- Benjamin Alire Saenz, writer

-Author J.K. Rowling 

This quote is from actor Robert Downey Jr. 

Psycho-Cybernetics and Its Applications to Addiction Treatment

Introduction to Psycho-Cybernetics

Psycho-Cybernetics, first published in 1960 by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, presents a groundbreaking framework for personal development based on the author's observations as a plastic surgeon and his subsequent studies in psychology. The term "cybernetics" refers to self-regulating systems, and Maltz applied this concept to human psychology, suggesting that our minds function as a goal-seeking mechanism that uses feedback to adjust behavior—much like a guided missile system adjusts its course to reach its target.

Core Concepts of Psycho-Cybernetics

1. The Self-Image as the Foundation of Behavior
The central premise of Psycho-Cybernetics is that all human behavior is consistent with the self-image—the mental blueprint or picture we hold of ourselves. Maltz observed that even after successful cosmetic surgery, many patients continued to behave as if their physical appearance had not changed. He realized that unless the internal self-image changed, external changes had limited impact on a person's life.

According to Maltz, the self-image:

• Acts as a cybernetic mechanism that maintains consistency in our behavior
  
• Defines what we believe is possible for ourselves
  
• Establishes our limitations and capabilities
  
• Operates largely at the subconscious level
  
• Determines our emotional reactions to life events
  

• Works automatically toward goals that are clearly defined
  
• Operates below conscious awareness
  
• Relies on mental imagery and imagination
  
• Cannot distinguish between vividly imagined experiences and actual experiences
  
• Can be reprogrammed through deliberate mental practice
  

• Help individuals recognize the distinction between "I am an addict" (identity) and "I have engaged in addictive behaviors" (actions)
  
• Guide the development of a new self-image as a person who is healthy, in control, and has natural alternatives to substance use
  
• Use visualization techniques to strengthen this new self-concept
  

• Establish clear, positive goals for recovery (rather than simply avoiding relapse)
  
• Create detailed mental pictures of life without addiction
  
• Practice mental rehearsal of successfully handling triggering situations
  
• Utilize the mind's inability to distinguish between vividly imagined experience and actual experience to "pre-experience" success
  

• Guide individuals to mentally rehearse remaining sober in high-risk situations
  
• Practice visualizing the implementation of healthy coping mechanisms
  
• Create mental scenarios of experiencing joy, connection, and fulfillment without substances
  
• Mentally rehearse saying "no" to offers of substances and feeling confident in that choice
  

• Teach progressive muscle relaxation to manage cravings and stress
  
• Implement mindfulness meditation to create mental space before responding to triggers
  
• Use relaxation as a prerequisite before visualization exercises
  
• Develop healthier responses to stress that don't involve substance use
  

• Identify and challenge beliefs such as "I need alcohol to be social" or "I can't handle stress without using"
  
• Replace these with empowering alternatives based on evidence from pre-addiction life or periods of sobriety
  
• Practice "emotional surgery" (as Maltz called it) to remove negative beliefs and install positive ones
  

1. Self-Image Reconstruction
   • Map the current "addict self-image" and its components
     
   • Collaboratively develop a "recovery self-image" with specific attributes
     
   • Practice daily visualization of embodying this new self-image
     
2. Failure Mechanism Identification
   • Identify how the client's "failure mechanism" (negative thought patterns) contributes to addiction
     
   • Develop awareness of these patterns and strategies to interrupt them
     
3. Success Mechanism Activation
   • Set graduated goals that build confidence and reinforce the new self-image
     
   • Celebrate achievements to provide positive feedback to the success mechanism
     

1. Shared Visualization Exercises
   • Guide group members through collective visualization practices
     
   • Allow members to share their experiences with synthetic experience
     
2. Role-Playing Scenarios
   • Create opportunities to practice new behaviors in a safe environment
     
   • Use role-play as a form of synthetic experience
     
3. Success Story Sharing
   • Have members with longer sobriety share their journey of self-image transformation
     
   • Create a "success library" of strategies that have worked for group members
     

1. Trigger Response Reprogramming
   • Identify high-risk situations and create detailed mental rehearsals of healthy responses
     
   • Practice these visualizations until they become automatic
     
2. Therapeutic Deconditioning
   • Use relaxation techniques combined with exposure to triggers (in imagination or controlled settings)
     
   • Gradually recondition emotional responses to these triggers
     
3. Crisis Response Planning
   • Develop detailed mental practice of implementing a crisis plan when faced with intense cravings
     
   • Create and mentally rehearse a series of steps to take when temptation arises
     

1. Self-Image Assessment
   • John mapped his current self-image, which included beliefs like "I'm the life of the party when drinking" and "I need alcohol to close business deals"
     
   • Together with his therapist, he identified pre-addiction strengths and successes that contradicted these beliefs
     
2. New Self-Image Development
   • John created a detailed image of himself as "a clear-headed, effective executive who builds authentic connections and manages stress through exercise and mindfulness"
     
   • He practiced visualizing this new self-image for 15 minutes each morning and evening
     
3. Synthetic Experience Training
   • John mentally rehearsed attending business dinners without drinking
     
   • He visualized successfully handling stress through new coping mechanisms
     
   • He practiced feeling confident and socially adept while sober
     
4. Relaxation Integration
   • John learned progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation
     
   • These techniques became his "first response" to stress, replacing alcohol
     
5. Outcomes
   • After six months, John reported not only maintained sobriety but a fundamental shift in how he viewed himself
     
   • He no longer felt he was "an alcoholic fighting not to drink" but rather "a person who naturally chooses health and clarity"
     

1. Not a Standalone Treatment
   • These approaches work best as supplements to evidence-based addiction treatments, not replacements
     
   • Many addictions have physiological components that require medical management
     
2. Individual Variation
   • Not all clients respond equally well to visualization and mental rehearsal
     
   • Tailoring to individual learning and cognitive styles is important
     
3. Addressing Trauma
   • Many addictions are rooted in trauma, which may need specific trauma-informed approaches alongside self-image work
     
4. Time and Practice Requirements
   • Changing the self-image requires consistent practice over time
     
   • Short-term treatment programs may only initiate this process
     

SAVE (Stopping Addictive Voice Enticements) is a powerful technique derived from Jack Trimpey's Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT). At its core, SAVE represents a paradigm shift in how we understand and approach addiction recovery by focusing on the internal dialogue that perpetuates addictive behaviors.

The Dual Mind Concept

The foundation of SAVE is the recognition that there exists a fundamental split in the mind of someone struggling with addiction:

1. The Conscious Mind: This is the part of you that genuinely desires sobriety, wellness, and freedom from addiction. It aligns with your authentic self-interest and long-term goals.
   
2. The Subconscious Addictive Voice: This is the part that does not share your desire for sobriety. It operates beneath your conscious awareness, continually generating thoughts, feelings, and rationalizations designed to lead you back to your addictive substance or behavior.
   

• Direct Enticements: "Just one won't hurt." "You've had a hard day, you deserve this."
  
• False Logic: "You've been sober for two weeks; clearly you've got this under control now."
  
• Emotional Manipulation: "You'll never feel happy/relaxed/confident without this."
  
• Self-Pity: "Your situation is uniquely difficult; others don't understand why you need this."
  
• Bargaining: "Let's set up a controlled schedule for using."
  
• Identity Claims: "This is just who you are." "You've always been this way."
  
• Minimization: "Your problem isn't really that bad compared to others."
  
• Future-Focused Excuses: "You can quit tomorrow/next week/after this event."
  

• Empowerment: Taking control rather than feeling at the mercy of your addiction
  
• Clarity: Distinguishing between your authentic desires and addictive impulses
  
• Confidence: Building trust in your ability to maintain recovery
  
• Peace: Reducing the internal conflict that characterizes addiction
  
• Freedom: Living without the burden of addiction's constraints
  

No, but the steps are "a suggested program of recovery." In their original versions, they have helped millions of people work toward recovery. We highly recommend doing the steps, but nothing is "required" in this program other than an honest desire to stop addictive behavior.

"Take what works and leave the rest" is the key motto.

Brainwave entrainment, also known as brainwave synchronization or neural entrainment, is a phenomenon where the brain's electrical activity naturally synchronizes to the rhythm of an external stimulus, such as flickering lights, sound, or electromagnetic fields. This occurs due to the brain's tendency to match its dominant brainwave frequencies to the frequency of the external stimulus, a process called the Frequency Following Response (FFR).  

The underlying theory is rooted in physics and complex systems theory, where coupled oscillators tend to synchronize their rhythms. Just as pendulum clocks placed near each other will eventually swing in unison, brainwaves, which are the brain's natural electrical oscillations, can be influenced to align with external rhythmic stimuli.
Different brainwave frequencies are associated with different mental states:  

• Delta (0.5-4 Hz): Deep sleep, relaxation, unconsciousness.  
  
• Theta (4-8 Hz): Drowsiness, light sleep, deep relaxation, meditation, creativity.
  
• Alpha (8-12 Hz): Relaxed wakefulness, calmness, meditation, focus.  
  
• Beta (12-30 Hz): Alertness, focus, active thinking, problem-solving.  
  
• Gamma (30-100 Hz): Higher mental activity, learning, information processing, attention.  
  

• Delivery: Isochronic tones can be effectively delivered through speakers or headphones. Headphones are often recommended to minimize external distractions.  
  
• Nature of Sound: They sound like a rhythmic pulsing or clicking. This can be embedded within music or nature sounds to make them more pleasant to listen to.  
  
• Applications: Isochronic tones are used for a variety of purposes, including:
  • Relaxation and Stress Reduction (Alpha frequencies): The distinct pulses can guide the brain into a calmer state.  
    
  • Improved Focus and Concentration (Beta and Gamma frequencies): Higher frequency pulses may enhance alertness and cognitive processing.  
    
  • Sleep Enhancement (Delta and Theta frequencies): Lower frequencies can promote drowsiness and deeper sleep states.  
    
  • Meditation (Alpha and Theta frequencies): Facilitating entry into meditative states.  
    
  • Mood Enhancement: By influencing brainwave patterns associated with positive emotions.  
    

• Delivery: Binaural beats require the use of headphones because the two different frequencies must be delivered separately to each ear for the effect to occur. Speakers will cause the tones to mix, and the binaural beat will not be perceived.  
  
• Nature of Sound: The listener typically hears two continuous tones with a subtle pulsing or beating sensation that is the binaural beat frequency.
  
• Applications: Similar to isochronic tones, binaural beats are used for various purposes related to altering mental states:
  • Relaxation and Anxiety Reduction (Alpha and Theta frequencies): Lower frequency binaural beats are popular for inducing calm and reducing stress.  
    
  • Meditation (Theta frequencies): Facilitating deeper meditative states.  
    
  • Improved Sleep (Delta and Theta frequencies): Encouraging the brain to shift towards sleep-related frequencies.
    
  • Enhanced Focus and Cognitive Function (Beta and Gamma frequencies): Higher frequency beats are sometimes used to promote alertness and concentration.  
    
  • Pain Management: Some research suggests potential benefits for pain perception.  
    
   
  

• Mechanism: Isochronic tones provide a direct auditory stimulus with clear on/off pulses, while binaural beats are a perceived auditory illusion created by the brain's processing of two different tones.  
  
• Delivery: Isochronic tones can be effective with speakers or headphones, whereas binaural beats require headphones for the separate delivery of frequencies to each ear.  
  
• Effectiveness: Some anecdotal evidence and limited research suggest that isochronic tones might produce a stronger entrainment effect due to the more direct stimulation. However, individual responses can vary.
  
• Perception: Some individuals find the sharp pulsing of isochronic tones less pleasant than the continuous tones with a subtle beat of binaural beats. Embedding the tones in music or nature sounds can mitigate this.  
  
• Research: While research on brainwave entrainment is ongoing, the evidence for its effectiveness varies. Some studies show promising results for specific applications, while others are inconclusive or have methodological limitations. More rigorous and large-scale research is needed to fully understand the potential benefits and mechanisms of action for both isochronic tones and binaural beats.  
  

• Brainwave entrainment is generally considered safe for most people when used at reasonable listening levels.
  
• Individuals with epilepsy or a history of seizures should exercise caution and consult with a healthcare professional before using brainwave entrainment, as certain frequencies of light or sound can potentially trigger seizures.
  
• Brainwave entrainment should not be considered a substitute for medical or psychological treatment.
  
• The effectiveness of brainwave entrainment can vary significantly between individuals. Factors such as individual brainwave patterns, listening habits, and the quality of the audio can play a role.
  

From base to peak:

Grace - the good fortune of becoming ready for change and discovering a path to get there.

Faith - the courage to believe in oneself, one's Higher Source, or whatever fosters strength in time of need.

Truth - the ongoing process of insight into oneself, one's issues and addictions, and the world.

Peace - the Serenity that comes from Sobriety and the journey leading us toward it.

Light - the power to inspire, guide, teach, and mentor others on the path to liberation.

Greed - prevents Kindness.
Anger - loss of Patience.
Pride (ego) - lack of Humility.
Sloth - failure of Tenacity. Laziness, giving up.

"Keep the Vows and Mind the GAPS, and you'll rarely go wrong."

Five concepts supporting successful recovery:

Acceptance - becoming OK with the reality of ourselves and our lives, even when things are rough.
Betterment - recognizing that change is possible, desirable, and achievable.
Compassion - treating others with empathy, kindness, respect, and genuine concern for their struggles.
Discipline - doing the work - having a program and making it our number one priority.
Excellence - avoiding half-hearted efforts and double-minded doubts. Doing our VERY BEST.