Addiction Recovery Support

Addiction recovery is supported by a treatment team. Alongside it, we treat recovery as a brain-based project: reward and stress circuits, sleep, blood sugar, nutrients, gut, and nervous system regulation.

What you may be noticing

You are in recovery, or beginning it. Cravings come in waves. Sleep is broken. Mood swings between flat and anxious. Energy is unpredictable, and the brain feels slow. Sugar cravings may replace other cravings. Emotions may feel numb, then suddenly intense. You want your body and brain to feel stable again.

Withdrawal from alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids can be dangerous. Always detox under medical supervision. If you have thoughts of suicide or an overdose risk, call 911 or call or text 988. Medications for addiction treatment are evidence-based, and I never ask anyone to stop them.

Why it is rarely one thing

Addiction is a chronic condition involving the brain reward system, stress circuits, and the prefrontal cortex. Repeated substance use changes dopamine signaling, raises stress reactivity, and weakens prefrontal control. Habit circuits in the basal ganglia automate the urge, and the autonomic nervous system often stays tilted toward fight or flight. Genetics, trauma, mental health, and environment all shape risk.

That is why I approach recovery as a brain-based project rather than a test of willpower. Each craving is a wave of neurological activity that rises and passes, and the brain can be trained to ride it.

Substances also deplete the body. Alcohol depletes thiamine, folate, magnesium, and zinc, and affects the liver and gut. Nicotine and many other substances disrupt sleep architecture and blood sugar regulation. Gut barrier changes and inflammation are common, and research links the gut microbiome with alcohol cravings, an area still being studied. A brain and body that adapted to a substance can adapt again, especially when they feel safe and nourished.

Patterns we look for

• Thiamine, folate, B12, magnesium, and zinc status.
• Liver function and drainage pathways.
• Blood sugar regulation.
• Sleep architecture, insomnia, and circadian rhythm.
• Gut barrier and microbiome balance.
• Inflammatory markers.
• Cortisol rhythm, heart rate variability, and stress reactivity.
• Anxiety, depression, emotional numbing, and trauma history.
• Frontal lobe function and impulse regulation.

How I evaluate it

The comprehensive functional neurological exam assesses frontal lobe function, saccades and antisaccades, cerebellar coordination, which alcohol can affect, balance, and autonomic regulation, including heart rate variability. These findings guide targeted rehabilitation.

Functional labs may include a comprehensive metabolic panel, liver enzymes, a complete blood count, B12, folate, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, fasting glucose and insulin, and inflammatory markers. I coordinate with your addiction medicine physician, counselor, and recovery community.

How we address it

1. Keep your treatment team and recovery community central.
2. Begin with safety, rhythm, and predictability, and pace trauma work to your stage of recovery.
3. Anchor the day with morning outdoor light, regular protein-rich meals, and consistent sleep and wake times.
4. Meet cravings with brief vagal resets: a double inhale and long exhale, cold water to the face, and humming.
5. Replete thiamine and other depleted nutrients with your physician.
6. Open drainage pathways, repair the gut, and support liver function.
7. Strengthen prefrontal regulation and cerebellar function with brain-based rehabilitation.
8. Build daily structure, movement, and meaning.

Recovery is the brain rebuilding itself, one day at a time. Every system can support that work.

Book your Comprehensive Functional Medicine Eval/Neurological Exam today to discover what the contributing root causes are that are underlying your health concerns.