The Science Behind Porn Addiction—and How to Stop | The Truth About Addiction Genetics, and Why You’re Not “Doomed” to Be an Addict Forever
- Jake Kastleman
- Feb 5
- 37 min read
Do you believe that you are genetically prone to addiction? What if you could alter these genetics?
Today, I speak with Dr. Evelyn Higgins with Wired for Addiction about the science behind porn addiction, specifically the impact of epigenetics on addiction.
According to Dr. Higgins, we can alter our genetic expression, developing a completely different way of life, and rewiring our brain to overcome porn addiction.
Dr. Evelyn Higgins is an internationally recognized expert in epidemiology of substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and process addictions like social media, video game, and porn addiction.
Across Western culture, we have a pervasive belief that our genetics play a condemning role in our lives, that they are determined, we can't change them, and they lead to outcomes we have little to no control over.
Once an addict, always an addict...
Epigenetics flips this belief on its head. It gives us the hopeful message that through shifts in mindset and lifestyle we can turn on and off certain genes, leading to powerful transformations in mental and physical health.
I've been sober from porn for 10 years, over 11 years from alcohol, and 12 years from substances. And I am now giving men across the world a step-by-step system to develop the same recovery mindset and lifestyle I practice to stay sober.
It is not your destiny to deal with addiction cravings for life. That is not my story. It doesn't have to be yours.
Rewrite Your Genetic Code & Stop Porn Addiction
Pornography addiction is a battle that many face, often in silence. It’s not just about willpower—it’s about understanding what’s happening in your brain and body.
Dr. Evelyn Higgins and I had an incredible conversation on my podcast where we explored the science behind addiction, the role of genetics, and, most importantly, how to stop porn addiction for good. If you’ve ever struggled with quitting or wondered why it’s so difficult, listen to our episode for insights and tools to break free of porn.
Why Quitting Porn Feels Impossible (But Isn’t)
Many people ask me, “Why can’t I just stop watching porn?” The truth is, addiction isn’t just about the porn habit or sexual craving—it’s about how your brain is wired.
Dr. Higgins explained how genetic markers, neurotransmitters, and even inflammation in the body play a role in addiction.
Simply saying “no more porn” doesn’t work. Understanding what’s happening inside your body can help you make real, lasting changes.
The Role of Genetics in Overcoming Porn Addiction
Dr. Higgins shared specific ways our genetic makeup can influence addiction.
Our DNA plays a role in how susceptible we are to addictive behaviors. Quitting porn isn’t just a matter of willpower—it’s a physiological challenge.
But here’s the good news: just because you may be predisposed to addiction doesn’t mean you’re doomed. There are actionable steps you can take to rewire your brain and break free of porn.
Through genetic biomarker tests conducted by Evelyn and her team, you can see every factor that is playing a role in your susceptibility to addiction.
Do you have weakened mitochondria? Are your serotonin or dopamine levels where they should be? Do you have genetic weaknesses in your methylation cycle? Are your neuropsychological genes weakened?
These and many, many more can play a role in addiction.
Rewiring Your Brain: Practical Steps to Stop Porn
1. Mindfulness and Awareness
One of the biggest game-changers in my own journey has been emotional mindfulness. I have worked tirelessly to become an expert at accepting and processing through difficult emotions, and I’ve developed effective methods for processing hard emotions so they don’t evolve into cravings for porn. I teach men around the world these same psychological techniques.
Recently, I’ve started using the Wim Hof breathing technique, focusing on my breath, and becoming more aware of my body.
If you’re constantly stuck in your thoughts, worrying about past failures or future struggles, mindfulness can help ground you in the present.
You probably know the feeling of being stuck in your own mind—constantly battling urges, thoughts, and emotions. One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Dr. Higgins was the importance of mindfulness.
For me, mindfulness doesn’t come naturally. My brain is always running, analyzing, and processing. But I’ve practiced slowing down, working through emotions, practicing breathwork like the Wim Hof method, and simply being present in my body.
When we’re mindful, we’re less likely to act on impulse, and we gain the ability to pause, reflect, and make choices that align with our recovery. If you want to quit porn, mindfulness is a necessary skill.
2. Gratitude Journaling
Dr. Higgins emphasized how powerful gratitude is in reshaping our mindset.
Writing down just five things you’re grateful for each day—no matter how small—can shift your perspective. When you focus on what’s good in your life, you start seeing more good. And that mindset shift is critical when trying to stop porn addiction.
When you're struggling with relapse, shame, or self-doubt, taking a moment to list five things you're grateful for can help reframe your perspective. This daily habit isn't just about positive thinking; it’s about training your brain to focus on the good rather than getting lost in the negativity.
If you're on this journey to stop watching porn, start by grounding yourself in gratitude. It's a small, consistent action that can create major shifts in how you feel and how you respond to challenges.
3. Understanding Your Triggers
Overcoming porn addiction requires recognizing what triggers you. Stress, loneliness, boredom—these are all common triggers. By identifying them and setting up boundaries, you can prevent yourself from falling into old patterns. Awareness is the first step to change.
4. Taking Ownership and Seeking Help
There’s a tendency to feel hopeless when struggling with pornography addiction. But as Dr. Higgins pointed out, taking ownership of your situation is empowering.
Understanding the science behind addiction doesn’t mean you’re helpless—it means you now have the knowledge to fight back. Seeking professional guidance, whether through therapy or resources like Wired for Addiction, can make all the difference.
The Bigger Picture: We’re Raising a Generation of Addicts
One of the most eye-opening parts of our discussion was how addiction is being ingrained in younger generations. From social media to processed foods, we’re developing addictive behaviors earlier than ever before.
If we don’t take action now, the problem will only get worse. That’s why it’s so important to educate ourselves and others about how to stop addiction and other compulsive behaviors before they take control of our lives.
Why Today’s World Makes Porn Addiction More Dangerous Than Ever
Dr. Higgins and I talked about how addiction—whether it’s to porn, food, social media, or substances—is more rampant than ever. The world we live in is designed to keep us hooked.
Kids are being raised with constant access to screens, social media, and instant gratification, which primes the brain for addiction from an early age. The accessibility of pornography today makes quitting even more challenging, especially when exposure starts young and becomes a deeply ingrained habit before the brain is fully developed.
This is why stopping porn addiction isn't just about willpower—it’s about understanding how the brain has been wired over time. If you want to break free, you need to recognize that you’re fighting against a system designed to keep you addicted. But here’s the empowering part: once you see the bigger picture, you can make the conscious decision to take control. You are not powerless. You can stop porn and reclaim your life.
By taking steps like understanding your brain chemistry, practicing mindfulness, and shifting your mindset with gratitude, you can break free from pornography addiction and build a life where you no longer feel controlled by urges.
The road to recovery is about more than just quitting porn—it’s about creating lasting change that allows you to thrive.
Your First Step to Quit Porn
If you’ve been struggling with porn addiction, you don’t have to stay trapped. Start small—practice mindfulness, write down what you’re grateful for, recognize your triggers, and most importantly, don’t give up. You have the power to stop porn and take control of your life.
If you’re looking for deeper insights into your own biology and addiction patterns, consider exploring Wired for Addiction. They offer biomarker evaluations and genetic testing that can help you understand your unique challenges and create a personalized path to recovery.
Breaking free from pornography addiction isn’t just possible—it’s absolutely within your reach. No more feeling stuck. It’s time to take back control and start living the life you truly deserve.
Build the No More Porn Lifestyle
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Transcription of Episode 84: The Science Behind Porn Addiction—and How to Stop | The Truth About Addiction Genetics, and Why You’re Not “Doomed” to Be an Addict Forever
So, you're born with your DNA. Here's your cards, play them out. Good luck.
Right? We now know, through the study of epigenetics, that we can change the expression of those genes. That's where the power lies. We can be taught or think that addiction is just this neurological issue, it's a chemical imbalance in my brain, and so therefore, that's why I want this.
But then we have all these other factors that are involved. You can actually see inside and see what's going on. Now you have direction.
You have answers. I can't tell you to that point, Jake, the amount of times that I've gone over results with people, and there's tears, but they're tears of joy. Because they're like, you just said everything of how I feel.
Right? There's a clinical correlation to everything. And when you hear this and you're like, that's exactly who I am and exactly how I feel. Wow! Is that validating? And to know, okay, we can make changes to this.
Hey, this is Jake Castleman with No More Desire. I am really excited to have you here and for the conversation you are about to experience between me and Dr. Evelyn Higgins, an internationally recognized expert in epidemiology of substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and process addictions like social media, video game, and porn addiction. Across Western culture, we have a pervasive belief that our genetics play a condemning role in our lives, that they are determined, we can't change them, and they lead to outcomes we have little to no control over.
Once an addict, always an addict. Evelyn Higgins flips this belief on its head. Today, her and I discuss epigenetics, which is a very exciting study of gene expression and the hopeful message that through shifts in mindset, in lifestyle, we can turn on and off certain genes, leading to powerful transformations in mental and physical health.
I've been sober from porn for 10 years this month, over 11 years from alcohol, and 12 years from substances. And I am now giving men across the world a step-by-step system to develop the same recovery mindset and lifestyle I practice to stay sober. It is not your destiny to deal with addiction cravings for life.
That is not my story. It doesn't have to be yours. Before we dive into the conversation, I want to invite you to join the movement to get rid of porn addiction across the world.
If you or a loved one is struggling with porn addiction, do me a favor, hit the follow button, the notification button, and give this show a rating. This gives you the latest episodes for porn addiction recovery, and it helps me expand my impact and reach more people so they can get help too. With that, let's dive in with Dr. Evelyn Higgins, founder of Wired BioHealth and Wired for Addiction.
Dr. Evelyn Higgins, welcome to the show. It's awesome to have you here. Maybe you can start by telling people about you, what you do for people, kind of a bit about your background and what brought you here.
Sure. Well, first off, it's a pleasure to be here with you, Jake. I really appreciate this opportunity to explore this area with you.
So what we do at Wired Biohealth, Wired for Addiction, we look at genetic polymorphisms. Promise the only science word I'll use the whole time. So polymorphism is when there's an error or a variant in someone's genetic coding.
So that's what we currently do. I started in clinical practice some 36 years ago and was in the area of integrated pain management. I was in a rural setting and I was seeing people, kind of the model of treatment was try this, try that approach.
And then people being given pain meds, and this is some 36 years ago, seeing them become somewhat dependent on that because it was no real, here's what we do. It was guessing. And then 20 years after that, I was in an urban area thinking, okay, maybe there'll be more tools.
The models will be different. They were exactly the same. Try this, try that.
But I was seeing people move from dependency towards addiction. With pain meds, right? Yep. And in my personal life, I was married to a man who was an alcoholic and in reality had several addictions.
We had a daughter together a year after our daughter was born. We found out that he was adopted and we knew nothing of his health history. So now I'm seeing these behaviors in him and know nothing about a health history from his side.
And I have a child I'm responsible for. So I'm like, what can I do preventatively or just be on the lookout for? And I segued into addictionology and compulsive disorders. And then as I was in that practice, and this is almost three decades ago when I started that, so much more had advanced within science, but in the areas of addiction and mental health concerns, those areas weren't being treated.
There wasn't a crossover like there are in other areas of health, like let's use diagnostics. Let's see what's happening physiologically with this individual instead of looks like, appears to be, sounds like, let's try. So that really became my focus because it was both personal as well as professional.
A lot of times when things hit home is when people dive in even more, right? We're all human the same way. And it was only 19 years ago that we had the ability to start looking at measuring neurotransmitters, brain chemicals, things like serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, phenylethylamine, glutamate, GABA, list goes on and on. And then in the tail end of 2015, we were able to look at these SNPs, these polymorphisms that I had said and promised the only science word.
So putting all that information together really gave us a blueprint of an individual and someone who, you know, is suffering in this area of addiction or mental health concerns, obsessive behaviors, and just, it's not for lack of trying. It's not a morality issue. It's none of those things.
In fact, I did a TED talk understanding the biomarkers of addiction. And in that I say, this is not a moral flaw, you know, but in this area, we kind of put people in timeout, you know, like you got yourself there, get yourself out instead of treating it like other areas of health. Yeah.
I love what you say about it not being a moral failing, because I think that's, especially with something like porn addiction, which is my audience, it can feel, and I know it felt for me for so many years when I was struggling with it, that, man, there must be really something wrong with me. I must just be a, I must be a bad person was the underlying belief. Right.
And the more that you come to understand about psychology, and I'd love to, you know, hear the genetic basis for it, but the more I've come to understand about psychology, it's, this is a way that people deal with pain, right? Mental, emotional pain, things that go on biologically and neurologically. This is a coping mechanism. It's not, as you said, a moral failing.
I'd love it if you can tell people about that genetic propensity for addiction and what that looks like. It's not something I'm that familiar with. Right.
And most people aren't, Jake, and that's why I appreciate us having this conversation today, because most people have no idea that there is even, we've evolved that far into science, that we can look at these things of an individual, right? There's 8 billion people in the world, 8 billion different sets of DNA, yet we treat everybody exactly the same and wonder why we don't get the results we're after. So it makes absolutely no sense there. But there's not a, here's one gene, and this is your addiction gene.
It's not that. It's a combination of a lot of different genes. And then what happens beyond that, right? I thought there would just be a porn addiction gene, no? Right.
Some people think that, like, well, you know, like, give me the beer addiction one, but don't touch my, you know, this, this, like, let me be okay on that one. I've had people actually say that to me, like, don't touch. It was actually sex.
Don't touch my sex. Like, I want to stop smoking. I want to stop drinking, but don't touch my sex.
Yeah. I'll stay addicted to sex. That's fine.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So it's a combination of a lot of different things.
First off, the neuropsych genes, I'll just talk about a couple, for example. One of the genes that we look at is called the GAD1 gene or the glutamic acid decarboxylase gene. That is a big word.
It's a very big word. Big word. Yeah.
The job of that gene is to convert glutamic acid, which is a stimulant neurotransmitter, to GABA, which is a calming neurotransmitter. So if we have an error in that gene, we never reach the calm. If we're someone who never reaches the calm, what are we doing? We're reaching outside of ourselves to find something to self-medicate with, not even knowing that's all the things our brain is doing, to say, to calm you down, let's do this, let's do that.
And for most people, it does start with self-medicating, not even realizing. And then, for example, someone who finds herself with porn as their addiction, porn is what changed the way they felt. It changed that resting state that they were looking to change, and not even knowing that was going to be it.
And they found it, and then it was the, whew, I want to go back there and feel that again and again. So example, that GAD1 gene, just one example. Then, or the catecholamine methyltransferase gene, the COMT gene, that's job is to deactivate things like dopamine, which is our brain reward cascade, or norepinephrine or epinephrine.
So I don't want to get too sciencey here and lose your listeners, but there's very specific areas that we're looking at. Then if we go beyond that, different areas are things like detoxification of our body, or something called autophagy, which is kind of like, I call it the garbage man of our genes. Cells die off every day, and that's normal, they're supposed to, but we have to have a way of getting those things out of our body.
If we don't, that garbage literally collects in our body, and it makes all our cells not operate correctly. So now let's say those two genes that I just mentioned, we have one of them or two of them, whatever the case may be, that are problematic, and now we have these other areas that aren't working correctly. We're just adding more layers.
We're exacerbating the condition that we have to begin with. But beyond that, the most exciting part of science, I think today, and maybe I'm a genius, is epigenetics. So you're born with your DNA, here's your cards, play them out, good luck.
We now know, through the study of epigenetics, that we can change the expression of those genes. That's where the power lies. That's what I hope your listeners hear right now, is that, wow, you mean the expression of those genes can change? Maybe I didn't win the lottery in this area, but all the other parts of my life are good.
But if we can improve upon that, doesn't that make sense? And when you say the expression of them, so what I've come to understand about that is, I can turn on and off certain genes? Correct. And there's probably a lot more nuance to that. But yeah, talk more about that, because this is epigenetics, or epigenetics, I guess, epigenetics.
Anyway, when I first learned about that several years ago, it was very liberating for me, where it's, I'm not a victim to my genes. Right, exactly. Yeah, there are predispositions I come with, there are all sorts of things.
But you know what? I'm not a victim. It's very empowering. Very empowering.
And that's what I hope people hear, because it gives the power back to you. It really does. You know, and the human genome was mapped out in 2003.
Then in 2008, looked at the 1000 most important genes for diseases and conditions. So that's really, as things started to evolve, started there, and then worked its way to where we are today. But in understanding epigenetics, that's the part that's like, exactly saying, you're now in charge again.
Right? Because everyone has strengths, and everyone has weaknesses in their genes. All of us. Some people may think they have the perfect genome.
But they do not. Oh, that's me. That's me.
Perfect genome guy. Perfect genome guy. Says it on his profile.
Yeah, yes. But no, seriously, it's, we all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. So it's identifying where those are with objective information using biomarkers.
So we have facts that we're talking about, not name calling. Right? Facts that we're dealing with. And then it's in what do we do with that? And when you say facts versus name calling, tell me more about what you mean by that.
So, you know, if somebody has an error in a particular gene, factually, we know, right? When your DNA comes in a pair, one's from mom, one's from dad. So you can either have what we call a heterozygous, one of them's affected, or a homozygous, both are affected. So let's say you have either a hetero or homo, it doesn't matter.
Like, factually, this is what we've got going on. So it's not that Jake is trying to act out and be this way. And, you know, all that other good stuff that people think and they put into the moral box.
Right? Yes, this is how you're wired. That's why we're called wired biohealth and wired for addiction, because this is how you're wired. You know, it is, is it the get out of jail card? No.
You know, we still are responsible for our actions. But unless we take this dive in to see is where are our problematic areas, and then beyond that, that they can change. That's the difference.
Yes. And because I think, I love that you mentioned it's not a get out of jail free card, right? Because often we can say, oh, well, because I have a genetic predisposition to this addiction, or towards whatever mental health disorder, etc, etc. I really have no responsibility in this.
I can't change it. This is just the way things are. And I think that's promoted quite a bit in our culture these days.
Our culture, yep. Yeah. But I do hope and see that changing, I think.
Yes, yes. And I think that the conversations regarding like behavior modification are more frequent. But the conversation before the behavioral modification should be what's your unique physiology? What's your unique biology that you're coming into the game of life with? And we should all know that as our starting point.
And then are we seeing the expression of these genes play out in such a way? Okay, if we are, now we've got to say, what are we going to do when the epigenetic changes? What are we going to do to address that physiology? And then what are we going to do to address the behaviors beyond that? And what can we do to address that physiology and change those gene expressions? Sure. So what we do after we do a lab panel on someone is look at the biochemical pathways of each one of those genes that we're talking about, how those work. And if we have an error in the particular coding in that one, why aren't we getting to the end optimal result? By looking at that, okay, what do we need to do to make the changes? And that's why each recommendation is different as we're, no two people have the same DNA.
So, you know, no two people are going to have the exact same, here's your plan. It's tailored to uniquely you. You know, it's really interesting, Jake, makes me think of when we have some people that parents will come, for example, and say, I've never seen this behavior in my child or a spouse comes and says, I've never seen this behavior in my spouse.
Okay. Tell me about the last year, what's gone on. And we're going to hear that there's changes in their life, that there are new stressors in their life, that their environment has changed because of those stressors.
So those genes were always there. We just never saw the expression because it didn't change the genes getting turned on, the genes getting turned off. The epigenetics hadn't come into play because that person was never up against whatever situation changed when someone says, you're not the same person.
Correct. You're showing up differently now. Yeah.
Yeah. And I want to go back to something that you said a bit earlier, which was this detoxification genes. I think there's a fair number of people who are not going to understand what that has to do with addiction susceptibility.
Sure. Could you explain some about how that's connected? Sure. So detoxification is a process that normally our body should do every day on their own.
With our hardest work being done by our liver between two and four AM, processing all the toxins that they dealt with that day. So if you are not, if your body is not doing that actively every day, these things build up in your body. Eventually that's going to change the way your body reacts to the outward world.
Right? So detoxification is something that should be happening every single day. If it's not, it's going to catch up to us and it's going to get us and show itself in different ways and different people. But if you're literally toxic inside another reason why you're looking to feel better all the time by reaching outside of yourself instead of here.
Yes. Yeah. It's all this, this big ecosystem right inside of you.
And I think often we can, we can be taught or think that addiction is just this neurological issue. It's a, you know, it's a chemical imbalance in my brain. And, and so therefore that's why I want this is because I have a chemical dependence, but there is, that's definitely a factor and it's a really challenging factor, but then we have all these other factors that are, that are involved.
Exactly. And, and the, the difficulty of addiction is that it's so complex, just as you said, you know, there's so many layers to addiction because it's a bio psychosocial disease and we deal with the psychosocial, but we don't touch the bio piece. What makes you uniquely you, we don't touch that.
So that's why we see people relapse over and over again, because we've never changed the physiology. You've worked really hard to change the psychosocial. You've maybe even white knuckled it through that change.
But if our physiology never changes, we're going to get back to that resting state. Yeah. And, and so I love bio psychosocial.
Yes, that that pretty much sums it up. Yeah. If you could talk about, I know this may not necessarily have to do with biomarkers, but if we can talk a bit about those different factors, obviously you, your, your husband, previous husband, and he's now passed as of years ago.
What were those factors in his life, or what do you see for patients of these, these different factors, biopsychosocial push people to addiction? So in talking generalities, there's always like all of us, part of the human condition is trauma, whether it be big traumas or little traumas, the big T's, the little T's, right? And for different people, those big T's and those little T's affect us differently. It's, it's what it means to you and how you process it, right? So what the state of resiliency is on the individual, there's so many variables there as well. So there's always, always some kind of situation that prompted where we find ourselves.
And, you know, for my husband, I would say probably his adoption piece was a big thing, and then to learn it as an adult and kind of that, what's, where was the honesty of my entire life? You know, that's, that's hard stuff to process. And if those behaviors are already part of your daily routine, it's going to exacerbate that state. Yeah.
Now all of a sudden, what's my, what's my identity? What's my worth? I can, I can assume those things were playing into it for him. Sure. And trust as well, as you said.
Absolutely. Trust and intimacy. And am I enough as a father? Am I enough as a husband? Am I, you know, all of those different things.
So for everybody, it's, there's always a story behind, you know, and then it's like, people say, well, how, you know, in the case of our podcast here, like porn, well, why specifically porn? And I'm like, because that's what you found when the time that you were out looking, not even knowing to self-medicate and that showed up, and boy, did it make you feel better in that moment. That became your go-to. For some people, they stay with that one.
For other people, they do what we call addiction swapping. Like, okay, I'm not going to do porn for the next X amount of time or ever again or whatever the person's plan is. But then we find we're doing a different addiction because still we haven't changed that foundational physiology piece.
Yes. And that's, that's what I witnessed in my life. And often, you know, if someone asks me, well, when did your addiction start? That's a complex question, because I think really my addictions, my addictive mindset, I would say started when I was four years old.
And that started with video games and food. Those were my comfort spaces, my places of safety, certainty. I could go to video games to get my kind of feeling of, I was accomplishing something, but I also held all the pieces and it was, it was safe and secure.
And then continued with those addictions for, you know, a decade. And then when I hit puberty and was going through that, then it, it evolved into porn and then other addictions later on. And the whole time, and this is why I talk about mindset and lifestyle, right? And there's a lot incorporated in there, right? Biopsychosocial, it's a great way to put it.
All of these factors that are playing in, eventually I realized in my life, oh my gosh, this was in my twenties when I, I became addicted to nutrition and exercise, right? Which a lot of people might think that's sounds like a good thing. It's not a good thing when it becomes so obsessive and, and you're fixated on it and it's taking precedence over all these other things in your life. And it really, that, and then eventually be becoming a workaholic and something, I really hit a rock bottom and it caused me to take a step back from all of it and say, I am, I am still an addict.
I am still addicted. Why? And then addressing many of these, these underlying factors of mindset, of my biology, of, um, of my lifestyle and, and very much so my connections, right? Yeah, sure. Didn't feel belonging, didn't feel connections.
And I had a great deal of pressure on myself. So all these, all these factors. Right.
Yeah. That isolation piece that you just mentioned is so big for people. You know, we, we today, if you looked at technology, you'd say, well, you have the opportunity to be more connected than ever, but we're more isolated than we've ever been before because those aren't real connections.
So we're not doing the work of making real connections because it's too easy to swipe. Yes. I listened to a podcast episode of yourself, uh, between you and, um, I forget her name.
What's the, the other doctor who does the podcast with you? I forget her name, but you did an episode on, uh, with wired biohealth. That was Jacqueline, Jacqueline. Yes.
Where you talked about, um, that you went on this trip across the world and you didn't have your phone with you for a month, I think. Yeah. I loved that.
I was like, that sounds like freedom. Was also terrifying. You know, not really, not really.
The worst was in the beginning without the phone, you know, because so addicted to this thing, you know, and legitimate, like I'm in a different country, I'm responsible for people at home. You know, I could, I could go down my list of why it's, it's making me anxious to not have my phone and all legitimate, but the freeing piece of that of not having it was unbelievable. And if you ever, the hike is called the Camino or the Compostela de Santiago.
It goes from Southern France through the Pyrenees mountains, from the East to the West of Spain, literally walking across the country. And it is, it's different for everybody. You know, everybody has their own, you have your own Camino, you have your own journey, you have, you're doing your own thing, but it is an incredible experience that I've actually talked quite a number of people into doing it because they were like, you get so excited when you talk about it.
And then I do, and this is some better than 10 years ago that I did this. I did it to finish it on my 50th birthday. I'll be, I'm 64, will be 65 my next birthday.
So almost 15 years ago, and still, I can be there in a minute because it was that transformative to me to learn how to tap into that piece that I experienced. It was incredible. Yeah, because, and I think that this plays right into susceptibility to addiction in general and to porn and all that, but this back and forth from smartphones, right? Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.
What you just talked about, about the peace, that presence, the awareness of the moment. So many of us are just missing that entirely. We literally do not have it because we're just connected to these devices.
Right, right. All the time. If you're not connected, it's almost like you're the outlier.
Why aren't you? How are you doing your fill in the blank, your job, your relationships, your anything? You're the outlier if you're not on that. But from the aspect of porn, the accessibility is mind boggling. Mind boggling.
And that's one of the things I describe it like, if you're dealing with a porn addiction, it's like you're a heroin addict with a heroin needle strapped to your side at all moments. Exactly. Every room you enter, everywhere you go, there's heroin needles all around you.
Exactly. And you have the ability to do heroin at whatever age you figure out, hey, cell phone's where it's at. So if that's four, five, if that's 10, whatever, you have the ability to be in the heroin den.
Yeah. And it's not an exaggeration from a neuroscience aspect. When we look at the brain chemicals, it really is that intense.
It is that intense. Yeah. It is that intense.
Yeah. So I think as far as these biomarker evaluations go, is that, am I saying that term? Yeah. Right.
Yep. So how does that work exactly? How does someone order one of those or get that? Sure. So we work with people literally all over the globe.
We drop ship the lab kits to you. It's an easy buckle swab, a cheek swab. We get that information back from our lab and we create what we call a biomarker evaluation report going over each one of those genes that we looked at.
And we look at some 63 genes. If we're just doing the SNPs, if we're doing the neurotransmitters with it, some 85 biomarkers that we're looking at, go over each one, what the clinical correlation to that is. Here's what this is responsible for in your body.
If you have too much, it does this. If you have too little, it does this. This is where the errors are and this is what we're finding in you.
This is the recommended way to epigenetically change the expression of what's happening with you. And does that come down to those protocols? Does that come down to different lifestyle changes that they're looking into, different aspects of their diet, pharmaceuticals? What does that look like? So good question. Really all of it? Yeah.
From the pathways themselves, there's not a single cell in our body made up of a pharmaceutical. I mean, think about that, but that's our go-to for everything. And I'm not anti-pharmaceutical whatsoever.
There's a time and a place, but we start out by looking at the biochemical pathways. What makes this one work? What do we need to make it work? And if we have to support that on a nutraceutical level, we support that. If we have to support it on a pharmaceutical level, we support it with that.
And then lifestyle habits, things like, for example, with that autophagy that I mentioned earlier, the garbage man of our cells. So it may, depending on what we find in your particular lab panel, it may be good to intermittent fast for you. And it may be good to do that between 12 and 15 hours or between 16 and 18 hours, depending on what we find in your labs.
And that might not be good for everybody, depending on all the other aspects of your health and your makeup.
Yeah. So that may be seen in lifestyle, right? We may need more, let's say we find out that in some of the methylation SNPs on the B12 side of things versus the B9 side of things were problematic. So, okay, what are sources for B12? We have things like eggs, we have meats, we have different cheeses.
Like we may say, go heavier on that for you. Also, you know, obviously there's other ways to get B12, but it just depends on what that individual's lab shows. And as I said, you know, the 8 billion people in the world with 8 billion different sets of DNA yet treat everybody exactly the same.
So this is like, this is what's happening with you. This is what we need to do. This is what's happening with you.
This is what we need to do. Well, and what you just mentioned with B9 and B12, I had blood tests done a number of years ago, and my B12 was incredibly low. I forget how they measure it, but I was well below the lowest rate or amount.
And I got a B12 supplement from Global Healing, highly recommend that brand. Awesome doctor that runs that. But that changed my life.
It changed my life. And my sister has a, it's a methylation problem, right? That's what I was going to say. Yep.
Yeah. Yes. And I think I haven't, I haven't done a test like that to check if it's a methylation problem.
I just saw that my B12 levels were incredibly low. But I kind of suspect that it, it may be that issue. I don't know, obviously.
Sure. Sure. So like with low B12 and incredibly low, you know, things that we could see, one of the examples would be mood disorders.
So a mood disorder is going to make someone reach out to let me feel better, going back to the self-medication things that we talked about. Right. So methylation genes would be one of the ways that we would find any kind of less than optimal behavior, but the different genes, for example, like people say, well, I did a 23andMe and the MTHFR gene, they're looking at that one gene.
We look at 14 different genes related to methylation. So just looking at the MTHFR, that can be misleading because that's this much information of this much that we need to see. So let's say somebody didn't have an issue with the MTHFR, but did with all the other ones we look at, that's going to go by the wayside.
Nope. You're good on methylation when in fact they're not, but it's because it's such a complex process. I mean, so many different pieces of what makes methylation work, but if I were to do an umbrella of what it's responsible for, it'd be one, optimization of your DNA.
So right there, methylation is extremely important for you to have optimal working of whatever it is you've got to work with if we change nothing else. And then detoxification, what we talked about earlier, methylation is in part responsible for detoxification. Methylation is also responsible in part for absorption.
So to the point of you became addicted to your diet and exercise, you could say, hey, but I'm still in this problematic area of mood of why I'm reaching out there. I'm eating the perfect diet, but if you're not absorbing it, it doesn't matter. Yes.
And I was, yeah, I was very low energy. I just would hit this wall every day and that shocked me because I had made all of these dietary changes. I was eating essentially a paleo diet with high amounts of vegetables and just fresh whole foods and a lot had changed for me.
I've continued eating paleo. It's done extremely well for me and that's not for everyone, right? As you say, but it's done so well for me, but I was still having those energy issues. And so then when I discovered that about B12, it's just, again, it's that biological factor where if you can actually see inside and see what's going on, now you have direction, you have answers.
Exactly. And then my energy got so much better. And then things that I was dealing with, with the addictions, like being a workaholic or, and really I will say underneath that it was this driving to some degree, this driving factor of, well, why am I, why am I not as capable as I want to be? Why is my energy so low? Why do I feel so weak? All that stuff.
And it was just like, I got to work more. Obviously I'm not disciplined enough. And I think that played into it.
That was one of the factors for me that was, it was very beneficial because then I got my energy up and I was like, you know, in part it's, yeah, it's not because I'm just some, you know, weak, crappy person. Well, no wonder I felt weak all the time. I didn't have anywhere near enough B12.
So yeah, these factors that we can really only know if we're able to get that testing done. Exactly. Exactly.
Like to that point, one of the other areas that we look at are a whole host of genes related to mitochondria. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, right? What creates the energy. So if you're, you know, I can't get off the couch.
I have zero zest for life. Just don't feel like doing anything. That's a lot of people that find themselves reaching outside to try to get some stimulation going, have that burst of energy initially, at least.
Well, if we don't know what's behind that, is it that we have weakened mitochondria, you know, or is it that our serotonin levels or our dopamine levels aren't where they should be? Or is it that we have weaknesses genetically in our methylation cycle or in our neuropsych genes in particular? Yeah, we need to know these things or else we're just throwing a dart, hoping we get someplace close. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
And I wondered for you personally, Evelyn, tell me in all this work that you've done, you've learned a great deal for yourself and I'm sure you've made an immense amount of changes. What are some of the things that you've done in your own life with your own health and mental wellbeing or those types of factors that have made the biggest difference for you? Sure. Great, great, great question, Jake, because I have literally been my own science experiment.
You know, the more, the more I learn, the more it's like, whoa, and then I can, I can, you know, be better in this area, in that area and have literally, probably now at this point in my life, treat myself as if my health is my greatest asset, which it is. And that has been through gradual understanding of the value of all of this information and how you can feel literally like a different person in a good way, that it's amazing. And for a lot of people, until you're on the other side of it, you don't know how crummy you feel because you just think this is how everybody feels, you know, like, eh, eh, go through life, kind of like, whatever, just shuffle along.
It's not until you feel better that you're like, whoa, how did I even function that way? I was just head down, keep going instead of like, whoa, here we are. Yes. It's so, it's so true.
It's so true. I, you know, um, again, I know, I know for me with dietary changes that plays right in with the, you know, genetic piece and however my body functions. When, when I was a kid, uh, anxiety, depression, these were just normal things for me.
And I was always anxious. In fact, I remember, uh, I don't, I don't remember a time as a kid that I wasn't anxious. I don't have any memories of that.
And, um, when I was 18 in an intro to psychology class, I remember we were going over the symptoms of social anxiety in particular. And I remember reading through them and there's like 12 symptoms. And I'm like, I have all of those symptoms.
I remember having this big aha moment where I was just like, I thought everybody felt this way all the time. No, I have social anxiety, which fortunately I grew up in a family that really valued taking ownership over our health and, um, that we could change things. And so when I found that out, it was really empowering.
It wasn't this like, Oh, now, you know, now I understand. And now I'm doomed to this forever. It was now I understand.
And I'll bet you there's some things I can do about this. And that led to, uh, a journey, um, of multiple in multiple things, you know, mentally like gratitude. It's very, very helpful, um, developing stronger connections with people, uh, prayer and meditation, uh, and then diet, right? My diet, I just, I spent years changing and modifying, and that was a messy process because there were a lot of things that I tried and it wasn't quite sure what I was doing and just kind of testing out.
How do foods make me feel over the next, you know, 24 hours after I eat them and things like that. And, and just testing and experimenting. I'm sure if I would've gotten some tests done, actually, uh, gotten some of these biomarkers and things, it would have been a much easier process much faster.
Yes. Uh, but then just so many of those symptoms have decreased in my life. Uh, I mean, if I had to put a percentage on it, it'd probably be 80%, you know? Yeah.
Yeah. It's still, so I still have things in my life like anybody does, but my gosh, can it get so much better when you know what to do. Those are all things that are capable of change.
You know, like you brought up gratitude. I'm a huge, you know, prayer. I'm a huge proponent of gratitude.
I'll tell people like that's a game changer in itself. Yes. You know, I had written a book called the mystery of happiness, a step-by-step journal of gratitude, more like a journal.
And when it came out, I had a patient say to me, I got your, your book and I read it last night. I'm like, Mrs. So-and-so, it's not a reading book. It's a doing book.
You have to go. It's not just, I know that you have to actually do it and then employ it in your life. But I'll tell people like, just humor me.
And if you never journal from the aspect of gratitude, first off, you don't need even 10 minutes. You need a minute, you know, write down five things you're grateful for. And if all you can think of is I got out of bed because you're still in this negative, negative mindset, then write that down.
But it's the habit of doing it. And I do it. Sometimes I'll do it when I first get up and at night, but most of the time at night, and it's really resetting your brain for this is what's good in the world and thinking about what's good in your world and what you're grateful for.
And then you start programming your brain to look for those good things instead of everything. We're not, there's no shortage of what's wrong in the world, none. And there will never be a shortage there.
But if we're making our mindset of what's good in my world, it makes us think differently. Therefore the world acts differently towards us. Yes.
Yeah. We perceive it differently. And then literally I, you know, I find, um, as many people have said, when I feel differently, it's, it's, we don't see the world as it is.
We see the world as we are so true. And then, then the world and the people around you are, are reacting differently. As you said, where it's almost this, you know, I get a little existential or spiritual with it.
It's like, I'm attracting these things, you know? And when I'm in a really negative space, I'm really angry it's like all of a sudden, all these things start happening around me that, that, you know, make me angrier. Yep. It's like, is it me or is it what's going on around me? You know? Exactly.
Exactly. Yeah. And we're all human.
I know for myself, like if I, you know, kind of dropped that habit for a little while, just cause you know, make all excuses. I'm too tired on this, on that. And I'm like, just to your point, Jacob, like, you know, is it me or is like everything just different now? It's like, you know, I haven't done my gratitude journal in a while.
Let me get back to that. And you are back on track in no time. Yes.
You're creating a totally different mindset. Yeah. Something I've been digging into lately is just trying to practice more mindfulness in my life.
I think again, from the time I was really young, I've always had this consistent kind of inner dialogue going on and always focused on things. And it's very, it feels very unnatural for me to just be in the present moment as you were talking about. And so lately, I've been starting to try to practice that.
I'm doing that using the Wim Hof breathing technique. I don't know if you're familiar. Yep.
And just focusing on my body, having body awareness, focusing on my breath, really, really beneficial, really very, a totally new experience for me. Because I think I'm pretty, I'm pretty centered in on psychology and thought processes and, you know, psychological techniques and things like that. But there's something so profound and powerful about just that mindfulness, that presence and being here in this moment.
Yeah. And those are the things that we do have control over, right? So taking that shift and saying, I'm going to, I'm going to actually try to employ what I learned here today and make tomorrow different. I'm just going to go through the day tomorrow with mindfulness and do that experiment and see what it feels like.
I guarantee it's going to be a different day. Yeah. Yeah.
And so is there, are there other things that are on your mind today, Evelyn? I think what do you see as some of the greatest challenges that are facing people when it comes to what's driving them to addiction these days? We've, we've certainly talked about some of those things, but perhaps what else is on your mind? We've touched some of those subjects of just the availability of all of these things. And yeah, there's still free will and we still make our choices, but people have the opportunity to start these habits at any point in time, even younger than ever before. And you are, you know, the brain is not fully formed till 27 ish, between 25, 27.
So if you're already doing these behaviors while your brain is still forming, we have such a, an uphill battle if we don't understand the science behind all this. Yeah. Because I mean, I, we're raising a generation of addicts, right? These little kids, little kids on smartphones and tablets and, you know just wasting their days away on TV and video games.
And we are, yeah. And then I'll add to that the food, right? Cause we have these processed foods with processed sugar and then all sorts of other addictive ingredients. We are developing as addicts.
That's how we're, how our brains are developing. And, and again, for me, I think that's, it's a call to action, right? Where we have the knowledge, just as you say, with having a biomarker evaluation or, you know, understanding your genetics, it's a call to action of, okay, I can, I can see what is happening in the world and I can choose a different route. Now that I have this information, it's empowering.
Right. Instead of it being a hopeless thing, which I certainly think we all have that part in us that wants to be hopeless, right? Say, um. Sometimes cause we, you know, back to like, well, I'm not really responsible for that.
We have to take ownership. Um, I can't tell you that to that point, Jake, the amount of times that I've gone over results with people and there's tears, but they're tears of joy because they're like, you just said everything of how I feel that I could never explain or didn't want to share with someone. Cause they're going to be like, whoa, there's something really wrong with you.
Stay over there and feel validated to this is real. This is, there are clinical correlations, not that I made up that are science, right? There's a clinical correlation to everything. And when you hear this and you're like, that's exactly who I am and exactly how I feel.
Wow. Is that validating and to know, okay, we can make changes to this because we have to isolate and measure to know what we have to change. Yeah.
It's wonderful. Well, um, any other messages you want to share with people kind of in conclusion today, Evelyn? Kind of big picture the way I always talk about just health in general and addiction is part of that is that health is more than simply the absence of disease. So we're not healthy because we don't have a disease, right? And we're not healthy one day and sick the next it's all the living that we do in between that brings us to either end of that spectrum.
So we now have a really informed way to look at our health and say, where do we want to have me? Which part of that scale, the healthy or the sick. And the first step is to see where you really are and okay, let's make changes for uniquely you. Yes.
And so if somebody wants to have these tests done, take the leap and, and, and really get some of this incredible help, uh, where do they find you? Sure. So go to our websites. That's the easiest way is wiredforaddiction.com spelled out the four F O R wiredforaddiction.com or some way we then started our brand wired biohealth.
Cause people said to us, I'm not quite at the addicted stage of things, but I know I'm not right. Talking about that sliding scale that I just mentioned or go to wiredbiohealth.com. And we offer a 15 minute consultation to see if this is, you know, tell us what's going on. Everybody's unique.
Tell us what's going on. And is this something that would be beneficial for you or point you in a different direction? But that would be a really good starting point. And then our phone number is 888-841-7099.
But either way, go, go to the websites, take a look at everything and, and have a conversation and start there. Love it. Love it, Evelyn.
Well, uh, such a privilege to have you on, um, incredible to have your, your expertise and your knowledge in this realm of genetics and epigenetics and, um, how it all correlates with addiction and just, uh, just a very, very valuable conversation. I've, I've learned a lot myself, so appreciate you coming on. Thank you.
Absolutely, Jake. It's been my pleasure. And thank you for the work that you do with your podcast, because that's how people get out of that.
I don't want to talk about it, but I can listen to a podcast by myself and then be like, whoa, there's an action step I can take here. So thank you for your work. Well, thanks Evelyn.
Appreciate it. You got it.
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