Did You Know?

Did you know that alcohol has what is known as an anxiolytic effect, think calming, on a little nucleus in our amygdala called the central nucleus? This little nucleus is a pain nucleus. Research indicates that the use of alcohol reduces the felt sense of pain. Through healing the trauma we are healing the amygdala—thus reducing pain and subsequently the need for alcohol.



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Interview: Self-Care Through Havening
Interview: Dr. Kate Truit on Learning to Work from Home
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, working at home seemed seemed like it would be a temporary inconvenience, but after months of staying at home, amid an ongoing pandemic, it appears we will have to become accustomed to this new life. In this video, Lindsey Glass. the co-founder of Reach Out Recovery, interviews Dr. Kate Truitt, who provide suggestions on how to make adjustments that keep things “normal” while working from home.
Addiction Treatment
A Trauma-Informed, Neuroscience-Based, Resiliency-Focused Approach to Addiction


You don’t have to look outside of yourself to calm and energize your brain. The power is inside of you.
Although there are many types and manifestations of addiction, and various addictive substances and behaviors have different electrochemical and neurochemical effects on us, one of the main things they all do is create a dump into our systems of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This makes us feel good by changing our brain wave states.
The effects of drinking alcohol are a powerful example of how this happens, because when we drink alcohol our system goes into what’s called an alpha-wave state, and the central nucleus of the amygdala in our brains, which is a pain center, is calmed. This is much the same sense that we get when we’re meditating, or when we’re doing yoga, we go into alpha-wave state, calming the amygdala. So, why don’t we all meditate or do yoga instead of reaching for an addictive substance?
It’s not us, it’s our brains. In addition to being a pain center, the amygdala is also where psychological trauma from our past and constructs about our sense of Self and agency are encoded. For those who are living with encoded trauma, such as a lack of sense of internalized safety, their systems often do not generate alpha waves at the same levels that a normal, healthy brain do, if at all. Their systems are existing in that that unsafe state, and so they are reaching for a quick, powerful activation of dopamine in order to modulate themselves.


When you are reaching for that substance, what are you seeking? To be calmed? To feel energized? At Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates, we take a trauma-informed, neuroscience-based, resiliency-focused approach to all of our care, and that includes the way we look at addiction.
We go straight to the trauma that is the foundation of the addiction—not only reducing reliance on the external stimulus, but strengthening your Self and your agency, and bringing your own internal control back into your life. Through healing the trauma, we are healing the amygdala—thus reducing pain and subsequently the need for the addictive substance.
You don’t have to look outside of yourself to calm and energize your brain. The power is already in you. Contact the Dr.Truitt & Associates team today for a complimentary consultation.
Imagine a life where you do more than just survive, where you take the reins of healing so you can thrive and help build your resilient brain.
It’s time to Live Your Excellence.
Additional Resources at Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates


We have created our COVID and Health Anxiety Online Support Group, in which you can join Dr. Megan Mansfield and Rebecca Turner, LMFT, for a free weekly 50-minute web-based support group. In a nonjudgmental environment, participants can voice concerns and create social connection in a safe, telehealth space, while also learning stress-reducing and immune-boosting techniques that are based in neuroscience. We also help members to create personalized wellness plans for healthy living. Click on the link above for more information.
You may also visit the Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates YouTube Channel for these and other resources for coping in these times, including an in-depth series on telecommuting. Also visit our blog for helpful and insightful articles.
Visit our Living Your Excellence Blog
Are you ready for empowered change? It’s time to live your excellence. Choose from our articles below to explore how the latest advances in neuroscience create opportunities for harnessing the power of neuroplasticity, and create a space for inspiration to flow.