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Thank you for downloading the podcast, my name is Arlina, and I’ll be your host.
When I finished the interview of today’s guest, I recognized just how important her work is to the field of addiction and I’m excited to share this cutting edge approach with you all.
Today my guest is the Founder and CEO of Wired For Addiction®, Dr. Evelyn Higgins is a recognized international expert in the epidemiology of addiction. As a Certified Addictionologist, Diplomate of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders, and Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts specializing in pain management.
We are going to talk about understanding the genetic markers of addiction, and how a simple test could identify missing chemicals that contribute to the mental health disorders that lead to addiction like anxiety and depression. Her work is fascinating and I can’t wait for you to hear it.
But before we jump in, it’s time for new resources! I just completed the 12 step workshop last week and the topic was step 12 which is about carrying the message, or in other words, being of service to those who suffer from addiction. I think I’ve probably shared this before but it’s worth repeating.
For a lot of people with little kids or constrictive schedules, I would like to offer up a flexible and simple way to be useful, and that is to practice what I call “willingness calls”. It’s also a simple way to establish a support system if you don’t have one already.
A willingness call is simply to find 3 or 4 people that you can reach out to on a regular basis to check in with. You do it when you feel good, because most of us just want to isolate when we feel bad. There’s an old saying that we don’t rise to the level of our expectation, we fall to the level of our training.
It can be a short call, just a hey how are you? Let them share a little bit, then you offer up what is going on in your life and that’s it! Pretty soon you are current with several people, and when life get’s too “lifey” you are already in the habit of calling, and you don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the back story. You can get right into solution. The interesting thing that happens when you practice willingness calls, is you might catch a friend in the middle of being upset and you can offer support and be of service. Or they might start reaching out to you in a moment when you feel shut down or too sad to call. I’ve had such amazing experiences over the years of this practice, so I wanted to share this with you too.
So that’s it! Please enjoy the episode with Dr. Evelyn Higgins.
Connect with Dr Higgins here:
Visit Website: https://www.wiredforaddiction.com/
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg
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I’m 48 have mental health problems been struggling with addiction for 9 years.
Wow, that sounds so hard. I hope you find some solutions here! My heart goes out to you. ~Arlina