9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I still remember the exact spot 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on the highway where I was driving. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I think I remember it so vividly because 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was having one of the most important 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 conversations that I’ve ever had with [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 myself. In that moment in my car, I knew 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in my bones, I wouldn’t drink alcohol 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 again. So you might be thinking what was 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the rock bottom that brought me to that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 point? And the answer is … 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there wasn’t one! You see, I was a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 gray area drinker and I drank between two 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 extremes. I wasn’t an "end stage, lose 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 everything" kind of drinker, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 not by a long shot. If you would have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 asked my friends and family if they 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 thought I had a drinking problem they 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 have said, “of course not”. But I also 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 wasn’t an "every now and again drinker" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who would have a glass of champagne 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for example at the wedding and then not 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 drink again for weeks. I didn’t fall into 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 either one of those drinking categories 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or drinking extremes. And maybe you [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 can identify? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As a nutritionist who has worked in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 corporate wellness since 2004, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I functioned really well. I knew how 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to eat well, I worked out on a regular 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 basis and I loved to read and study 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 everything health and wellness. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But what people didn’t know was how much I[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 loved the “off” switch that wine provided 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to my “on” and often anxious brain. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I loved the immediate effect that red wine 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 delivered. And people also didn’t see how 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 easy and frequent it was for one glass of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 wine to turn into one bottle of wine. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is a commune characteristic and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 pattern in gray area drinking that I [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 experience and I’ve watched many others 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 experience as well and that’s a stopping 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and restarting drinking. One time I 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stopped for 7 months, another time I 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stopped for 30 days, and other short 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 periods in between, and then I would think 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to myself: “Why am I being so restrictive? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I can be a social drinker”. So I’d return 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to drinking only to return to a level of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 drinking where I regret it. This back and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 forth drinking marry-go-around was the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 exact thing that I knew I wanted to exit 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 off for good that day in my car on the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 highway. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And maybe you don’t actually identify with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a gray area drinking because not everyone 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 will. But here is what I know with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 absolute certainty: there are people in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 your life right now, it could be family 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 members, close friends, colleagues, and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they are worrying and wondering as they’re 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rethinking their drinking because they are[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the gray area, but more than likely 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they are not talking to you about it and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they are not talking to others about it 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because they think they are the only ones 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they think they are alone. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So how do I know this? I’ve lived this for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 many years. And the more I can be speaking 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 up professionally about my gray area[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 drinking experience the more my email 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 inbox gets flooded with emails from 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 attorneys and therapists, senior level 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 managers and nurses, stay in home moms, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 yoga instructors, and many many others. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And their words are different, but 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the jest of what they write me is all [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the same and they say, “I identify with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 your drinking story. I don’t have a rock 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 bottom either, I want to be able to drink 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 socially, but I end up regretting how much 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I drink on a frequent basis."[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This gray area drinking spectrum is real 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it’s large. And a lot of high 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 achieving, high functioning people who 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 silently live here every day. But beyond 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 gray area drinking is even something 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 bigger and that’s a collective story of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 anxiety. And this I believe is where we 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are collectively missing the mark. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We don’t need anymore cognitive hoops to[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 jump through and we don’t need anymore 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ways to focus our will power and contort 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 our will power in an attempt to “fix” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ourselves, what we need is practical 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 training in how to nourish our nervous 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 system in a revolutionary and new way. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So there is many components and pieces to[br][br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this, but one component and one 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 interesting place to start can 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 be understanding your neurotransmitters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So let’s start with GABA. So GABA is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the natural anti-anxiety neurotransmitter. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When GABA is low we can feel anxious and[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 our mind can get stuck in a loop of worry, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rumination or obsession about anything. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Serotonin is the natural anti-depressant [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 neurotransmitter. When serotonin is low 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we can feel more depressed, unhappy, and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 crave things like carbs and alcohol and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 have trouble sleeping.[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that’s in[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 charge of our focus and motivation. When 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 dopamine’s low it can be hard to stay at 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a coarse and stay on track with your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 goals and your routines. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So people with low GABA people will often 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 say that they drink as a way to relax. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That was me. People with low serotonin[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 will say they drink as a way to have fun, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and people with low dopamine will say they 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 drink as a way to connect and engage[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with others. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But here’s the problem and here is what I 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 want to you know and take from this talk — 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It can be relatively easy for most people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on the gray area drinking spectrum to stop 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 drinking, but it can be hard to stay 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stopped, especially if we are not 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 replenishing our neurotransmitters and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 nourishing our nervous system in a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 comprehensive and consistent way.[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So here’s the good news, in turns out that[br][br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there is actually specific foods, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 movements and lifestyle practices that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 while they are great wellness tips for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 everyone, they have very direct and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 immediate roles in boosting all of our 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 neurotransmitters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So as a way to give you some practical 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ways that you can begin to boost your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 neurotransmitters now I’d like to start 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 doing that by using the acronym “NOURISH” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 N - notice nature - Research shows that[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 when our pleasure, which is dopamine, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and our happiness, which is serotonin, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 both begin to rise when we go into areas 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with a large density of trees or a large 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 body of water like an ocean. All it takes 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is 20 minutes of being around nature with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a lot of trees, a lot of water for your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 GABA, serotonin, and dopamine to begin 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to rise. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 O - observe your breath. There are many[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 medications you can stunt, blunt, and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 block the fight-flight-freeze response in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 your body, there are no medications that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 can boost the calm response. But there is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 one mechanism in your body that can do 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that naturally. And that mechanism is your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 breath. When our breath is regulated our 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 neurotransmitters become regulated. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Take a breath! How does that feel? You all 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just gave a little boost to your GABA, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 serotonin, and dopamine. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 R - replenish with food - when you eat 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 protein, whether it’s animal protein or 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 vegetable protein, it doesn’t matter, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it breaks down into amino acids and amino 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 acids are what replenish GABA, serotonin, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and dopamine. When you eat healthy fats, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 particularly in the form of Omega 3 fats 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like fish oil, flax seeds, or walnuts, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 those Omega 3 fats are the raw materials 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that make your neurotransmitters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When you eat carbohydrates, specifically[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the ideal form of vegetables, and even 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 more specific, leafy green vegetables, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they break down into B vitamins and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 B vitamins are the pre-cursors that make 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 serotonin. When you replenish with food 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you replenish your neurotransmitters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I - initiate movement. Any exercise will 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 boost the neurotransmitters.[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Boston University did a study with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 yoga participants and they had them do 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a 60-minute yoga class. And then when 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they measured they're GABA after that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 class they found everyone’s GABA went 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 up at least on 27%. Some participants had 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 arising GABA up to 80%. Compared to the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 control group that read a book for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 60 minutes, there was no change in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 their GABA. One 60-minute yoga class can 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 initiate a boost in all your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 neurotransmitters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But after we active, we need to be still. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 S - sitting in stillness allows 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the nervous system the opportunity 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to respond and adopt in a complex world 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that we live and work in in a very 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 nurusing way. And particularly sitting in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stillness and silence, invoking a sacred 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 prayer, meditation, or scripture can 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 really feed and replenish your GABA, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 serotonin, and dopamine. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 H - harness your creativity - Dopamine 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 loves the creative flow. And the way you 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 get into a creative flow is to pick [br][br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a single focused activity that ends 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 en “ing”. Some examples are gardening, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 fishing, painting. But be careful because 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there are some other activities that end 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 en “ing” that make us feel like we get 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a dopamine hit: drinking, smoking, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 overeating. Fishing, painting, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the positive hobbies boost your dopamine. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The other: drinking, smoking, overeating 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 depletes dopamine. Harnish your 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 creativity, but be very conscientious 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 how you doing that. As of today, It has 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 been 1054 days since I’ve had a drink[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of alcohol. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But I didn’t have a rock bottom moment [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that brought me to this point and you 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 don’t need to have one either.