Change Your Brain Every Day - How to Overcome Addiction with Brain Health with Orlando Vargas

Episode Date: June 22, 2021

Dr Daniel Amen talks with Director of House of Freedom, Orlando Vargas. They discuss the origins of the organization and how it helps addicts overcome their obstacles by improving their brain health.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain spec imaging to personalize treatment to your brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to brainmd.com. Hey, everybody. Welcome. This week's going to be very important. As the pandemic is winding down, mental health problems are not. They have in fact escalated during this very difficult time, especially substance use and substance abuse troubles. And so I decided to get one of my friends who's an expert at substance abuse treatment to join me this week, it's Orlando Vargas. He is currently the director of research development at House of Freedom, a substance abuse treatment facility in Orlando, Florida. Orlando has been an Amen Clinics brain health coach since November 2015. He started his journey with House of Freedom in 2009 and has a vast amount of experiencing developing brain healthy recovery programs incorporating the Amen Clinic's method to do

this. In addition, he's a certified addictions professional and is dedicated to helping and working with alcoholics and addicts from all different backgrounds. So Orlando, welcome. I'm so excited to be able to talk to you today. Thank you so much for having me, Dr. Amen. It's really an honor and I'm equally excited to be here and to be able to share information with the audience. So talk to us about how you became involved in addiction treatment? Okay, well, my wife, her father actually founded House of Freedom. And before, believe it or not, I was an assistant application analyst at a bank. Okay. But I always had a desire to help other people out. And, you know, like you mentioned in your book, you know, you have to know your why, know your motivation, right?

So when I saw the opportunity, you know, given how my wife and her father, right, they worked in substance use recovery centers, I decided to give it a try. You know, I decided, hey, look, I think I can do this. I certainly have the passion to help other people. So let me see how I can incorporate this and help others. And that journey, you know, like I said earlier, or like you said earlier, started in 2009. And I've been in House of Freedom since then, working and helping, you know, different family members and individuals so i actually love that you come to this from a systems analyst perspective because too often addiction treatments loosey-goosey and it's like um it's not done in a brain centric or brain healthy way. So how did you get connected to my work? Okay, well, this is that's a great question. So back on 2010, I'm sitting in my

office. And I have a little bit of a budget here within the organization to buy some books. OK, so I'm sitting in my computer and a colleague of mine by the name of Carlos, he passes by and I go, hey, Carlos, I'm actually looking for books to, you know, to give to our patients here. So that way they can learn about addiction and whatnot. And he says, there's this book, you have to get it. And I'm like, okay, so what is it? And he's like, it's called Unchain Your Brain. And I'm like, okay. So I went ahead and ordered the book. And once the book got here, I think I finished the book within like three days. And I didn't finish it earlier because I had to work during the day. And it was one of those aha moments where I'm thinking, Oh, my God, you know, how come I've never heard of this before. And I quickly, you know, went online, I looked at information, I started calling the corporate offices, okay, of the Amen Clinics. And I said, we need to get a

brain stuck machine here at House of Freedom, because you guys have a Sierra Tucson facility that has it, What do we have to do? And that just completely changed my life. And I'm being completely honest here, not only for my patients, but the way I approach things, the way I see things, the way I make recommendations, it was just one of those moments where I just became that much more valuable to the community that I serve because, you know, everything that I've implemented from the Amen Clinics and from that book is actually provided some really good results. Yeah. It's just sort of a rational approach that all addicts aren't the same. If you don't look at their brain, how do you know what's really going on? It's easy to call people bad. It's easy to shame them.

And so, you know, I'm just so grateful. Let's talk about some of the big things you've learned and how you apply it at House of Freedom. Okay. well, first of all, like you said earlier, you know, how do you know unless you look, right? So understand then the four components, right, which is the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspect. You know, that's really the four components, like you say in the book that make up a person, right? So we have to make sure that when we're treating someone, we're not just doing one area, right? So we have to make sure that when we're treating someone, we're not just doing one area, right? Because a lot of times with different substance abuse facilities, they just focus too much on either medication or just too much on the social aspect

or too much on spirituality. And a lot of times it's like, hello, you know, what's the organ of behavior? Well, it's the brain. Okay. And, you know, unless you fix of behavior well it's the brain okay and you know unless you fix that first there's no way that the other aspects the emotional aspect of an individual can reach its full potential and actually implement those desires and wishes so that has to be the foundation for every person in recovery and obviously not everyone can afford, right, a brain spec, but even the tools that you provide, the questionnaires, they're truly magnificent because a lot of times, you know, not only can you learn more from the individual,

but you can sort of like, you know, put them in certain categories and say, Okay, well, it seems like you might be a compulsive sort of addict. Okay, so how do we treat that? And then we know we follow those protocols, or you're impulsive, or you're emotional. And, and I've noticed that in your book, your brain is always listening, you actually updated those types, which I love, you know, the first one, which is sort of like the balanced, right? Because, you know, if you're fine, well, how do we keep it like that? Right? I mean, you can't just go start, you know, hitting your head with like playing football or, you know, doing MMA or playing soccer or whatnot. So, you know, those components are really, really crucial. So that's

sort of like, you know, to me, the foundation and, you know, believe it or not, a lot of people who come here, they've been to four, five, six, seven treatments. And like you said in your book as well, you know, if, if somebody has a temporal lobe issue, there's no amount of therapy that's going to fix that. Right. So we have to correct those underlying conditions there in order to really position the individual to have a successful recovery yeah what a concept so many treatment programs are wed to medication and a 12-step model and when i writing, your brain is always listening. I'm like, how come no one's updated the 12 steps with a neuroscience informed perspective? And I thought, well,

this will get me into trouble. But being in trouble has never been a problem for me. But it just sort of made rational sense in the typical 12 steps with your life is out of control. It starts with number one. And I'm like, but that's not number one. That's number two. Number one is, well, what the heck do you don't know your why you won't do the what and so in the new program um i'm like step one why do you care why do you want to be healthy why do you want to be sober why do you live right why do you breathe and if if you don't know that, and so often I ask people, tell me your goals, and they immediately go to work or they immediately go to money. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. What are your goals in your relationships? What are your goals in your health? Work and money, they're important, but they're important only in the context of a whole life because those people who are just

seeking money or just working 80 hours a week, they're generally not happy unless they're purposeful, unless it has a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. So that's step one. Step two is, is your life out of control? Basically, I live with this question day in and day out, does it fit? Does my behavior fit the goals I have for my life? And if it doesn't, then what am I going to do about it? And then three, it's like, just like you said, got to get your brain right. How many scans do you think you've sent Damon clinics over the years? Oh, I want to say, uh, over 50 scans. Okay. Uh, which I wish it was more to be honest. Right. But, uh, you know, we did, we did, we do travel a lot, uh, to get to the facility. Uh, and that's why

I'm so happy that you're actually opening up a aiming clinic here in Florida, which when I found out, it was just like, oh my God, it was like another aha moment where I'm just so happy because I'm finally able to go back there and go through the process

and utilize their software and your applications, which basically they're great and easy to understand. And has step three, and then in subsequent podcasts, we'll go through some of the other steps, impacted your own life personally? Which steps? Step three? Yeah. Get your brain right and your mind will follow.

Yeah. Well, you know know i actually had a brain spec at your clinic uh in reston that's where i had my first uh brain spec okay and when i had my the brain spec you know the blood flow throughout the cortex was actually healthy was good and i haven't had any uh traumatic brain injuries or have any substance use disorders or anything like that. I don't smoke cigarettes or exercise. But I did notice that my basal ganglia were very active. OK, and, you know, enough. You know, I am someone who who does have anxiety at times.

I sometimes do avoid conflict. OK, and, you know, when I seen that, I'm like, hmm, I'm like, my basal ganglia are overactive. And, you know, it really makes sense because I do feel like I am someone who has anxiety at times. So how do I manage that? Right. So what I did was I changed my diet even more. I started taking omega-3. Okay.

Or, you know, your omega-3, NeuroBite Plus, and Brain and Memory Power, okay, so those three, like you call them, those are the brain basics, and, you know, I took that, and then I had my second stand in California, when I had the training with you back then, and that activity had calmed down so much because not only did I understand how my neurochemistry was working at the moment, but I was taking action and making changes, you know, implementing, and I do a lot of the Omni diet that Tana wrote, you know, so that 70% vegetable, 30% protein approach, which is really the most beneficial right i mean obviously you know people react differently to different diets and whatnot but that's like one of the safest approach and

one of the most you know successful because obviously one thing that we can all agree upon it's that eating more vegetables is actually good for you okay and and and that diet really has a lot of vegetables in there and and when i implemented that, then it did make a huge difference. And not only that, I eliminated gluten from my diet. And oddly enough, it helped so much, even though I don't have celiac disease, right? And I don't have any sensitivity per se. I just feel better when I don't eat daily, when I take my omega-3s, my brain and memory power, my NeuroBite Plus, when I exercise, when I sleep well. You know, when I do all the things that you mentioned in all your books and just really, you know, apply the Amen Method to my life personally.

So that's been, you know, a really benefit. And it's funny, I know that you are the brain doctor, right? You are known as a brain doctor. And I tell people all the time, well, if Dr. Amen is the brain doctor, I'm the brain counselor, you know, because I'm always, I'm always talking about brain, you know, are we fixing it? You know, have we checked it out? You know, what are we doing to make it better? You know, we, we recommend a lot of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which, you know, I've seen you utilize to great success. So, you know, everything that you do and say, I implemented fully in our operation and in my life personally.

Well, I'm so grateful. I mean, you know, it's really the fruit of my work over time. And when we come back, we're going to talk more about substance abuse, addiction treatment, and this new 12-step model. Stay with us. If you're enjoying the Brain Warriors Way podcast, please don't forget to subscribe so you'll always know when there's a new episode. And while you're at it, feel free to give us a review or five-star rating as that helps others find the podcast. If you're interested in coming to Amen Clinics, use the code PODCAST10 to get a 10% discount on a full evaluation at amenclinics.com. For more information, give us a call at 855-978-1363.