Today my guest, Mishka Subaly, a true renaissance man. Super prolific writer, talented musician, gifted writer with a touch of smart ass. What’s not to love??
But before we jump in, something Mishka said sparked a thought that I haven’t been able to shake, and I realize it’s something we all need to focus more on…having FUN!
Recovery work can be so heavy and dark, and it’s easy to get lost in that part. While it’s part of the journey, how about we balance it out with some ideas about how to cultivate more joy and excitement!?
Like the kind that makes you feel GIDDY! That sounds fun, right?
So here’s the deal, before I give you some ideas about how to reconnect with things you can do sober that are fun, I’ll share some mechanics about the brain that will explain why some people have a hard time connecting to that feeling of “fun” early in recovery.
When we drink or do drugs or whatever our addictions revolve aroud, we flood our brain cells with dopamine, the chemical responsible for that happy feeling we love so much.
Brain cells actually have receptors that act like little funnels, allowing that dopamine to be absorbed. But the wisdom of the body is always trying to say in balance, so over time, it will retract those receptors so it can’t absorb so much. The result is the need for more alcohol or drugs to get that same effect.
Meanwhile, your hippocampus and amygdala, the parts of your brain responsible for memories, and emotions are recording all of this and essentially rewiring your brain to depend on the stimulus. . In totality, this is how your brain develops addiction. A dependence on whatever your drug is.
When we stop drinking, we are working with a diminished amount of receptors on the brain cells. We’re not physically able to absorb the normal amount of dopamine that would be present, prior to becoming addicted.
Where in the past we might enjoy spending time with friends, playing music, or working on a hobby, these things now fall flat. We don’t actually experience the “fun” part but in reality, we can’t.
The good news is here again, the body will restore balance, but it takes a little time and effort to heal and rewire your brain. Those brian cell receptors do come back, and so does the fun!
Here are some tips for early recovery if you are worried that you’ll never have fun again.
- Learn to love exercise – it’s the fastest way to generate dopamine naturally
- Meditation – It helps to rewire your brain and emotions back to normal
- Try new things! – New things won’t have the burden of failing to live up to expectations which might actually cause disappointment.
And finally…
- Surround yourself with people who are happy and fun! They say we’re the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. So if you’re hanging out with a bunch of sad sacks, you’ll be one too.
I hope that gives you a new perspective and some encouragement to find your happy again.
So for an intro to today’s episode, I spent some time with Writer, Musician, and Yale Professor, Mishka Subaly. I’ll tell you that we didn’t get to cover half of what we wanted to. We left out his shipwreck story, I can’t believe I let that happen, but there was just not enough time. He actually pours it all out in his 6 best selling Audible shorts, so definitely check those out, along with his latest book, Cold Turkey, which you can actually get for free, for the month of May.
This guy has been through some really unusual and crazy experiences, and I can’t wait for you to meet him.
So with that, please enjoy (and share!) this episode, with Mishka!
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