- Watch as many videos from the Legacy Table of Contents as you can between calls.
- Mastermind Groups start with a brief presentation followed by group discussion. Speaking is optional.
- Sync the Mastermind Events calendar.
Dopamine is the ultimate reward neurotransmitter involved in learning, specifically operant conditioning. Operant condition is an integral way of learning from life events with positive or negative reward. Positive and Negative Reinforcement are almost always presented incorrectly in media, television, the news, and even by well-intentioned mental health experts. Society can’t afford to miss this lesson any longer. I say all of that to really encourage you to read this awesome article on the subject of operant conditioning.
Parents of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder really struggle. Dopamine is like the glue that cements in the lesson that the child takes from every situation they face. The more repetition, the more the nerves hardwire. The more they get randomly rewarded, the more the dopamine cements in bad behavior or bad lessons (unhealthy interpretations of life events in general). Gambling uses random reward to increase addictive behavior and the use of Abilify (a complex, dopamine-related medication) increases the chance of a gambling addiction while taking the medication by 3-5% (9-25% total at risk when you consider the risk of gambling addiction in the general population).
Download and share this Support Group FLYER to start in-person meetings in your area. The pdf version has clickable links so feel free to post it on your website.
- Order the Relapse Prevention book.
- Join the live class: https://mindshiftcare.com/calendar/
Definition of Dopamine Dysregulation Disorder
Dopamine Dysregulation Disorder is life dysfunction due to any cause of dopamine extremes, typically involving addictive learning, chronic fatigue, chronic inflammatory conditions, cognitive dysfunction and the propensity for heavy toxin exposure. This combines the diagnosis of Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome with other toxic and medical causes of dopamine dysfunction, as well as all addictions of every type. All addictions involve dopamine disruptions (depletion of receptors and natural neurotransmitters), despite the drug of choice. Perhaps the dopamine hypothesis explains why so many people numbing themselves from trauma wind up with addictions. It helps that recovery of a healthy dopamine reward pathway is often done the same way in terms of mental health advice and treatment, no matter the cause.
So long as we are sane (capacity) and mentally competent (ability), we are in charge of our dopamine through our attitude and life choices. We can train our own dopamine using a little thing called free will. Children are programmed with the expectation of rewards coded in their unconscious body memory. Everything up until age 6 is downloaded as normal, no matter what they’ve experienced. The consequences show up for us all the time as adults, sometimes in healthy ways and other times not so much. Unfortunately, dopamine can be used for sick, disgusting purposes when people train by rewarding themselves associated with progressively heinous acts. If you are suffering from Dopamine Dysregulation Disorder, I invite you to Mindshift.
What families need to know about combined PTSD and Substance Abuse
2016 presentation at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, Texas.