A study conducted at the University of Cambridge has shown that working on memories could help prevent relapses in addicts.
Scientists believe that they can break down the memory triggers that cause cravings for drugs and alcohol in addicts, thereby making them less likely to relapse.
Studies on rats showed that when an emotional memory related to drink or drug use was treated with medication, it broke the link that could cause cravings.
Addicts will likely recognise the people, places, and things that prompt cravings to use. Even when you are determined to be clean and sober, these triggers can still bother you.
Researchers at the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute evoked these triggers at a conscious level and then treated them with drugs to extinguish the Pavlovian Trigger-Use response.
Using specific medications immediately after evoking the triggers, scientists found that the rats no longer responded to the cue memory for either cocaine or alcohol.
In another study, researchers extinguished the reward memories for heroin in rats and found it effective at reducing drug seeking.
This doesn’t surprise me at all. In therapeutic NLP and EFT, I break down cue memories so that they no longer hold any power over your reactions. This stops you automatically being driven to old emotional states and resulting behaviours.
However, in my opinion, removing cue and reward memories will only take care of some of the problem. Because addicts do not only use because they have cravings or nice memories of good times drinking. They use because of underlying trauma, anxiety, or depression. They use because they don’t know how to cope with life.
To be recovered and happy, you have to work on yourself. It’s not just about not drinking or taking drugs; it’s about becoming someone who doesn’t need to take substance in order to be happy.
Of course, there are ways and means of doing these things; and they don’t require medication. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy along with NLP and EFT can help you change your thinking and resolve underlying issues.
