How does replacement therapy help me break an addiction?
Replacement therapy can help break an addiction by replacing the element you are addicted to with a healthier one. Mike Dow, PsyD, explains replacement therapy and how it can help you kick an addiction successfully.
Transcript
MIKE DOW: Replacement therapy can help to break an addiction. And it will actually help you to feel a lot better while you're doing it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So one great example of replacement therapy is when people are giving up smoking and they take a drug called Zyban, right?
So Zyban releases dopamine in the brain, just like nicotine does. So you're adding something as you're taking something away.
So replacement therapy can also be used in lots of other ways. So for example, in diet rehab, I have what are called the dopamine booster activities,
the dopamine booster foods, serotonin-boosting foods, serotonin-boosting activities. So the more you focus on adding something
to your life-- for example, lean protein also releases dopamine. So if you're trying to get off really fatty foods like chips
and cookies and cake, you can swap in lean protein and get the same feel-good chemical. If your addiction is sugar or candy,
and that's releasing a lot of serotonin in the brain, well, then you probably want to swap in and replace it with things like healthier carbs like whole fruit,
but also activities. People don't know that activities can also serve as replacement therapy. So if you are doing something that
replaces dopamine or serotonin in the brain, then it's a lot easier to take away a behavior like overeating, coffee addiction, or sugar
addiction. And again, if you use this principle of replacement therapy, you're going to feel a lot better. And your chances for actually kicking the addiction
are a lot better. [AUDIO LOGO]
addiction recovery
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