Blog by Manohar Croke, August 1, 2020
Esogetic Colorpuncture, which involves the application of colored light frequencies to acu-points of the skin, includes specific treatments to address a wide range of issues. I have addressed the use of Esogetic Colorpuncture in the treatment of addiction in my book, “Energy Psychology Using Light and Color.”1 In this blog post, I would like to share some of this information with my newsletter and blog readers (see www.colorpuncture.org/blog). Before I do that, I want to state clearly that we do not recommend solely using colorpuncture acu-light therapies to heal the very complex problem of addiction. Rather, we strongly encourage our clients to find the appropriate counseling support for their particular needs — group and/or individual counseling with trained addiction recovery specialists. When used in conjunction with a complete recovery program, the unique treatments of Esogetic Colorpuncture can offer excellent additional support, whether we are talking about recovery from drug or alcohol addiction, smoking, food addiction or other addictive issues.
How and What Defines Addiction?
Over the past 30 years, we have moved beyond the traditional definition of addiction as “bad behavior,” which led to the “Just Say No Campaigns” of the 1980’s. Experts like Dr. Nora D. Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse pioneered the use of brain imaging to better understand exactly how addiction effects the brain.2 Neuroscience has revealed that true addiction is actually a brain disease, in which the brain circuitry involved in reward-seeking, motivation, memory, learning and decision-making are gradually altered or impaired through ongoing exposure to addictive substances. The American Society of Addiction Medicine now publicly defines addiction as a “primary, chronic, neurobiological disease.” One of its primary characteristics is the continued use of an addictive substance, regardless of the knowledge that it is harmful. Thus, the brain actually gets hijacked into addiction, despite the adverse consequences.
Additional research coming from the field of psychological trauma has also helped us to understand how the adverse effects of developmental or childhood trauma can render the patient more vulnerable to addiction. Dr. Gabor Mate, author of “In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction,” compassionately observes that his addicted patients has frequently also suffered traumatic childhood experiences and even, strong prenatal stresses.3
Esogetic Brain Regulation Therapies in the Treatment of Addiction
Esogetic Colorpuncture particularly relies upon acu-light treatments that support the healthy functioning of the brain when addressing all kinds of illness and pain. Many of these treatments have proven quite useful when working with addiction. For example, the reward or pleasure seeking pathway in the brain involves the mesolimbic system, the amygdala and the hippocampus, as well as the medial prefrontal cortex. Specific Esogetic Colorpuncture treatments can be used to convey regulating signals into each of these brain areas, as well as to improve their intercommunication.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the body’s first line of defense in response to stress. Stress is an important contributing factor to addiction. stress tends to shut down the prefrontal cortex (which is more deliberative in its choices) and causes the addict to rely on the more impulsive choices made by the limbic system of the brain. Esogetic Colorpuncture also includes many excellent acu-light treatments for relieving the impact of stress on the HPA axis.
The neurotransmitter, dopamine, plays an important role in the experience of pleasurable reward, memory, attention and learning. Most addictive substances tend to flood the brain’s reward circuits with dopamine. In response, the body actually begins producing less natural dopamine. Unfortunately, this only serves to increase the addict’s cravings. In Esogetics, we particularly emphasize treatment regulation of the “abdominal brain,” the dorsal vagal nerve complex in the abdomen, where the majority of our natural dopamine is produced.
Healing the Imprints of Trauma is Vital for Addiction Recovery
As Dr. David Linden, author and John’s Hopkin’s neurobiologist, points out, “It is important to realize that our pleasure circuits are the result of a combination of genetics, stress and life experiences, beginning as early as in the womb.”4 For this reason, a well-designed recovery program often needs to include support for healing these early wounds. Pia Melody, a “preeminent authority, lecturer and educator in the fields of addictions” also explains that memories of early child abuse often begin to surface once the self-medicating effects of addiction recede.5 This is why we recommend that our patients work with trained recovery specialists, and as needed, psychotherapists, to provide the additional support they will need to navigate the psycho-spiritual pain that can surface during addition recovery.
Esogetic Colorpuncture has always focused on the way that negative experiences occurring in the prenatal, perinatal and early childhood phases of development can create what we call “conflict stress imprints.” These imprints can block or distort the healthy flow of information and set the patient up for physical illness later in life. A similar perspective is echoed in the “Stress-Disease Continuum Model” developed by neuroscience and trauma researchers to describe the way that prolonged and unhealed psychological stress can gradually break down the body’s ability to remain healthy.
For this reason, Esogetics includes many specialized treatments that help to surface and release subconscious conflict stress imprints. This also includes treatments designed to clear imprints of ancestral trauma that are handed down through generations (another relevant issue in addiction). In all these Esogetic therapies, the unique capacity of light to surface and release long-suppressed subconscious information has proved invaluable.
Supporting the Body through the Recovery Process
Finally, the entire system of Esogetics includes many therapies that can support the body during the challenging process of addiction withdrawal. Doug Sellman, Director of the National Addiction Centre in New Zealand warns that recovery takes time and patience, as the brain and body endure the symptoms of withdrawal.5
In Esogetics, we use lymphatic regulation or detoxing treatments, hormonal balancing therapies, and treatments to support the effected organ systems of body to address the physical effects of addiction withdrawal. We often use auricular acu-light treatments. We also use treatments designed to sooth or titrate any strong emotional reactions that surface during withdrawal, as well as to relieve the extreme sensory sensitivity that can cause the addict to turn back toward their preferred method of “self-medication” during a challenging withdrawal experience.
Drawing from this wide array of therapies, according to the particular needs and background history of each individual patient, the Esogetic Colorpuncture practitioner can offer steady adjunct support for the recovery process. And thus, the power of light and color can be effectively harnessed in support of the treatment of addiction.
References:
- Croke, Manohar, (2016). Energy Psychology Using Light and Color: Opening bodymind pathways to relieve traumatic stress and enhance psychological well-being with Esogetic Colorpuncture, Boulder, CO, Points of Light Press.
(available to order at www.colorpuncture.org) - TEDMED.COM: Talk by Volkow, Nora D., Why Do Our Brains Get Addicted,” 2014.
- Mate, G.,(2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Berkeley, CA, North Atlantic Books.
- David Linden, (2012). The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good. Penguin Books, New York, New York.
- Sellman, Doug, (2010). The 10 Most Important Things to Know About Addiction. In Society for the Study of Addiction, Vol 105, Issue 1,
pp. 6 – 13. - http://www.piamellody.com/audios/mapping