Exploring Drug Addiction Through Story And Science - Adam Sud | The Proof Podcast EP

Please note that this episode covers disordered eating and suicide. If these topics are potential triggers for you, please listen with discretion or tune in to the next episode. You can find more episodes about mental health that focus less on personal experience at https://theproof.com/tag/mental-health/.

Every day for more than 20 years, Adam Sud woke up to a life that didn’t feel like a safe, secure, or hopeful place to be. Struggling with mental health from an early age and relying on addiction as the only dependable “solution”, he spent years facing each day as the most painful one he’d ever had. More than a decade on from the turning point in his journey towards recovery, Adam shares his story and some defining realisations that helped shaped the life he is now excited to experience.

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Adam is an expert in insulin resistance, weight loss, addiction, and behavioural health. He has worked with respected health and wellness programs and companies, including Mastering Diabetes and Whole Foods Market's Global Wellness Center. He is an international speaker for the health and wellness movement and addiction recovery movement, having presented at major events including the Whole Foods Market Tribal Gathering, The Food Revolution Summit, and more. Adam has worked in mental health recovery centres, where he has utilised nutrition to strengthen recovery and prevent relapse. He is also the founder of Plant-Based for Positive Change, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing research on the connection between diet, mental health, and addiction. Plant-Based for Positive Change led the first research study that investigated the effects of a nutrient-dense dietary intervention on early addiction recovery outcomes.

We discuss:
Everyone has something to learn from Adam’s story. Regardless of whether you have personally struggled with addiction and mental health, Adam’s profound understanding of behaviour and mindset will resonate with you, and potentially even shift the way you look at your life. I hope this conversation inspires you to better understand and support those around you and build a life that you wake up excited to experience.

00:00 - Intro
04:15 - Adam Sud on recovery
08:55 - Why expressing love can be difficult
14:37 - Substance use disorder (Drug addiction)
16:46 - Adam's story
24:42 - Nurturing a child with ADHD
32:41 - Becoming hooked on Adderall
36:09 - Understanding our choices for pleasure
41:00 - Addiction and the fear of judgment
46:00 - Adam's suicide attempt & his treatment and recovery
1:02:21 - Plant-based diet and the pleasure trap
1:09:25 - Psychological factors behind unhealthy choices
1:18:29 - Remarkable recovery through nutrition
1:25:40 - Self-worth, loneliness, and recovery
1:31:56 - A call for safer and compassionate approach to drug use
1:41:03 - The INFINITE study
1:46:24 - Adam on hitting rock bottom
1:53:46 - Outro

Connect:
- Instagram:   / plantbasedaddict  
- Facebook:   / plantbasedaddict  
- LinkedIn:   / adam-sud-abb56a1a  
- Website: https://www.adamsud.com/
- The Infinite Study: https://www.adamsud.com/resources
- Previous Episode #66: https://theproof.com/adam-sud-saved-h...
- Previous Episode #144: https://theproof.com/love-as-a-cataly...

If you have any additional questions you would like answered in the future, let me know in the comments.

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Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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