217: Understanding the Biomarkers of Addiction with Dr. Evelyn Higgins

If you found out earlier on in your youth that you actually have a genetic propensity toward addiction, would you have made decisions a lot differently? Addiction is a bio-psycho-social model, but we don't really look at the bio part of it. Sometimes, we have to look at the physiology of things to understand addiction better. And there has to be a paradigm shift in thinking about how we operate and exist in this world. 

On today’s episode, Duane speaks with Dr. Evelyn Higgins about genes and biomarkers, how they influence our behavior, how they play out in addiction, and why knowing about this part of ourselves is an important step in addiction treatment and recovery. 

Dr. Evelyn Higgins is the founder and CEO of Wired For Addiction and a recognized international expert in the epidemiology of addiction. With 34 years in clinical practice, Dr. Higgins has spent over 16 years dedicated to research and development in the science of addiction recovery, and she finds herself at the nexus of epigenetics, neuroscience, and addiction. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• What it means to look at errors in genetic coding
• Epigenetics and aberrant behaviors
• Why addiction is not a moral flaw, but a disease
• The first step is getting objective information.
• The common genetic markers of addiction
• How seeing addiction from a biological perspective impacts the families

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Supporting Resources:

Wired For Addiction

Dr. Higgins’ TEDTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XNk8tNsaco 

NovusMindfulLife.com

Episode Credits

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