0:00:23.261,0:00:25.052 So I still remember the exact spot 0:00:25.052,0:00:27.488 on the highway where I was driving. 0:00:27.488,0:00:29.708 I think I remember it so vividly because 0:00:29.708,0:00:31.823 I was having one of the most important 0:00:31.823,0:00:33.873 conversations that I’ve ever had with [br] 0:00:33.873,0:00:35.259 myself. 0:00:35.259,0:00:38.141 In that moment in my car, 0:00:38.141,0:00:40.339 I knew in my bones, 0:00:40.339,0:00:43.339 I wouldn’t drink alcohol again. 0:00:43.339,0:00:44.500 So you might be thinking 0:00:44.500,0:00:45.402 what was the rock 0:00:45.402,0:00:47.874 bottom that brought me to that point? 0:00:47.874,0:00:52.547 And the answer is … there wasn’t one! 0:00:52.547,0:00:55.284 You see, I was a gray area drinker and 0:00:55.284,0:00:58.224 I drank between two extremes. 0:00:58.224,0:00:59.554 I wasn’t an end stage, 0:00:59.554,0:01:01.367 lose everything kind of drinker, 0:01:01.367,0:01:02.290 not by a long shot. 0:01:02.290,0:01:04.430 If you would have asked my friends[br]and family 0:01:04.430,0:01:06.495 if they thought I had a drinking problem 0:01:06.495,0:01:08.338 they would have said, “of course not”. 0:01:08.338,0:01:11.082 But I also wasn’t an every now [br]and again drinker 0:01:11.082,0:01:12.928 who would have a glass of champagne 0:01:12.928,0:01:14.836 for example at the wedding and then not 0:01:14.836,0:01:15.996 drink again for weeks. 0:01:15.996,0:01:19.606 I didn’t fall into either one of those[br]drinking categories 0:01:19.606,0:01:21.775 or drinking extremes. And ... 0:01:21.775,0:01:25.093 maybe you can identify? 0:01:25.093,0:01:26.763 As a nutritionist who has worked in 0:01:26.763,0:01:29.053 corporate wellness since 2004, 0:01:29.053,0:01:31.293 I functioned really well. I knew how 0:01:31.293,0:01:33.623 to eat well, I worked out on a regular 0:01:33.623,0:01:37.113 basis and I loved to read and study 0:01:37.113,0:01:39.943 everything health and wellness. [br] 0:01:39.943,0:01:41.943 But what people didn’t know 0:01:41.943,0:01:45.032 was how much I loved the “off” switch 0:01:45.032,0:01:50.128 that wine provided to my “on” [br]and often anxious brain. 0:01:50.128,0:01:53.170 I loved the immediate effect that red [br]wine delivered. 0:01:53.170,0:01:55.000 And people also didn’t see how 0:01:55.000,0:01:59.270 easy and frequent it was for one glass [br]of wine 0:01:59.270,0:02:03.270 to turn into one bottle of wine. 0:02:03.270,0:02:05.650 There is a commune characteristic [br]and pattern 0:02:05.650,0:02:07.190 in gray area drinking that I 0:02:07.190,0:02:09.120 experience and I’ve watched many others 0:02:09.120,0:02:11.290 experience as well and that’s a stopping 0:02:11.290,0:02:14.490 and restarting drinking. 0:02:14.490,0:02:17.590 One time I stopped for 7 months, [br]another time 0:02:17.590,0:02:20.140 I stopped for 30 days, [br]and other short periods 0:02:20.140,0:02:22.814 in between, and then I would think [br]to myself: 0:02:22.814,0:02:24.814 “Why am I being so restrictive? 0:02:24.814,0:02:27.004 I can be a social drinker”. 0:02:27.004,0:02:29.194 So I’d return to drinking 0:02:29.194,0:02:32.284 only to return to a level of drinking 0:02:32.284,0:02:34.244 where I regret it. 0:02:34.244,0:02:36.584 This back and forth drinking [br]marry-go-around 0:02:36.584,0:02:39.914 was the exact thing that I knew I wanted[br]to exit off for good 0:02:39.914,0:02:43.914 that day in my car on the highway. 0:02:43.914,0:02:46.304 And maybe you actually don’t identify with 0:02:46.304,0:02:49.564 gray area drinking because not [br]everyone will. 0:02:49.564,0:02:52.114 But here is what I know with[br]absolute certainty: 0:02:52.114,0:02:53.754 there are people in your life 0:02:53.754,0:02:55.554 right now, it could be family 0:02:55.554,0:03:00.214 members, close friends, colleagues, and 0:03:00.214,0:03:02.404 they are worrying and wondering 0:03:02.404,0:03:04.144 as they’re rethinking their drinking 0:03:04.144,0:03:07.514 because they are in the gray area, 0:03:07.514,0:03:11.165 but more than likely they are not[br]talking to you about it 0:03:11.165,0:03:13.335 and they are not talking to others[br]about it 0:03:13.335,0:03:15.295 because they think they are the only ones 0:03:15.295,0:03:17.395 and they think they are alone. 0:03:17.395,0:03:20.522 So how do I know this? I’ve lived this 0:03:20.522,0:03:22.422 for many years. 0:03:22.422,0:03:25.102 the more I've been speaking out[br]professionally about my 0:03:25.102,0:03:27.962 gray area drinking experience the more [br]my email inbox 0:03:27.962,0:03:30.622 gets flooded with emails from 0:03:30.622,0:03:34.732 attorneys and therapists, 0:03:34.732,0:03:40.232 senior level managers and nurses, [br]stay in home moms, 0:03:40.232,0:03:43.552 yoga instructors, and many many others. 0:03:43.552,0:03:45.982 And the words are different, but 0:03:45.982,0:03:48.092 the jest of what they write me is all [br] 0:03:48.092,0:03:50.142 the same and they say, “I identify with 0:03:50.142,0:03:52.682 your drinking story. 0:03:52.683,0:03:55.043 I don’t have a rock bottom either, 0:03:55.043,0:03:58.493 I want to be able to drink socially, [br]but I end up regretting 0:03:58.493,0:04:02.093 how much I drink on a frequent basis." 0:04:02.093,0:04:06.823 This gray area drinking spectrum is real 0:04:06.823,0:04:10.233 and it’s large. [br]And a lot of high achieving, 0:04:10.233,0:04:11.863 high functioning people who 0:04:11.863,0:04:16.003 silently live here every day. 0:04:16.003,0:04:18.503 But beyond gray area drinking is [br]even something 0:04:18.503,0:04:22.573 bigger and that’s a collective story[br]of anxiety. 0:04:22.573,0:04:25.143 And this I believe is where we are 0:04:25.143,0:04:28.833 collectively missing the mark. 0:04:28.833,0:04:30.763 We don’t need anymore cognitive hoops to[br] 0:04:30.763,0:04:32.723 jump through and we don’t need anymore 0:04:32.723,0:04:35.413 ways to focus our will power and contort 0:04:35.413,0:04:38.803 our will power in an attempt [br]to “fix” ourselves, 0:04:38.803,0:04:42.233 what we need is practical training 0:04:42.233,0:04:44.423 in how to nourish our nervous system 0:04:44.423,0:04:51.793 in a revolutionary and new way. 0:04:51.793,0:04:54.413 So there is many components and [br]pieces to this, 0:04:54.413,0:04:56.223 but one component and one 0:04:56.223,0:04:58.043 interesting place to start can be 0:04:58.043,0:05:00.903 understanding your neurotransmitters. 0:05:00.903,0:05:07.203 So let’s start with GABA. 0:05:07.203,0:05:10.973 So GABA is the natural anti-anxiety[br]neurotransmitter. 0:05:10.973,0:05:14.223 When GABA is low we can feel anxious 0:05:14.223,0:05:16.653 and our mind can get stuck in [br]a loop of worry, 0:05:16.653,0:05:20.923 rumination or obsession about anything. 0:05:20.923,0:05:25.523 Serotonin is the natural anti-depressant[br]neurotransmitter. 0:05:25.523,0:05:27.333 When serotonin is low we can feel 0:05:27.333,0:05:30.093 more depressed, unhappy, and crave[br]things like 0:05:30.093,0:05:33.633 carbs and alcohol and have trouble [br]sleeping. 0:05:34.843,0:05:37.703 Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that’s[br]in charge 0:05:37.703,0:05:39.863 of our focus and motivation. 0:05:39.863,0:05:42.733 When dopamine’s low it can be hard [br]to stay at a coarse 0:05:42.733,0:05:44.723 and stay on track with your goals 0:05:44.723,0:05:46.953 and your routines. 0:05:46.953,0:05:49.393 So people with low GABA people will often 0:05:49.393,0:05:52.313 say that they drink as a way to relax. 0:05:52.313,0:05:55.693 That was me. People with low serotonin[br] 0:05:55.693,0:05:59.523 will say they drink as a way to have fun, 0:05:59.523,0:06:01.523 and people with low dopamine will say they 0:06:01.523,0:06:03.073 drink as a way to connect 0:06:03.073,0:06:05.753 and engage with others. 0:06:05.753,0:06:09.923 But here’s the problem and here is what I[br]want to you know and take from this talk — 0:06:09.923,0:06:12.763 It can be relatively easy for most people 0:06:12.763,0:06:14.613 on the gray area drinking spectrum 0:06:14.613,0:06:16.933 to stop drinking, 0:06:16.933,0:06:19.233 but it can be hard to stay stopped, 0:06:19.233,0:06:21.343 especially if we are not 0:06:21.343,0:06:23.733 replenishing our neurotransmitters and 0:06:23.733,0:06:25.523 nourishing our nervous system 0:06:25.523,0:06:30.063 in a comprehensive and consistent way. 0:06:30.063,0:06:33.113 So here’s the good news, it turns out that[br] 0:06:33.113,0:06:37.683 there is actually specific foods,[br]movements and lifestyle practices that 0:06:37.683,0:06:39.593 while they are great wellness tips for 0:06:39.593,0:06:41.883 everyone, they have very direct and 0:06:41.883,0:06:45.313 immediate roles in boosting all of our 0:06:45.313,0:06:48.313 neurotransmitters. 0:06:48.313,0:06:51.043 So as a way to give you some practical 0:06:51.043,0:06:52.843 ways that you can begin to boost your 0:06:52.843,0:06:57.283 neurotransmitters now I’d like to start by 0:06:57.283,0:07:01.653 doing that by using the acronym “NOURISH”. 0:07:01.653,0:07:04.863 So N - notice nature. 0:07:04.863,0:07:07.993 Research shows that when our pleasure, 0:07:07.993,0:07:09.513 which is dopamine, 0:07:09.513,0:07:12.153 and our happiness, which is serotonin, 0:07:12.153,0:07:14.873 both begin to rise when we go into areas 0:07:14.873,0:07:17.413 with a large density of trees or a large 0:07:17.413,0:07:19.573 body of water like an ocean. 0:07:19.573,0:07:21.613 All it takes is 20 minutes 0:07:21.613,0:07:23.893 of being around nature with 0:07:23.893,0:07:25.903 a lot of trees, a lot of water for your 0:07:25.903,0:07:28.273 GABA, serotonin, and dopamine 0:07:28.273,0:07:32.156 to begin to rise. 0:07:32.156,0:07:34.366 O - observe your breath. 0:07:34.366,0:07:36.696 There are many medications that can stunt, 0:07:36.696,0:07:38.346 blunt, and block 0:07:38.346,0:07:40.286 the fight-flight-freeze response 0:07:40.286,0:07:43.006 in your body, there are no medications 0:07:43.006,0:07:46.566 that can boost the calm response. 0:07:46.566,0:07:48.436 But there is one mechanism in your body 0:07:48.436,0:07:50.346 that can do that naturally. 0:07:50.346,0:07:52.956 And that mechanism is your breath. 0:07:52.956,0:07:55.096 When our breath is regulated our 0:07:55.096,0:07:57.956 neurotransmitters become regulated. 0:07:57.956,0:08:03.246 Take a breath! 0:08:03.246,0:08:05.536 How does that feel? 0:08:05.536,0:08:07.066 You all just gave a little boost 0:08:07.066,0:08:12.003 to your GABA, serotonin, and dopamine. 0:08:12.003,0:08:13.793 U - uniting with others. [br][br] 0:08:13.793,0:08:16.256 The research is solid: close social bonds, 0:08:16.256,0:08:18.766 community, and social connections have 0:08:18.766,0:08:20.873 a direct impact on our nervous system. 0:08:20.873,0:08:22.463 In our technology driven world 0:08:22.463,0:08:24.493 we have become very deficient 0:08:24.493,0:08:26.733 of human touch. 0:08:26.733,0:08:28.776 Hug the people who support you, 0:08:28.776,0:08:31.199 hug your pets, get body work, 0:08:31.199,0:08:33.279 massage or Reiki, it doesn't matter, 0:08:33.279,0:08:35.659 whatever resonates with you. 0:08:35.659,0:08:38.269 Physical touch has an immediate impact 0:08:38.269,0:08:43.699 on boosting GABA, serotonin and dopamine. 0:08:43.699,0:08:45.783 R - replenish with food. 0:08:45.783,0:08:47.073 When you eat protein, 0:08:47.073,0:08:48.593 whether it’s animal protein or 0:08:48.593,0:08:50.663 vegetable protein, it doesn’t matter, 0:08:50.663,0:08:52.833 it breaks down into amino acids and amino 0:08:52.833,0:08:55.443 acids are what replenish GABA, serotonin, 0:08:55.443,0:08:57.183 and dopamine. 0:08:57.183,0:08:58.503 When you eat healthy fats, 0:08:58.503,0:09:00.443 particularly in the form of Omega 3 fats 0:09:00.443,0:09:04.163 like fish oil, flax seeds, or walnuts, 0:09:04.163,0:09:06.420 those Omega 3 fats are the raw materials 0:09:06.420,0:09:08.690 that make your neurotransmitters. 0:09:08.690,0:09:11.070 When you eat carbohydrates, specifically[br] 0:09:11.070,0:09:13.510 in the ideal form of vegetables, 0:09:13.510,0:09:14.800 and even more specific, 0:09:14.800,0:09:16.420 leafy green vegetables, 0:09:16.420,0:09:18.140 they break down into B vitamins and 0:09:18.140,0:09:20.440 B vitamins are the pre-cursors that make 0:09:20.440,0:09:23.180 serotonin. When you replenish with food 0:09:23.180,0:09:27.370 you replenish your neurotransmitters. 0:09:27.370,0:09:30.157 I - initiate movement. Any exercise will 0:09:30.157,0:09:31.977 boost the neurotransmitters.[br] 0:09:31.977,0:09:34.187 The Boston University did a study with 0:09:34.187,0:09:36.567 yoga participants and they had them do 0:09:36.567,0:09:38.447 a 60-minute yoga class. 0:09:38.447,0:09:39.877 And then when they measured 0:09:39.877,0:09:41.487 they're GABA after that class 0:09:41.487,0:09:45.177 they found everyone’s GABA went up[br]at least 27%. 0:09:45.177,0:09:46.317 Some participants had 0:09:46.317,0:09:48.797 arising GABA up to 80%. 0:09:48.797,0:09:50.447 Compared to a control group 0:09:50.447,0:09:52.297 that read a book for 60 minutes, 0:09:52.297,0:09:54.357 there was no change in their GABA. 0:09:54.357,0:09:56.787 One 60-minute yoga class 0:09:56.787,0:09:58.717 can initiate a boost in all 0:09:58.717,0:10:00.967 your neurotransmitters. 0:10:00.967,0:10:04.077 But after we active, we need to be still. 0:10:04.077,0:10:05.887 S - sitting in stillness allows 0:10:05.887,0:10:07.907 the nervous system the opportunity 0:10:07.907,0:10:11.457 to respond and adopt in a complex world 0:10:11.457,0:10:13.027 that we live and work in 0:10:13.027,0:10:14.877 in a very nurusing way. 0:10:14.877,0:10:17.477 And particularly sitting in stillness and silence, 0:10:17.477,0:10:22.377 invoking a sacred[br]prayer, meditation, or scripture 0:10:22.377,0:10:25.157 can really feed and replenish your GABA, 0:10:25.157,0:10:29.698 serotonin, and dopamine. 0:10:29.698,0:10:32.700 H - harness your creativity. 0:10:32.700,0:10:35.140 Dopamine loves the creative flow. 0:10:35.140,0:10:39.825 And the way you get into a creative flow [br]is to pick a single focused activity 0:10:39.825,0:10:41.745 that ends en “ing”. 0:10:41.745,0:10:43.825 Some examples are gardening, 0:10:43.825,0:10:45.345 fishing, painting. 0:10:45.345,0:10:47.435 But be careful because there are some 0:10:47.435,0:10:49.435 other activities that end en “ing” 0:10:49.435,0:10:51.155 that make us feel like we get 0:10:51.155,0:10:56.786 a dopamine hit: drinking, smoking, [br]overeating. 0:10:56.786,0:11:00.266 Fishing, painting, the positive hobbies 0:11:00.266,0:11:02.026 boost your dopamine. 0:11:02.026,0:11:05.526 The other: drinking, smoking, overeating 0:11:05.526,0:11:07.416 depletes dopamine. Harnish your 0:11:07.416,0:11:09.696 creativity, but be very conscientious 0:11:09.696,0:11:14.016 how you doing that. 0:11:14.016,0:11:18.066 As of today, It has been 1054 days 0:11:18.066,0:11:27.294 since I’ve had a drink of alcohol. 0:11:27.294,0:11:29.214 But I didn’t have a rock bottom moment [br] 0:11:29.214,0:11:32.154 that brought me to this point 0:11:32.154,0:11:36.314 and you don’t need to have one either. 0:11:36.314,0:11:38.394 From the outside looking in my drinking [br] 0:11:38.394,0:11:40.574 didn’t look problematic, 0:11:40.574,0:11:42.074 but from the inside looking out 0:11:42.074,0:11:43.697 at the road I was traveling down 0:11:43.697,0:11:45.112 I knew the way I was drinking 0:11:45.112,0:11:46.792 was a problem for me. 0:11:46.792,0:11:48.180 And I’m not the only one 0:11:48.180,0:11:49.856 making this decision. 0:11:49.856,0:11:52.266 There are thousands of people in[br]this country, 0:11:52.266,0:11:55.260 in the U.K., Australia, and Canada 0:11:55.260,0:11:57.016 who are rethinking their drinking 0:11:57.016,0:11:58.406 and stopping drinking because 0:11:58.406,0:12:01.456 they choose to, not because they have to. 0:12:01.456,0:12:03.466 A whole paradigm is shifting 0:12:03.466,0:12:06.156 and we up on a whole new wellness movement 0:12:06.156,0:12:09.955 starting to go alcohol free. 0:12:09.955,0:12:12.125 But I’ll be honest there were two things[br] 0:12:12.125,0:12:14.535 I worried about when I stopped drinking. 0:12:14.535,0:12:16.515 And the first was: what would happen with 0:12:16.515,0:12:20.236 my relationships? This one surprised me. 0:12:20.236,0:12:22.146 The important relationships in my life, 0:12:22.146,0:12:24.446 family stuck by me, but they deepened. 0:12:24.446,0:12:26.746 And I look back at all the new wonderful 0:12:26.746,0:12:28.846 people who who had entered my life in 0:12:28.846,0:12:30.796 the last 3 years, some of them drink, 0:12:30.796,0:12:33.296 some of them don’t, but our relationship[br] 0:12:33.296,0:12:36.526 is not built on my personal decision[br]to not drink. 0:12:36.526,0:12:37.996 We’ve been able to connect and 0:12:37.996,0:12:40.307 relate and we’re aligned in a way 0:12:40.307,0:12:41.857 that is new for me. 0:12:41.857,0:12:43.147 And it’s been really really 0:12:43.147,0:12:46.797 nourishing to add these relationships[br]to my life. 0:12:46.797,0:12:48.867 The second thing I worried about was what 0:12:48.867,0:12:51.417 if something awful happened and it would 0:12:51.417,0:12:53.537 be so painful that I’ll want to numb it 0:12:53.537,0:12:57.537 with a glass or a bottle of wine? 0:12:57.537,0:13:00.940 That worry came true. Eighteen months into 0:13:00.940,0:13:02.930 not drinking I hit my worse personal 0:13:02.930,0:13:04.740 financial crisis in my life. 0:13:04.740,0:13:06.600 If there was ever a time when I wanted 0:13:06.600,0:13:07.870 to numb the experience 0:13:07.870,0:13:09.560 and anesthetize the intense 0:13:09.560,0:13:12.840 anxiety and fear that I felt that was[br]the time. 0:13:12.840,0:13:14.590 But I didn’t do it. 0:13:14.590,0:13:16.480 And I believe the reason I got through 0:13:16.480,0:13:18.840 that time without drinking wasn’t because 0:13:18.840,0:13:20.940 I had an intellectual understanding of 0:13:20.940,0:13:23.500 the nervous system, which I do, but 0:13:23.500,0:13:25.440 intellectualizing something is what gets 0:13:25.440,0:13:27.110 me through something. And it wasn’t 0:13:27.110,0:13:29.170 because I had a strong will power, which[br][br] 0:13:29.170,0:13:31.220 I don’t, my will power fatigue is as much[br] 0:13:31.220,0:13:34.050 as the next person. But what I had was 0:13:34.050,0:13:36.030 a very targeted and specific nourishment 0:13:36.030,0:13:37.730 that I had given my nervous system 0:13:37.730,0:13:39.870 leading up to that point in a very new and 0:13:39.870,0:13:42.300 different way. And that had given me 0:13:42.303,0:13:45.283 a zone of resilience and internal zone 0:13:45.283,0:13:50.593 of resilience that I’ve never had before. 0:13:50.593,0:13:53.063 So whatever road you’re on, wherever 0:13:53.063,0:13:54.793 you are on that road with your own 0:13:54.793,0:13:57.513 internal conversation, whether you’re 0:13:57.513,0:14:00.623 a healthcare professional like myself, 0:14:00.623,0:14:02.923 a business professional in any industry, 0:14:02.923,0:14:05.933 a stay at home parent or anyone else, 0:14:05.933,0:14:08.713 if you know in your bones that you’re in [br] 0:14:08.713,0:14:11.593 the gray area with drinking or anything 0:14:11.593,0:14:14.853 else as an attempt to regulate the anxiety 0:14:14.853,0:14:19.933 in your body or the discomfort in your[br]life, don’t forget: 0:14:19.933,0:14:22.763 your GABA, your serotonin, 0:14:22.763,0:14:25.723 and your dopamine are waiting for you 0:14:25.723,0:14:27.123 to activate them with 0:14:27.123,0:14:31.037 certain foods, movements and lifestyle 0:14:31.037,0:14:34.642 practices, and when you do that 0:14:34.642,0:14:36.512 you’re giving your nervous system the 0:14:36.512,0:14:41.492 nourishment it’s been craving all along. 0:14:41.492,0:14:43.901 Thank you!