Surviving Opioids - Beyond an Epidemic
Surviving Opioids - Beyond an Epidemic
How Does Ego-Fatigue Affect Addictions?
Have you ever heard an old-timer tell a newcomer, "Just don't drink!"
Makes plenty of sense on the surface, and it's a tough line to argue. After all if you're trying to stay away from something, "just not doing it" seems like a reasonable suggestion.
But what's built into that line is the assumption that simply forcing abstinence onto a situation for long enough will somehow cure the person of whatever intolerable distress they're going through.
'Ego-fatigue' is a concept that's been studied by clinical psychologists for the past twenty years. It's also referred to as 'ego-depletion' or 'self-control depletion.'
It's the idea that exertion of mental effort eventually impairs performance in a specific area due to a type of neurological wearing down that's identifiable and measurable on an fMRI scan.
To summarize the neuroscience, the connections between the emotional areas of the brain (e.g. amygdala) and an area controlling self-control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) start to fade and go off-line as more and more mental effort is applied to a situation.
Which is to say that the more intensely we use our "will-power" to abstain from a particular thing, the more likely we will be to eventually relapse back onto that behavior.
It's a very interesting topic, and I encourage you to research it yourself to understand more.
Telling someone to "just don't use no matter what" without encouraging the actions and behaviors that will eventually make that behavior become less of a necessity isn't helpful.
Clip Notes:
0:00 - 6:00 - Introduction to New Show Format
6:00 - 10:00 - Overview of Ego-Fatigue
10:00 - 20:00 - How This Impacts Addiction
Follow Dr. Simone on Instagram at ReactionRecovery.
The effect of ego depletion or mental fatigue on subsequent physical endurance performance: A meta-analysis
Have you ever heard an old-timer tell a newcomer, "Just don't drink!"
Makes plenty of sense on the surface, and it's a tough line to argue. After all if you're trying to stay away from something, "just not doing it" seems like a reasonable suggestion.
But what's built into that line is the assumption that simply forcing abstinence onto a situation for long enough will somehow cure the person of whatever intolerable distress they're going through.
'Ego-fatigue' is a concept that's been studied by clinical psychologists for the past twenty years. It's also referred to as 'ego-depletion' or 'self-control depletion.'
It's the idea that exertion of mental effort eventually impairs performance in a specific area due to a type of neurological wearing down that's identifiable and measurable on an fMRI scan.
To summarize the neuroscience, the connections between the emotional areas of the brain (e.g. amygdala) and an area controlling self-control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) start to fade and go off-line as more and more mental effort is applied to a situation.
Which is to say that the more intensely we use our "will-power" to abstain from a particular thing, the more likely we will be to eventually relapse back onto that behavior.
It's a very interesting topic, and I encourage you to research it yourself to understand more.
Telling someone to "just don't use no matter what" without encouraging the actions and behaviors that will eventually make that behavior become less of a necessity isn't helpful.
Clip Notes:
0:00 - 6:00 - Introduction to New Show Format
6:00 - 10:00 - Overview of Ego-Fatigue
10:00 - 20:00 - How This Impacts Addiction
Follow Dr. Simone on Instagram at ReactionRecovery.