Rewiring the Brain

Summary

MORE therapy helps rewire the brain’s reward system, reducing opioid cravings by increasing the ability to experience natural pleasures. This innovative approach offers new hope for those struggling with opioid addiction, potentially revolutionizing treatment. MORE combines mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and positive psychology to address addiction, emotional distress, and chronic pain simultaneously.

** Main Story**

Okay, so the opioid crisis… it’s still a huge problem, right? And while we’ve got some treatments that work sometimes, they often don’t quite cut it. People relapse, cravings are persistent, you know the drill. But, there’s this therapy, MORE – Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement – and honestly, it’s got me pretty excited. Dr. Eric Garland developed it, and the basic idea is that it rewires the brain’s reward system. Pretty cool, huh? It helps people find joy in normal stuff again, pulling them away from that awful pull of opioids.

Digging into the Neuroscience: How MORE Changes Things

See, opioid addiction messes with your brain’s reward pathways, big time. That massive pleasure from opioids just drowns out everything else. It’s like, suddenly, a sunset, a good meal, spending time with family…none of it feels quite as good. This creates this horrible cycle where people need opioids just to feel something, anything, and that fuels the cravings. MORE is different. It goes straight for the source of the problem.

I remember reading a study (or was it a presentation?) a few years back, something about neuroplasticity and addiction, it really stuck with me. Anyway, MORE uses a blend of mindfulness training, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and some positive psychology tricks. It helps you become super aware of your thoughts, feelings, and even what’s going on in your body. It isn’t always easy. With this awareness, you can break free from those automatic, addictive behaviors and actually start controlling how you respond to cravings.

Plus, and this is key, MORE includes savoring exercises. You consciously focus on enjoying simple pleasures, like, really focusing on the taste of your coffee, or really looking at the colours in nature. I tried this myself after a particularly stressful week, just sat in my garden and focused on the birds. It was surprisingly calming. By doing this, you’re retraining your brain to get that rewarding feeling from natural things again, making opioids less appealing over time.

What the Data Says: MORE’s Effectiveness

Okay, so this all sounds great, but does it actually work? The answer, thankfully, is yes! They’ve run a bunch of clinical trials, over 2,000 people, and the results? Really impressive. Big drops in opioid misuse, cravings, and even pain levels.

For instance, that JAMA Psychiatry study I mentioned? Showed a 45% decrease in opioid misuse nine months later. Which, if you think about it, that’s basically three times better than regular group therapy. And, get this, they did brain scans too! People who went through MORE showed more brain activity when exposed to positive stimuli. Basically, their brains were responding to joy again! This isn’t just a psychological thing; it’s literally changing how the brain functions.

MORE’s Three-Pronged Approach

MORE’s secret sauce? It’s that it hits the problem from multiple angles:

• Mindfulness: Being aware of what’s happening in the present, without judging it.
• Reappraisal: Changing how you think about negative thoughts and challenging those beliefs that feed addiction.
• Savoring: Really focusing on and amplifying those good experiences.

It’s this combination that really tackles the complex factors behind opioid addiction, things like emotional distress, chronic pain, and a messed-up reward system. MORE gives people the tools to handle cravings, deal with stress, and build a more positive and fulfilling life.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Treatment

Look, MORE isn’t a magic bullet, it wont be for everyone. But it represents a big shift in how we think about treating opioid addiction. By going after the root cause, the neurobiological mechanisms, it offers a more sustainable path to recovery. We need more research, for sure, to fine-tune the MORE approach and make it available to more people. But, honestly, the current evidence is really promising. And, well, with the opioid crisis still raging, therapies like MORE give us a reason to be hopeful. A real reason. That people can reclaim their lives, and rediscover the joy of living without being chained to addiction.