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 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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theproof.com/podcast/
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: www.adamsud.com/
- The Infinite Study: www.adamsud.com/resources
- Previous Episode #66: theproof.com/adam-sud-saved-h...
- Previous Episode #144: 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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[@chriswalker7972]

Simons style of interviewing is different to others podcasters. I would say he is an observant interviewer but also brings the guests story to life. Thankyou to Simon and Adam.

[@freedomofspeech6905]

Wow, Adam’s grasp on depression and suicide as well as addiction is the best I have ever heard and I have heard a lot! ❤

[@adasud1]

Such an honor to have this conversation

[@michelle_cen]

Such an honor for us to listen! Your words are always so moving and real. Thank you ❤

[@dorisfeurstein6780]

I am so thankful for The Proof Podcast, for all the work Simon does. I think he is one of the best interviewer and active listeners out there. Truly enjoy every episode of yours. Because I love your interviews so much I would love to see you interviewing Kurt Mosetter. Thanks so much!

[@plant52_]

No one says HOLY SHIT with more heart than this guy! Beautiful episode and wow, what an ending ✨

[@arnelsugay416]

Thank you, Simon for guesting Adam. I see a addiction now from a different perspective. Adam is a wounded-healer.

[@adasud1]

Thank you so much for listening

[@SatipatthanaSakuraDragona]

Simon did a great job with this interview. A lot of interviewers simply don't have the restraint to let the person they're interviewing talk and answer questions completely. They're always jumping in. You'd think that'd be easy, but it's obviously not or more would do it. Simon's interview style really worked well with this guest because Simon is really good at slipping in with a thoughtful question when needed, question that shows he's actively listening and understanding, then getting out of their guest's way when the guest is answering.

[@StephenMarkTurner]

Amazing conversation. Thanks Simon and Adam. I put a hold on 'Pleasure Trap', it's time to reread it.

[@michelle_cen]

It’s a gem!

[@arleenm7367]

Thanks for the discussion. I grew up in the 1960-70s and I find it interesting that many of the "hippie" drugs that were illegal (called speed, bennies, black beauties, dexies and other names then) have become legal and actually prescribed to later generations.

[@tlam3309]

Adam's reframing of substance use disorder is so powerful and helpful. I've never heard it described like this before.

[@adasud1]

Thank you so much

[@Serenaoreilly89]

The most immersed I have been in a podcast in a long time. I appreciate this conversation more than you know. Thank you so much Adam and Simon.

[@adasud1]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@TheProofWithSimonHill]

Hello Friends, I'm curious to know which part of the conversation you found the most insightful and engaging. Also, if you have any other questions related to this subject, please post them below this comment. I'll make sure to include them in our next discussion.

[@raithneach]

This was an incredible interview. I appreciate the reframing of 'addiction' more toward a dysregulated relationship with substance(s). To me this is a vital distinction, I have seen this to he true amongst my own friends and family. Thanks to both of you for the open, compassionate and thoughtful conversation.

[@adasud1]

So glad you appreciated the conversation. It’s so important to accurately describe what is really taking place for people who struggle with substance use. Thank you

[@raithneach]

@@adasud1 I really enjoyed the interview. Thank you for your work, I will be following along to see where you go with it, this subject is close to my heart.

[@KellyRuttan-re7df]

I really enjoyed this conversation, it was very honest and thought provoking as well as easy to listen to.

[@adasud1]

Thank you so much

[@sharyhunt9025]

Extremely powerful message and delivered from the heart. I wish I heard it before I lost my nephew to an OD, after 9 rehab tries. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but I wish I had sat with him more.

[@adasud1]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Thank you for sharing with us and for listening to the episode

[@kiaranjay5153]

Fantastic episode. Very insightful and genuinely educational. Opened my eyes to a world I'm unfamiliar with.

[@zhilahaghbin4766]

I am just starting to listen to this interview, on the subject of saying to someone who suffers from Substance Use Disorder or anyone that you truly love "I love you" , I think is not necessary and often these words are reduced to just repeating them without any action to support the words. When you love someone, and show it through your actions, you don't need to say "I love you" they know u do. I agree reaching out to someone who suffers from dependency/use of drugs [trying to use correct terms, since one of my specialties is addiction medicine] and saying i am here for you, your life have meaning not just for me for the universe, they way you are today, and I believe you can reach deep inside to find the answer, the analogy of of "well of water", one needs to get deep inside to find how resourceful one already is. Finding the way out of "addiction" is through going inward and finding the answer. I almost never say "I love you" to anyone, the ones who see my behavior towards them as "nothing but unconditional love" know it already.

[@freedomofspeech6905]

Adam has a much better grasp about addiction than most experts on the subject ❤️

[@SatipatthanaSakuraDragona]

I had another comment on the first upload, but it's lost to the youtube gremlins. Basically, I just wanted to explain a little context surrounding prescription medication abuse as someone a few years older than Simon and Adam. Around the time that Adam would have started taking his ADHD medication, it wasn't widely known or understood that you could abuse prescription medication or that they could be addictive in the same way as illegal drugs. Prescription medications came from doctors, so most people assumed they were fairly safe even if you took a little too much sometimes. The idea that they could be just as addictive as illegal drugs came a bit later with the rise of ADHD medication abuse and the opioid crisis. That was when it became widespread knowledge that prescribed medications could also be problematic. Indeed, doctors once thought heroine and morphine were fairly safe (in the post-American Civil War era).

[@DerekSarnoChef]

Well done, both of you. Much respect.

[@adasud1]

Appreciate you so much

[@OsorioT]

Remarkable Simon. Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful interview! Amazing, amazing amazing! ❤🌱

[@adasud1]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@noellecuisine8912]

❤ beautiful & profound , thank you both

[@adasud1]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@brendafarris7350]

Unbelievably amazing!!!

[@julieholmes946]

Wow. Thank you both so much.

[@adasud1]

Our pleasure, thank you for listening

[@thisisyourfinalwarning]

amazing!

[@TenTempeh]

1:30:00 that part was amazing, so valuable. I heard that quote before, but damn it hits different when integrated in this whole conversation! Amazing episode. Congrats to both of you guys.

[@dianebradley6752]

Adam’s transparency made his story compelling because we have all been impacted by suicide &/or addiction in the lives of people we know. I appreciate his use of the term “substance use disorder” & that there is something that precipitates that “use”. Masking & isolation make it hard to be there to sit & listen & to show care & love. Adam was alone but I know of someone with a young child who is caught up in this lifestyle. This is very concerning. To not stop the misuse & to not seek help can have far reaching consequences beyond just one person now & in the future. Hard to know how best to handle as Adam said, he would tell people to f**k off. Thank you for sharing one person’s story Simon. I know of others who have found much success with AA & finding faith in God. And I know the overdoses & suicide, especially among young people. Sadly, It’s an important discussion for our time.

[@szikszaytamas4617]

💚💚💚

[@spirit8power.t.]

Where's the first episode with Adam sud?????

[@sandradings8660]

💚