This detox protocol is designed to help you manage stress & energy without the need for alcohol. While other programs typically fail to address all of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, this protocol ensures that you have a practical & reliable solution for cravings and low mood. On top of that, you’ll have a way to manage stress that keeps your energy balanced throughout the day while feeling on top of your game.
For your protocol to be effective, it has to be backed by thoughtful action. So before getting started, consider thinking about what you will do with more free time, energy, and focus. It cannot be overstated how much time & energy is lost to worry, depression, and anxious decision-making. When these behaviors are gone from your life, you get the time and energy back. If alcohol has caused any kind of a setback for you, then how you utilize your resources becomes more important if you want to make a comeback. Perhaps the most important one for your business is focus.
Focus comes from realizing what’s important so it takes the majority of your attention. You’re no longer concerned with what other people think. You are not striving for perfection- just progress. In other words, you’re only interested in giving attention to what you believe will bring you closer to achieving your vision as an entrepreneur.
How do you intend for the world to become better because of something you create?
Getting back to the protocol, drinkers with a dependency tend to have a strong response to noradrenaline, the neurotransmitter responsible for focus. If we look at things in terms of mental health ‘states’, we can find abnormal levels of noradrenaline in obsessive-compulsive, attention-deficit (ADHD), antisocial disorder (ASPD), bipolar, and borderline disorder, where it is either chronically high or low [1][2][3][4][5]. Alcohol dependency is above average in all of the mentioned groups. What’s key to understand is whether this neurotransmitter needs to be put in-check (as in ASPD) or needs to be elevated (as in ADHD).
Whether you can relate to the dopaminergic type (alcohol is both a source of energy & a way to relax) or the serotoninergic type (alcohol allows you to socialize, let loose, and enjoy life), consider how you’re going to address noradrenaline. Do you need more of it? Or do you need to keep it under control? The simplest way to answer this question is by looking at what alcohol does for you. If alcohol is experienced as a source of energy (it helps you stay active longer), you probably need more noradrenaline. If alcohol is primarily a way to relax & unwind, you may need to put noradrenaline in-check.
Dopamine is also a factor to consider, not only because it’s a precursor to noradrenaline, but also because of the role it plays in developing alcohol dependence. Because dopamine serves as a precursor to noradrenaline, boosting levels can often result in higher levels of the latter. Since dopamine dysregulation is a primary factor in alcohol dependency, the protocol includes options that improve the response to too much and too little dopamine.
Finally, GABA is also typically low in all types, mainly due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by chronic alcohol consumption. Low GABA is taken into account by addressing these deficiencies through highly bioavailable supplementation.
Supplements for All Types
In the next post, we’ll dive deeper into the differences between drinker types and explore a more targeted protocol for each one.
References
- Ravi, Sudesh, et al. “Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Evidences from Clinical Studies.” Biochemia Medica, vol. 34, no. 1, 15 Dec. 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10731732/, https://doi.org/10.11613/bm.2024.010503.
- Vanicek, Thomas, et al. “The Norepinephrine Transporter in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Investigated with Positron Emission Tomography.” JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 71, no. 12, 22 Oct. 2014, pp. 1340–1340, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4699255/, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.1226.
- Haspel, Thomas. “Beta-Blockers and the Treatment of Aggression.” Harvard Review of Psychiatry, vol. 2, no. 5, 1 Jan. 1995, pp. 274–281, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9384911/, https://doi.org/10.3109/10673229509017146.
- Kurita, Masatake, et al. “The Noradrenaline Metabolite MHPG Is a Candidate Biomarker from the Manic to the Remission State in Bipolar Disorder I: A Clinical Naturalistic Study.” PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 6, 27 June 2014, pp. e100634–e100634, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0100634, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0100634.
- Simeon, Daphne, et al. “A Preliminary Study of Cortisol and Norepinephrine Reactivity to Psychosocial Stress in Borderline Personality Disorder with High and Low Dissociation.” Psychiatry Research, vol. 149, no. 1-3, 1 Jan. 2007, pp. 177–184, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178106001673, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2005.11.014.
- Li, Yun Feng, et al. “Antidepressant-like Effect of Agmatine and Its Possible Mechanism.” European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 469, no. 1-3, 1 May 2003, pp. 81–88, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12782188/, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-2999(03)01735-7.
