How Addiction Controls the Brain (the 3 brains): Warning Nerd Alert!🤓

All right, in this section we are going to talk about the big brain parts. The overall big sort of global or macro version of what's going on in the brain when it comes to addiction. We're going to make this very simplified and anyone can understand it. Alright, so here we go. Basically you have three different brains that are all squished together and work in coordination with each other. You have the, what we call the reptilian part of the brain. Some people call it the old part of the brain. I call it the survival part of the brain. And it's actually located right here, kind of at your, the bottom of your brain and the top of your spine. And that is actually what controls all those biological functions that keep you alive. So for example, your heart beating, your respirations, all those automatic biology functions that we need to work right so that we can be alive. Also in this part of the brain there are some instincts housed that are there and they happen, they're kind of put in this part because everything in this part is kind of autopilot. You don't have to think about these things to make them happen. You can think about your breathing and make it go faster or slower, but if you stop thinking about it, it's going to happen on its own. So this part of the brain controls, going to call it the autopilot part. It controls everything that's automatic. Then you have, sitting right on top of that part, really kind of in the middle of your brain you have this part. So this is your brain stem and your survival part. You have this part that goes over it, it's in the middle. And that's actually what we call your limbic brain or your limbic system. And this is probably to me the most fascinating part of the brain. It's responsible for all the emotional stuff. So it's where all those emotions are processed and chemicals are released. And it's really to me fascinating for a lot of reasons. One thing to me that's interesting is this part of the brain is particular to mammals. So think back to science class way like middle school science here. Reptiles and birds and fish and all that, all those kind of animals, a lot of times they have babies that hatch or lay and like eggs. And so most of those animals, like a snake for example, might lay a bunch of eggs and then the snake hatches and then the snake slithers off on its own. And it can survive on its own, like right from hatching or I want to say birth, but I guess it's not birth, it's like hatching. So those animals don't need as much care to survive as a mammal does. Mammals are things like people and dogs and cats and horses. And if you think back to science class, remember a mammal is an animal that gives birth to a live young or baby, I call them babies. Depends on what the animal is. But these are special because these live babies need adult care in order to live. So for example, if a human has a baby and then it just walks off and leaves it, the baby's not going to live. It has to have, doesn't have to have its mother, although that's preferable. But it has to have another human to take care of it. So. So for that reason, biology has equipped us with these limbic systems. And it's created this sort of emotional core and bonding center of the brain that creates attachment. And all those other feelings like love, care, concern, connectedness, all that other stuff happens right here in the limbic system as well. From some pretty complicated neural processes which we won't go into into today just for time sake, but we might in a future class or so, because it kind of makes me feel nerdy, but super exciting and interesting to me. So that's your limbic responsible for bonding. I mean, think about it. How many of you have kids, right? I know, they come out, they're like purple, they're screaming, they don't let you sleep for like three years. They demand everything, like your whole self, it doesn't even matter anymore. Like you are nothing but the vesicle in charge of taking care of this baby. What person would do all that if there wasn't something in your brain that makes you do it? I know, it's like they're a purple screaming alien and something clicks in our brain when they're born. And we just love them and we would do anything for them. It's because nature gave us this limbic system. It releases these bonding chemicals like oxytocin and it makes us like have no choice. Thank gosh, because I don't think we would do it otherwise. Or there are a lot of days when we would. And I can tell you that. So that's your limbic brain. Lastly, on top of that part, all this part up here that most people think of when they think about your brain. You know, the part that looks like spaghetti, that's your neocortex is the fancy word for it. I like to call it your front brain or your thinking brain. Think. And this is really important. This is kind of what sets us apart from the rest of the mammals. So if you think about it in biology terms, like reptiles and fish, they have that biology brain, keeps them alive. That's pretty much it. Mammals, they have the biology brain, plus the emotional brain, because we need to connect to one another to survive. And then humans also have this additional neocortex, which is responsible for cognition, thinking, reasoning, Weighing pros and cons, Deciding what to do. It's what allows us to build rocket ships. It's what allows us to think through the consequences of the decisions that we make and all of those really important functions that humans do. So those are your three brains. Now, when everything's working right, There's a lot of communication and information that flows from each of those brains back and forth, and that kind of makes things work pretty seamlessly. But there are things that can make that those three brains not communicate very well together, or amp up certain parts and turn off certain brains, and. And then we get into trouble, and you might have some sort of mental health issue or addiction issue. So on a very basic level, I want you to understand that addiction really goes in there and rewires and attacks that survival brain. It actually. It's kind of like a pirate that comes in and hijacks the ship. So the addiction comes in and hijacks that survival brain. And if you think about these parts of the brain, like, they have power levels, Sometimes I think about it like those old school video games. I used to play mario brothers when I was a kid, and you would see, like, the lifeline at the top of the game Told you how much energy you had left before you were going to die. The three parts of the brain actually have different power levels. The survival part of your brain Is the strongest part, and it has the ability to override the emotions and the thinking, and it will do so very quickly when it needs to, or it feels like it needs to keep you alive. And so addiction actually goes in there and hijacks that part, which is kind of scary, because, remember, that part can override the other parts. Right now you're starting to get sort of that big picture about why addiction is a disease and why people that have addiction make choices differently than people that don't have an addiction. It doesn't seem to make sense to the rest of us, but there really is some serious brain things Going on there. So what happens is that biology or survival part of the brain eventually begins to think that it needs, Even though it doesn't think, but it eventually gets wired up to need that substance or whatever it is that we're addicted to in order to live or function appropriately. And sometimes we really do. Like for example, if you're alcohol dependent, like big time, and you stop drinking, you might die. So that survival part of your brain says you need alcohol. And when it says you need alcohol, that need will override your thinking, your emotions. It will take control of those things in such a way that it gears all the rest of the brain functions. Become involved in meeting this one need for survival. Because luckily our brains take care of what we need to survive. Before it takes care of our feelings and before it takes care of what we're thinking. It's just a problem when it comes to addiction. The other thing that happens in addiction is not only do you have that sort of hijacked survival part of the brain is. It sets that emotional brain on fire. Because the person is in or pretty often they're in those that up and down roller coaster of having the drug and not having the drug and having the drug and then not having the drug. And so it sets that limbic system on fire. There'll be a whole other series about the psychological aspects of addiction. And we'll get into this more then. But basically the person loses the ability to experience joy from normal, regular things like hobbies, interests, activities, relationships. All those regular emotional connective things get overridden by the need for the substance. Because it's basically the addiction's living down there in that really strong part of the brain. And then the thinking basically gets manipulated and used. The person can think sort of, but all the thinking is basically it's in an obsessive thinking pattern around how to get, obtain and continue to use. So think of it like a little terrorist in there that's hijacked everything else. And this is sort of the overall reason why it's so frustrating to deal with an addict. Because you can't motivate them the regular way. Like you can motivate other people. Like you can't reward them out of it. You can't promise them things and they'll quit. You can't beat it out of them. Negative consequences won't make it stop. Because those motivations don't compare to the survival need. And now that person's brain really is needing this substance to survive. Or at least it thinks it does, or at least it's been. You might want to think of it like rewired to need that substance. So you can see that the thinking goes or is at least controlled by the disease and the emotion connection people tend to get. So Anxious and depressed when they're addicted. That they lose that capacity to feel connected to other people. Because when that limbic system's too activated. I think of it like it's on fire. It's like too much juice going on in there. You really can't feel calm connected to other people and other causes. The same way you can when you don't have an addiction going on. Or you're not struggling with an anxiety or depression issue. Or any other mood disorder. Another interesting fact is this is Amber's theory here is also because that limbic system is on fire. It's right there in that part of the brain. That people can actually experience the feeling of connectedness, even to higher power. And so a really common thing that's a problem for addicted people is that lack of spirituality. In the AA Big book, there's a chapter called We Agnostics. And. And the reason for that is because that's a common issue in alcoholism. But also in other drug addictions and even process addictions. Is sort of losing the ability to feel connectedness to something bigger than yourself. And I really want you to know that there's a lot of biological reasons for that. Some people can be fully addicted and have such strong religious beliefs. That they can come in and they can tell you that they have faith and what they believe. But I gotta be honest with you, I'm not real sure that I believe them. That they can really feel that connectedness feeling anymore. It's hardwired in there, maybe for them for so long. That they know what to say or how to say it or what maybe their truth is down inside. But they've probably honestly lost the ability to feel that feeling. And a lot of you know what I'm talking about. It's really hard to describe. But there's just some sort of intuition, bigger sense of something inside of there that most of us can feel. And whatever it is that we do to connect to our spirituality. And that's different for everybody. But it's that feeling that. You know what I'm talking about. When you're addicted, that part of your brain is not working right. And you can't really feel that. So for that reason, I usually don't use spirituality as my first line of defense. To go in and talking to people with addictions. Because that probably is not working right. And you're either going to get. I don't believe in all that. Or you might get some sort of discussion or talk about that. But they may not really feel it. Eventually. That does turn back on. If the person can get clean and sober and they work their recovery program, all those things can come back into play. That's the good news. I really love to talk to people and tell them that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And when people, when their brain starts to heal and they start to have that ability to connect to other people, to feel joy and excitement and meaning and purpose and develop some sense of spirituality, that's how I know they're getting better. Because those things, they really just don't live in the brain together. You really can't have all that stuff and have addiction at the same time. So when I start seeing those things come back, it's a really good indicator to me that the person's on the right road. I hope that helps you understand those three brains and how addiction takes control of that and. And uses all those powers for evil, or not really evil, but for the purpose of fueling that addiction.