How To Overcome Addiction/mental Illness Using Neuralplasticity

[jadinet]

The idea of not relying on drugs is so interesting. This neuroscientist actually just gave a talk about ways to fix depression/addiction/mental illness without any drugs: http://bit.ly/1D1Y5BE

 

In the video he suggests that one of the best ways to move forward and combat issues such as drug addiction and mental illnesses is by taking advantage of neural plasticity and changing parts of the brain that are responsible for these illnesses. Unlike drugs, this results in little to no side effects and is a lot less broad. Although this is very new technology test have shown nearly 33% remission rate for treatment-resistant depression - which is depression where patients have seen no relief from therapy, they've seen no relief from anti depressants, and they’re running out of options. 

 

He goes on to discuss ways this can be used to help the brain rewire itself which can be helpful for drug addicts or alcoholics. If given the example of cocaine addiction, they show subjects luring images of cocaine to induce their craving networks and then present them with real-time feedback of what their brain is doing. The idea is that they ask people to surf their mental landscape and do whatever it is they need to do to make the craving go down, which essentially is exploiting whatever conscious control and probably in most cases unconscious control that you have over your own brain to rewire it intelligently at just the right times.

 

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on this, and how feasible you think it is??

[013eskim]

Stunning idea!!! 
I think that neural plasticity is actually something that we all can put into practice on a everyday basis considering all kinds and habits we all have. Once I heard from a friend that just by doing something you don't do normally your brains starts transforming thoughts and vice versa; thinking about new things make you perform new, different-to-everyday, actions. Kinda has logic and could save the mind from eventual damage that such a process, such as the one showed in the video, could cause to the brain just by being an unnatural action. I do not want to judge, on the contrary - I see it as a completely effective way of treating addictions, but let's get honest, willpower is the best cure.

Thanks for sharing the video! 

[Speedjohn]

Neural plasticity is a way to fix depression/addiction/mental illness without any drugs.It is about changing parts of the brain that are responsible for these illnesses.When we develop a habit, the brain creates a path in itself in support of that habit. As we engage in the habit over and over again, the pathway becomes stronger.The brain gets trained to do a particular behavior. Neural plasticity is making new connections for the damage.