%20(41).png)
Sober Vibes: Alcohol free lifestyle tips for long-term sobriety, whether you're sober curious or ready to quit drinking for good
Hey, Friend! Welcome to the Sober Vibes podcast, where sobriety meets empowerment.
I’m Courtney Andersen, your host, a sober coach, author, and mom. I’ve been living an alcohol-free life since 8/18/2012. I know firsthand what it’s like to be a binge/grey area drinker, spending four years stuck in the moderation cycle before finally quitting for good.
The Sober Vibes podcast is your go-to space for real talk, proven strategies, expert guidance, and inspiring stories from people who are redefining what it means to live without alcohol.
Each week, we dive deep into the topics that matter most—from how to quit drinking alcohol, managing cravings, and navigating social situations to rebuilding confidence, emotional sobriety, and finding joy in sobriety.
Whether you’re newly sober, in long-term recovery, or just sober curious about alcohol-free living, Sober Vibes offers the support, insights, resources, and encouragement you need.
Join a like-minded community and discover how sobriety can unlock a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. Don’t just quit drinking, let’s have fun on this sobriety journey together!
Grab my Free 30-Day Sober Not Boring Calendar
Sober Vibes: Alcohol free lifestyle tips for long-term sobriety, whether you're sober curious or ready to quit drinking for good
The Impact of Alcohol on Your Brain with Dr. Philippe Douyon
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Episode 177:The Impact of Alcohol on Your Brain with Dr. Philippe Douyon
In episode 177, Courtney Andersen welcomes Dr. Philippe Douyon to the podcast, and they discuss the impact of alcohol on your brain. This episode is a free Doctor's appointment.
What you will learn in this episode:
- Impact of alcohol on the brain
- Brain Health
- Lifestyle habits to minimize and reverse damage to the brain
- Mom brain
Philippe Douyon, MD, is a board-certified Neurologist. He completed his residency in Neurology at NYU and fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at NYP-Weill Cornell Medical College. He spent 5 years as an attending Neurologist/Epileptologist at Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group. Dr. Douyon is the Founder & CEO of the health, wellness, and technology company, The Inle BrainFit Institute®, which was created to improve people’s health and quality of life.. Dr. Douyon is also the author of the book Neuroplasticity: Your Brain’s Superpower; the e-books Change Your Brain Change Your Life and 7 Things You Should Do To Minimize Your Risks of Dementia. Dr. Douyon is the creator and instructor of the online class Take Charge of Your Brain in 30 Days and has created a comprehensive virtual alcohol cessation program.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you to our Sponsors.
As a show listener, you get exclusive discounts from our Sponsor. Make sure to check them out and support the show. SOBERLINK, click here to shop and save $50 on your device. Listen to episode 115 to learn more about Soberlink.
As a show listener, you receive 20% off your order with EXACT NATURE. Make sure to check them out and support the show. EXACT NATURE, click here to shop and save 20% off with code "SV20." Free shipping on all orders! Please listen to episode 129 with Thomas White to learn more about CBD.
Resources Mentioned:
Thank you for listening! Help the show by Rating, Reviewing, and/or Subscribing to the Sober Vibes Podcast.
Connect w/ Courtney:
Instagram
Join the Sobriety Circle
Effects of Alcohol on Brain Health
Courtney AndersenHey , welcome to the Silver Vibes podcast . I am your host , Courtney Anderson . You are listening to episode 176 . I have an amazing guest on the show today , Dr Felipe Duyan . He is a neurologist , he is an author , he created this BrainFit institution . All of the links to him will be in the show notes below . Okay , but this is a free doctor's visit you're about to listen to , and he shares the impact of alcohol on the brain . We then even take it a step further and he talks more about dementia and he shares lifestyle habits to minimize the risk of dementia . And also he does confirm mom brain is real . Okay , I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation .
Courtney AndersenI started following him on social media this past year because he had this video that went viral , but well , at least I think it did , and it was him talking at a conference about how alcohol leads to you know , may cause up to 200 diseases . It's a number one date drug . This clip and talk he did was like it caught me off guard , so I was very intrigued . I reached out to him and asked if he wanted to be on the show and he said yes . So he is spitting out his knowledge . Like I said , this is a free doctor's visit free doctor's visit . I also asked him too when we got off . I asked him for any type of supplements that help with brain health , which you're not going to hear this in the episode . So he recommended vitamin D , vitamin B and magnesium . I will also list that in the show notes below . Okay , to start taking for brain health .
Courtney AndersenI do want to say too , in the beginning here I had the worst case of mom brain . So if I sound a little bit delayed , it's because I was trying to get all of my thoughts together , like in the first 10 minutes . Okay , so I just want to let that . I just want to share it with you , because afterwards I got off with him , I was like , oh my God , I like mildly blanked out because I had gone from straight momhood like right into this to this episode . I was waiting for Matt to get home , so I was a little mom brained out those first 10 minutes . I do hope you appreciate this episode and also just for him to taking the time out of his schedule to share with us all of his expertise . All right , as always , share with me , DM me on Instagram or send me an email and let me know your thoughts on this episode . Okay , I hope you enjoy it and , as always , keep on trucking . Hey doctor , welcome to the show .
Dr. Philippe DouyonThank you for having me . How are you ?
Courtney AndersenI'm good . I'm good . As discussed , it's sunny in Michigan , so I'm in my thriving season , which is now till about January 3rd because of the weather .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah .
Courtney AndersenYes , go ahead .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWell , no , it's a dreary day here , but looking forward to the summer coming .
Courtney AndersenYes , absolutely . We need that vitamin C , that amazing sunshine . So today I want to talk to you about the impact of alcohol on the brain . Okay , before we get into that , I always want to know this from doctors of why did you decide to go into the neurology , into the brain specialist , when you were becoming a doctor ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonSure . So for me it was two reasons . One , I had a grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease , and so I don't know if you've ever seen on TV where , on Sunday evenings , you have all the family gets together for dinner at grandmother's house . Well , that was our story , that we did it on Saturday nights , and once she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease , all of that kind of went away and I watched her become just a shell of who she had been . And then , around that same time , I had a cousin who was diagnosed with epilepsy , and so while I watched these two kind of devastating diseases take hold of my family and the impact that it had on the rest of us , there was that part of me that thought to myself man , when the brain works the way that it's supposed to , it's this beautiful , powerful and fascinating organ . So that's what really kind of inspired me to go into neurology .
Courtney AndersenAwesome Well , I mean not awesome , but awesome that there was that . That's what brought you into that space . My grandmother also had Alzheimer's and dementia . So I get that of seeing somebody , just seeing a person who was no longer there , because you really do have to mourn that person twice . So when you go in to the study of the brain , lay it out there to us about the impact that alcohol has on the brain . As I explained to you , I want more and more people to know the effects of what alcohol can do and , for the record , I just want to say to my listeners that you have never touched alcohol ever in your life .
Dr. Philippe DouyonI've never so and I've never drank for a couple of reasons One I had a , or I have an uncle who's an alcoholic , so I watched the impact that had on his life , on his family's life . Growing up , I competed in tennis and .
Dr. Philippe DouyonI went to college on a tennis scholarship , so just as an athlete , I was always very mindful about what I was putting into my body . But when I was 18 years old I was actually diagnosed with kidney disease and I had my first kidney transplant when I was 28 , eight days after graduating from medical school , and then I had a second kidney transplant about three years ago . And so for me , I never touched alcohol , but I was able to watch personally and professionally , just the negative impact that alcohol was having on people's lives . And I don't even think people realize that alcohol is impacting their brain .
Dr. Philippe DouyonI don't think people realize that when they're getting tipsy and drunk , it's because of the fact that alcohol is toxic to the brain and it's poisoning brain cells , it's poisoning neurons , and so not only is alcohol poisoning neurons , but alcohol also shrinks the brain , it dehydrates the brain , and so a lot of times when somebody goes out and they're just kind of drinking , they're going to shrink their brains . And if you just kind of do it once over the next couple of days , as you drink water , as you stay away from the alcohol , your brain will sort of plump back up . But if this is something that you're doing on an ongoing basis . Well then , your brain stays shrunken , and we call that cerebral atrophy . So it changes the structure of the brain .
Courtney AndersenSo it changes the structure of the brain . Alcohol impacts the neurochemicals in the brain , so it impacts the brain's serotonin levels , dopamine levels . So it's also changing the brain's physiology and it's impacting how neurons are connecting and communicating with each other , and so it's having just a detrimental impact on both the structure and the kept going with it . What got me is when you said too in that , like oh , what's the ? It's the number one date rape drug . Yep , who has had an experience like that before ? That one hit to me and that's again something that those 200 diseases , even when I was in my active addiction , like I knew of some , but it didn't , it just didn't . I didn't connect the dots with it right , like it didn't impact me . But with going back to reversing the impact of alcohol on the brain in a time span , how can you reverse that ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonSure , that's a great question . And so the brain is capable of healing . But in order for the brain to heal one , you have to take away the thing that is causing the damage , and then you've got to give the brain time to heal while doing the things that are really healthy for the brain . And so if you're staying away from alcohol and then you start doing things like eating really healthy and eating in a way that decreases inflammation , a lot of us , you know , we sort of eat in ways where we become bloated .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWe eat in ways that promote disease . Being bloated is actually because we're inflamed , and that inflammation doesn't just stay in the gut . It travels all over the body and certainly travels to the brain . We've got to exercise . Exercise is the biggest promoter of neuroplasticity your brain's ability to make new neurons and new connections . It's the brain's ability to adapt and to learn and to heal , and so you've got to be exercising as well as eating healthy . You've got to make sure that you're getting enough sleep . Six to eight hours of sleep every single night During the deeper stages of sleep is when our brain is clearing out the toxins that have built up throughout the day . It's when the brain is facilitating a lot of the healing that takes place . You also have to make sure that you're learning something new . Learning new things facilitates the growth of new neurons and new connections . So there are things that we can do every single day to help the brain heal . The number one thing is that you've got to stay away from the things that are doing the damage to begin with .
Courtney AndersenThose tips too ? Do those help with minimizing the risk of dementia ? Because I wanted to ask you this . Did those tips too ? Okay ? Can you , though , explain too of for people who may not know , because nutrition is still ? There's a lot of relearning . We have to do with what we were taught about the food pyramid and now , coming in the last couple of years , it was like that was all wrong , right , like there's a couple generations who don't really know and understand how to quote unquote eat properly . So what are some anti-inflammatory foods that you could recommend to help with this reversal ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonSure . So eating berries , strawberries and blueberries those are really great for the brain . They are anti-inflammatory . They contain a lot of antioxidants , which is really good . Eating healthy fats like avocados that's really healthy for the brain . Eating foods that have a lot of fatty acids in them , such as fish , is really healthy for the brain . And you know what else is really healthy for the brain ? Drinking plenty of water is really healthy for the brain , and you know what else is really healthy for the brain .
Dr. Philippe DouyonDrinking plenty of water is really good for the brain , even if you're 20% dehydrated . That's going to cause you to feel lethargic . That's going to cause brain fog . Making sure that you're well hydrated and for most people that means you've got to be drinking between two to four liters of water every single day . And you sort of touched on dementia Mm-hmm . Alcohol use is a very common cause of dementia . People do develop alcohol-related dementia and I see that every single day in the patients that I take care of , and a lot of these patients . They're not people that you would ever consider alcoholics . They're people that would tell you that they drank in moderation . They're people that would tell you that they socially drank . They're people that would tell you that they had a glass of wine per day , but the alcohol has been toxic to their brain , causing their brain to shrink , causing changes in physiology that then lead to dementia .
Courtney AndersenIt's just again . I'm like so extremely grateful that you are here , that are sharing all of this , because it is as we age . I'm 41 , I'll be 42 in October and my brain has taken a turn since I've had my son . So I mean , do you have any tips for mom brain ? Because , good God , that is something totally different . But I just appreciate these tips .
Courtney AndersenBut going back to also , because sleeping especially for the people who are listening to this this is something I had to work on after I got sober . It was my sleep hygiene , right . So what are ? Because I was a person who worked in a bar . I was up till three , four in the morning and then , when I quit drinking , I got onto a nine to five schedule and it took me quite a bit of time to adjust to that . And now I'm like , put me to sleep at 8.30 , 9 o'clock at night , like I need my eight to nine hours to function . So what would be some tips that you would share with somebody who is maybe has some insomnia from their drinking days or is stuck in that with their sleep habits , because alcohol does affect your sleep patterns .
Improving Sleep and Mom Brain
Dr. Philippe DouyonAbsolutely , and we all have to prepare our brains and bodies for sleep . Yeah Right , and so for a lot of people , as the sun starts to go down , which triggers in our body the release of melatonin , tells our brain and body look , it's going to be time to go to sleep soon . People have the lights in their house all on right , which interferes now with our body's release of melatonin . So we're sending the wrong message to the body about sleep , and so , as the evening starts to come , you want to start to decrease the lighting in your house to help you prepare for sleep , one of the things I tell people all the time .
Dr. Philippe DouyonOnly two things take place in the bedroom sleep and sex . Get the electronics out of the bedroom . Get the TV out of the bedroom . Get the computers out of the bedroom . There should be nothing else going on in the bedroom .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYour bedroom is your sacred place , and that needs to be the place where you are relaxing . That needs to be a place that facilitates you getting a good night's sleep . There are things that you can certainly do throughout the day , like your last dose of caffeine , if you're a caffeine drinker , should be eight hours before you're getting ready for bed , and so if you're somebody who goes to bed at 10 pm , your last dose of caffeine should be at 2 pm in the afternoon , and a lot of people will have a little bit of coffee or tea after they have dinner . Some people will utilize wine to help them fall asleep , and initially that might help you fall asleep , but it's going to interfere with your brain's ability to get into the deeper stages of sleep which is where all the healing truly takes place , and so you want to stop drinking alcohol in order to help you get some sleep , because it will have a negative impact down the line .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYou can do things like taking warm showers to help get your body nice and relaxed . Exercising earlier in the day facilitates getting good night's sleep at night , so there are these little things that people can be doing throughout the day to really improve their sleep hygiene , get their brains and bodies to have a good night's sleep .
Courtney AndersenYeah , I definitely like how you said about the showering at night , because since becoming a mom I switched my showers at nighttime . But it's more of it just was relaxing me and like got gets all the , it , gets all the . It just relaxes me . That's not like just the stress , because now I'm into a two and a half year old , so it's like straight chaos each day of just with him doing what little toddlers do .
Dr. Philippe DouyonSo , yeah , and mommy brain is a real thing . Actually , we see the changes in the brain that occur when a woman becomes pregnant or has a baby , and usually it takes about two to three years after the pregnancy for the woman to get back to where she was beforehand .
Courtney AndersenOkay , so I mean we're coming up on our three-year mark . Well , recently too I was diagnosed with part of OCD that I had it and then it was quiet and then it came back out . And so then of working with this therapist , she was telling me about mom brain and how it's actually a part of my brain that's like wants to protect the child . And in this therapy session I was like my . I was staring at a wall just like in shock , because I have never heard this same thing of what you just said about the brain is more and more I'm learning about a postpartum experience lasting a woman , if they've had one child , up to two , three years , and if they've had multiple children , they're in that space for up to seven years .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , we need to think about mom brain as actually a good thing . Right , it's your brain actually becoming an expert and shifting the focus off yourself to now what's the most important thing in your life , which is the survival of your child . So , it's your brain's way of trying to protect your child . Maybe things like remembering phone numbers don't matter the same anymore , because what's most important now is making sure that your child survives and thrives . But you know , mom brain is a very real thing .
Courtney AndersenHey , good people of the world , as you live your sober life , don't just count the days . Make the days count . Exact Nature's CBD-based products made especially for people in sobriety can help you get the most out of each day . Exact Nature's products can help curb cravings while promoting the positive changes in mood , focus and sleep that can be a part of getting and staying sober . Exact Nature's products are safe , healthy and effective . They come in oils , soft gels and gummies in varying strengths and formulas and , most importantly , they are made by people in recovery for people in recovery . Go to exactnaturecom to find the product that's just right for you . I have been using Serenity now for over a year over a year and a couple months . I use it every day to see the benefits of any products , you've got to be consistent with it , so it has helped my mood a lot in the past year and a couple months , so definitely go check it out . And also a listener of this Overvive's podcast . You are going to get 20% off your order . Just use code SV20 at checkout . Again , that is SV20 at checkout . Make sure to go to exactnaturecom to learn more about all of the products they have , and you can find that website as well with all of the information in the link in the show notes .
Courtney AndersenPicture this You're sober , but nobody believes you . When trust is gone , there's one surefire way to get it back Soberlink . Soberlink is in a league of its own when it comes to remote alcohol monitoring . Here's why it's a game changer . Scheduled daily tests become part of your new routine , showing consistency in your efforts . Built-in facial recognition ensures each test is unmistakably yours . Tamper sensors safeguard any attempts to cheat the system . The real magic advanced reporting . This feature shares your progress instantly , with easy-to-read reports sent directly to your loved ones . It's not just about proving you're sober . It's about sharing your success , establishing patterns of trust and dispelling doubts with hard evidence . You guys know I only back what I believe in , and this system is the real deal when it comes to proving sobriety . Visit wwwsoberlinkcom . Forward slash sober dash vibes to sign up and receive $50 off your device . Or you can visit the link in the show notes and it will take you directly there . God , do you do anything with mom brain Like you do a class ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonThat's funny . We did do a program called your Brain on Birth a couple of years ago . Moms , yeah .
Courtney AndersenGod , if you bring it back , please let me know , because I think that's something that women need , because it's even too . After going back for the checkup , I was asking my doctor I was like , why am I sweating like a large animal , like I'm almost like I ? And my doctor said that she goes Courtney . I didn't know anything about this until I experienced it myself and it's I'm just . I was floored , but it is . It's like there needs to be so much more information , especially to have just my experience with this postpartum OCD . I never even I never heard of that . All I heard was depression , anxiety , depression , anxiety . So again , anybody listening with the postpartum OCD , reach out and get some help for it , because it is very , it's very consuming .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , and I think we also need to remove the judgment from a lot of these things . Right , these are natural processes and we need to figure out ways to support our moms and not make them feel bad for going through some of the experiences that they're going through .
Courtney AndersenYeah , and to that , just that the fourth it takes so much longer and maybe this is just in American culture that it takes so much longer for healing than just that fourth trimester , because everyone after the fourth trimester it's like , well , you should be okay , like you had the fourth trimester , and it's just it's so different now , especially to you have moms who have to go back to work and it's not like what it was 50 , 60 years ago .
Alcohol's Impact on Health and Society
Courtney AndersenThere has been an evolution , so I hope in the and I hope in the medical field that starts evolving . What would be ? What have you seen as a doctor in your experience ? What have you seen in the medical field about somebody like a ? I don't want to scare people , but I want them to hear about a worst case scenario of drinking that happens into the brains of . I don't know if you've ever seen like an extreme case into like a 40 year old , of what happened to them and their brain .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah . So I've seen people they go into comas and I've seen people go into what's called status epilepticus , which is nonstop seizures , which is a neurological emergency because your heart can stop . And I remember actually seeing a young guy who was in his 30s comes in , he's rushed into the ER in status epilepticus , nonstop seizures , started seizing at home just uncontrollably and forced us to put him into a medically induced coma for 24 hours . Putting somebody into a medically induced coma carries significant amounts of risk , right , but it's a way of shutting the brain down and then , when you slowly bring them back out of it , seeing if the seizures are continuing right and so in in his case , I put him into a coma for 24 hours .
Dr. Philippe DouyonLuckily , at the 24 hour mark , when I started coming down off the medication , I could see that we had electrodes connected to his scalp . Looking at his brain , I could see that he was no longer seizing , so I brought him fully out of it . When he finally woke up and I'm telling him , hey , this is what happened , he says to me he's like yeah , this has happened before and I know this happens when I drink . But it was my part , it was my birthday and I just wanted to celebrate . So this man put himself in this incredibly dangerous situation because it was his birthday and he just wanted to drink .
Dr. Philippe DouyonAnd there are times where we can save you , but there are times where we can't , like you , push your luck . Every single time you come into the ER and I had one person drank every day , drank some vodka every single day comes in with stroke-like symptoms and his symptoms had gotten better , but then in the middle of the night , the symptoms came back and he had a massive stroke took out essentially one hemisphere of his brain . His only risk was that he drank alcohol , because when you drink alcohol , it's actually not good for your heart . It causes abnormal heart rhythms . It causes your heart to dilate , which we call cardiomyopathy . It causes arrhythmias , which are the abnormal heart rhythm . When you have arrhythmias , it causes the blood in your heart to form clots , and when your heart pumps , it pushes those clots into the brain .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWe always think of alcohol as just affecting the liver , but it negatively impacts every organ system , including your skin . It's responsible for seven different kinds of cancers . There's this big push over the last few years . Like man , we're seeing increases in colon cancer everywhere . Well , people have been drinking quite a bit . That's a significant risk factor for cancer , especially colon cancer , and so I could tell you stories for days where I see people , because I see them every single day without fail , I see two or three people who come into the emergency room , and it's all due to alcohol are you seeing more and more ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonI feel like . Definitely there are times where there might be a little bit more , but every day and I'm only one neurologist- yeah .
Dr. Philippe DouyonRight , two to three people that I'm seeing every single day coming in for some neurological emergency . It's related to alcohol , mm , hmm , and it's a . It can be a drain on the system . I remember when I was training , there was this guy We'll say that his name was . We'll say his name was Rudy . Right , rudy had been hospitalized for alcohol-related issues over 2,000 times In beds alone just the hospital bed . He cost the hospital something like $4 million . That doesn't include blood work tests . Every time he had to be intubated , doctors and nurses fees , like just in the bed . Not only does it become a drain on the system , but it becomes a drain on people's families . It has this negative impact that's so widespread and we do need to figure out better ways to teach people that alcohol is just not good for you , regardless of the message that you might be getting in society .
Courtney AndersenRight . Well , and that's the thing , because big alcohol has pushed it for so long that it's fun . It's making me choke up because a lot more of in the past two years working with women being in the space , having this platform , I'm hearing more and have had some friends who have to go and get a medical detox , where that's becoming more common , of at least what I have heard . And it's not just one they have to do , it's multiple . And then I almost feel like you're getting caught up into that system of going to having to get medical detox . There's so many this is such an onion and there's so many layers to it . But and how you brought up like alcohol actually isn't good for your heart , because people who were funding that were wine companies and so this is . It's like you got to look where the money's coming from . So it's just there's so much to addiction alcohol , and alcohol is the most glamorized drug out there . It's the one we have to explain why we're not taking , why we're not using it , and it's so embedded and ingrained in our society and families and that's where I get choked up . It's just the family and friend thing because it's very sad .
Courtney AndersenMy husband's aunt actually passed away . She was a drinker . She was sober for seven years . She went back into drinking . She had fallen and hit her head and they couldn't do anything because her body was not strong enough for the years of alcohol abuse . So it's just . It's very sad . So to hear about Rudy , it's heartbreaking not only for that person but then too for a medical staff to keep seeing this person come in 2,000 times , because at a point from your profession it's like you throw your hands up in the air and it's like what else can we do for this person ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonWhen is this person ?
Courtney Andersengoing to come in again , right .
Dr. Philippe DouyonAnd the reality is that that happens all the time , all the time , and staff just throws their hands up , put the alcoholic in the back . We have other people that we need to attend to . That's how you hear somebody died in the back of an ER because nobody was paying attention right . Because people just don't know what to do for that person anymore right . And I've seen young kids , 18-year-olds , 19-year-olds they get on an ATV , they're drinking , they get into an accident , hit their heads and brain damage and their lives are forever changed right .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWe mentioned before , damage and their lives are forever changed , right ? We mentioned before , like I had said , that alcohol is the number one date rape drug . As a neurologist , I see so many people who develop neurological symptoms not because there are any issues wrong with their brains but because they have unresolved sexual trauma . Right , that sort of manifest with neurological symptoms .
Courtney AndersenOh , wow .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWe call them conversion disorders . I see people all the time where now we've got to work through these sexual traumas that alcohol was involved . Alcohol is involved in a certain percentage of accidental house fires , accidental drownings , murders , robberies every violent crime that you could potentially think of . It is a detriment to this society .
Courtney AndersenIt's interesting you bring up about the sexual assault and that of what you just said , because I recently told my therapist I'm very open . So don't think that I'm very open with my audience , but I'm actually . I told her a couple weeks ago . I said because I had a recent thought of a sexual encounter in my active drinking that I had not thought about for years and I said to her I was like I need to start working on this now . I said years ago I had forgiven myself . I was like , but for these to start just coming up as I'm sitting here just staring at the wall like decompressing from the morning with my son , like why is this just coming up now ? So that's very interesting . You're talking about that trauma .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , and people would think , as a neurologist , that I don't work with patients who experience these things , but when we don't work through the traumas that we have from our lives , they find a way of manifesting themselves , and a lot of doctors will just be like you know what give that person anti-anxiety medications , antidepressants . You'll see people coming in with a list of drugs trying to minimize some of these symptoms but , never actually doing the real work to figure out why this happened , to work through these unresolved issues .
Courtney AndersenAnd are you saying work through them with therapy ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , work through them with therapy or with a support team . For a lot of the people I see maybe the neurologist , but there may be a neuropsychologist , there may be a psychiatrist , there may be just a social worker that's a therapist . There's this team around to really help the person work through what they've
Brain Health and Memory Recovery Discussion
Dr. Philippe Douyonbeen through .
Courtney AndersenI do have a question , because I used to black out all the time on a weekly basis and feel like my memory has , especially after becoming a mom , like , feel like . Is there ever a way to get any of those memories back ? Are they gone forever ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , so they're not necessarily gone forever . It depends on how strong those memories are . Strong those memories are , so when things become long-term memory and we strengthen those memories over time , it becomes sort of recorded throughout our brains . But when we're making new memories , that's really the responsibility for that is in our hippocampus , the small area of our temporal lobe .
Courtney AndersenWell , that place is especially sensitive to things like not getting enough oxygen , drinking too much , and so if the memory has not been wired and rewired throughout our brains , then it may I lost and that's why , like even when I told you about how , just thinking of that sexual experience out of the blue , I'm like is this did this memory just reemerge Like it was gone for so long and now it's just it just came out of the blue , or is that the trauma starting to come in this new light ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah , and it might be . Something may have triggered it that you're not even aware of , when we have experienced trauma in our lives , all types of triggers may occur .
Courtney AndersenYeah , very true . Well , thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge . I really appreciate it . Anything that someone might not know that you didn't mention about drinking alcohol in the brain .
Dr. Philippe DouyonYeah .
Dr. Philippe DouyonSo I would say we mentioned before that alcohol is a very common cause of dementia , and it's probably the thing that people fear the most when they come to see a neurologist is that you tell them that they're going to , that they may have something like Alzheimer's disease .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWell , most dementia is a lifestyle issue .
Dr. Philippe DouyonMost forms of dementia is due to lifestyle , so there are decisions that we're making every single day in our 20s , 30s , 40s , 50s that may increase our risk of developing dementia in our 60s , 70s and 80s , which means that a lot of this is well within our control , and so , from the moment that we are born , right , I tell people that our thoughts are so incredibly powerful that everybody is fighting to control them , because they know that our thoughts , the thoughts that we have , impact the actions that we take , and alcohol is one of those things where we have been brainwashed to think certain ways about alcohol , but it's really to our detriment , and so it's really important that we take charge of our brains , we rewire our brains so that way it benefits us in terms of the way that we kind of live our lives , in terms of our health , terms of our health . We are not our brains the same way that we are not our arms , and the fact that we're not our brains suggests that we're a much higher level of consciousness than our brains .
Dr. Philippe DouyonAnd so it's really important that we lead our brains the way that we would lead our young children . We wouldn't give our young children's alcohol , so we shouldn't be feeding our brains and bodies that toxin either .
Courtney AndersenIt's funny too , because I'm very strict with screen time with my son and I'm like Courtney , take this advice yourself . Have you seen anything with screen time with people in the last like 10 , 15 years ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonI've had to send people to rehab for screen time , right , you see , people exhibit certain patterns of behavior that are related to screen time . You see how it impacts people's thinking a lot of social isolation and so we have to be so mindful of not just what we're feeding our bodies , but what we're feeding our brains through . What we're watching on TV , what we're scrolling through on social media , what we're reading , even the music that we are listening to . All of that impacts our subconscious mind , which then impacts our thinking and impacts our behavior , and so it's important that we're mindful of the information that we're taking in all forms what would a rehab look like ?
Dr. Philippe Douyonlike so but this particular person young person , she was in her 20s . Rehab looked like she went into a facility no access to phones . They you almost have to like . Detox from that right yeah like and then helping her to find a purpose and a new vision for her life , um helping her to create healthy habits and , just like any other addict , helping them to navigate what triggers may be right so somebody who's suffering from alcohol walking down a street where there's a bar that they used to go to might be a trigger .
Dr. Philippe DouyonSpending time with certain people might be a trigger , and so it was about helping her navigate all things that might be triggers for her .
Courtney AndersenAnd just so young at 20 , but there's that anxious generation . I was just watching something on that generation of like 2010-ish , of when the iPhone was coming out and then social media and whatnot , and so that's , and now they're in their twenties . Oh man , there's so much , there's so much . Well , where can people find you ? Tell me about your institute and your book too .
Dr. Philippe DouyonSure . So the Inley Brain Fit Institute is a resource for people when it comes to brain health the things that they can do every single day to keep their brains healthy , Because what I realized a while ago was that the biggest impact I was having on people's lives wasn't when I was prescribing them the impact that the choices they're making every single day , the impact that's having on their brain health and how to think differently about what they're capable of and how to think differently about the choices that they're making every single day , and so the Intonally Brain Fit Institute is a place where they can go and learn about those kind of things .
Dr. Philippe DouyonIt's where we have a lot of our books . It's where we've got my online course , take Charge of your Brain , and this new program that we just released called Sip no More to help people decrease their alcohol intake . So it's a really just great resource center for people and the book that I have written called Neuroplasticity your Brain's Superpower called Neuroplasticity .
Courtney AndersenYour Brain's .
Dr. Philippe DouyonSuperpower just teaches people about the way that our brains evolve and how everything that we do impacts our neurological destiny . We have the ability to change our brains in really positive ways . That has a significant positive impact on our lives .
Courtney AndersenI love it . Well , I'm definitely going to get your book . And for the listeners out there , our lives . I love it . Well , I'm definitely going to get your book . And for the listeners out there , check out his website . I will put all that information in the show notes the alcohol program that you are .
Dr. Philippe Douyonthat it's out now it's out now ?
Courtney AndersenYep , okay , so is that a self-guided ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonSo in in part it's self-guided because they do go through a course , but it includes weekly group coaching sessions . It includes three times per week weekly group meditations , as well as three times per week weekly group exercise .
Improving Health Through Sobriety
Courtney AndersenOkay , and is the point of it to decrease completely to , or just decrease your drinking ?
Dr. Philippe DouyonWell , so that's going to be sort of unique to the individual . Okay .
Courtney AndersenYeah .
Dr. Philippe DouyonBut the point of it is to get our brains as healthy as possible , and one of the ways that we do that is by decreasing the amount of alcohol that we take in . It's about helping people developing a new purpose for their life and new vision for their lives , and establishing the kind of healthy habits that's going to keep their brains and bodies really healthy .
Courtney AndersenI love it . We need more of that , so I really appreciate you again to taking the time to chat with me today , and for the good people of the world is what I refer to , the Sober Vibes audience sharing your knowledge , and thank you Well thank you .
Dr. Philippe DouyonWell , thank you for having me . This has been great Good .
.jpg)
