary care patient populations.  One particular pilot study tested the feasibility of a two-session motivational treatment intervention, implemented with Black primary care patients.  The intervention addressed adverse childhood experiences, post-traumatic stress symptoms, health risk behaviors and behavioral health referral acceptance.  The results were encouraging, suggesting that it is feasible to implement a brief motivational treatment with underserved primary care patients, that was received well and connected almost one-third of the participants to behavioral health services to continue the healing journey.

To read more on this pilot study, click the link below:

Mental Health intervention for Black primary care patients

Compassion for Survivors of Trauma – a New View of Substance Use Disorder/Addiction!

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I remember being assigned to read the book by Dr. Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, while in graduate school and simply feeling gratitude, compassion and validation afterwards.  I never believed in the medical model of addiction that describes the symptom of addiction as a chronic disease of the brain, even suggesting a genetic component to the disease, implying that if my parent(s) had addictions, most likely I would too.  Now, don’t get me wrong, the brains of people who struggle with addiction are different, yet those changes are created as a response to the adverse childhood experiences (AKA TRAUMA) these people survived.  And if your parents suffered from addictions when you were growing up, that experience is traumatic to a child!

I’ve written before about the impact of adverse childhood experiences, especially on physical health later in life as well as addiction; however, I felt compelled to revisit it again when I learned of research that found over 96% of the study participants suffering from substance use disorders, including prescription opioids, nicotine, and cocaine, had trauma histories.  When comparing the groups based upon their drug of choice, the prescription opiate group reported more traumatic childhood experiences than the other groups and a younger age of their first adverse childhood event.  So, when you learn about the underlying dynamics associated with substance use, the thought of “Just Say No” to drugs seems crazy!

Trauma comes in many packages and I’m grateful that the new California Surgeon General (Dr. Nadine Burke Harris) is focusing on early childhood, health equity and Adverse Childhood Experiences and toxic stress as her key priorities. (For more information on the ACEs Aware initiative, visit www.ACEsAware.org.)  It is time to stop blaming the victims and participate in bringing this information forward in order to educate.  What we don’t know, we don’t know.  However, once we know better, we can do better.  With this knowledge, we can bring more empathy and compassion in our interactions with people that struggle with substances.  We can take extra steps to explain this new research to them, validating their experiences and bringing them hope that they can heal from these past traumatic experiences and release their attachment to something that is harmful to them.  We can empower them to explore various healing modalities, such as psychotherapy, neurofeedback, meditation, hypnosis, guided imagery, and expressive arts, such as yoga, writing and drawing, all of which have been shown to support post-traumatic growth.

To read more about this research, click on the box below:

ACEs and Substance Use Disorder