Addiction

The Mis-Treatment of Addiction: Michael Jackson, RIP, June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson died of a propofol/benzodiazepam overdose at the age of 50. For most of his adult life he acknowledged his problem with addiction, and on multiple occasions he entered various rehab programs to help him deal with this illness. It can certainly be postulated that these programs dealing with drug abuse failed to help him for one simple reason: they did not approach his problem from the underlying cause of why he needed drugs.

Of course, not treating the cause of illness is an inherent part of our medical system. It is a system designed to thrive on disease and illness, not on wellness. Curing people of their problems is not cost effective for the medical system. So why should the approach of drug rehab centers be any different? They have a wealthy clientele, who are likely to return in the future for another round of expensive therapy.

For those of you who have read my blogs, you know that I approach illness from the causation. The same is true with addiction. Of course, in all fairness, the centers that he went to for help may not have been aware that there may actually be an underlying cause as to why their clients use drugs or alcohol. Instead they may feel that addiction is solely a matter of choice, and all that is needed is a change of attitude and life style.

So let me explain what might be the underlying cause of drug addiction and alcoholism. For a number of reasons, I strongly feel that it is related to high levels of adrenaline, the fight-or-flight hormone. I suspect that people are often forced into unhealthy choices because of a need to “chill out”. Adrenaline is an extremely powerful hormone – it is an anger hormone that can easily precipitate rages. When people internalize the feelings generated by this hormone, one can understand the types of emotions being generated that can create depression, anxiety, restlessness, inner turmoil, etc.

It is a survival hormone, but we no longer need to be in danger in order for the body to release it. In this day and age, the primary reason people may have excess adrenaline is simply to raise sugar levels for the brain. The brain uses more sugar than any other part of the body. People in Hollywood or in the music industry are often more inclined to have problems related to drugs and alcohol. This is because the creative brain requires a lot more sugar than a “normal” brain. Those people who do not provide their brains with the required amount and type of fuel may put themselves in a position of living on adrenaline in order to get the required amount of sugar for the brain.

Making sure the brain has enough fuel is a survival concern for the body. Those of you who have experienced sleepiness between 3-4 PM or while in a car can understand what happens when the brain runs out of fuel. These are times when the body releases adrenaline to raise sugar levels. If it happens throughout the day, adrenaline accumulates and a person might have trouble falling asleep. If it happens during the night, a person will have trouble staying asleep, might toss and turn, may have RLS, might possibly grind their teeth, and may get up to urinate.

I have had a number of patients who have abused drugs – both street type and prescription type – and alcohol, or smoked 2-3 packs of cigarettes per day. I have had many patients with depression and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, road rage, PMDD, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, etc. All disorders related to excess adrenaline, and, for the most part, easy to fix.

To address this issue of excess adrenaline, which is a global problem that has not been addressed, I have written a book called “Adrenaline Dominance”. It addresses the large number of conditions related to excess adrenaline, many felt to be incurable but are actually easy to eliminate. It  also explains in detail how to treat excess adrenaline.  You can also get a copy of the manual I wrote for healthcare practitioners or for those interested in healthcare, which goes by the name “The Platt Protocol for Hormone Balancing”.  As of now, I know of nothing else in the medical literature that addresses a natural approach to reducing adrenaline by treating the cause. It is available on my website: www.plattwellness.com

I would love to hear from drug rehab centers who might be interested in a different approach to dealing with problems their patients are having. Extremely creative people such as Elvis Presley, Philip Hoffman, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Prince, Judy Garland, Billie Holliday, Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, John Belushi, et al, all died of overdoses or had serious drug problems that might have responded to a treatment associated with the simple lowering of adrenaline levels. Excess levels of adrenaline can be lowered in as little as 24 hours.