The X Theory and DST Method: A Brief Interview with Mr. Hossein Dezhakam

Congress 60, a recovery community in the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded by Mr. Hossein Dezhakam in 1998. Congress60 currently has 58 branches and more than 57,000 active members. Mr. Dezhakam and I first met at a conference in London nearly a decade ago and have since communicated regularly and collaborated on research studies on Congress 60’s approach to addiction treatment.  In our most recent communications, I had the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Dezhakam his latest views on the nature of addiction and its treatment.

• Bill White: Your understanding of addiction rests on what you describe as the X system. Could you summarize your latest understanding of this system and its role in addiction and addiction treatment?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: The X system includes all the neurotransmitters, hormones, and biochemical mediators within the human body and their influence on each other. Some of these reactions have been discovered by science today while some remain unknown. When the X system is in balance, it results in optimum health and functioning. All our spiritual, psychological, emotional, sexual, and physical activities are influenced by this system. If the amount of these neurotransmitters is out of balance, then it will be associated with disease. The disease could be addiction or any other disease. Drug addiction involves a chronic substitution of narcotics, alcohol, and prescription medicine instead of natural opioid substances inside our body— substances like Dopamine, Endorphins, and Serotonin. When external substances are imported into the body for a prolonged period of time, the X system is severely damaged. This damage to the X system is a disease process.

When external substances (drugs or alcohol) are regularly imported into the X system, they gradually replace or substitute the body’s natural opioid and affect the balance of this vital system. The continuous flow of drugs from outside the body disrupts the internal production of Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphin, Encephalin, and other essential opioids. Gradually these natural opioids are no longer produced in the body and this leads to complete dependency on external drugs and the great difficulties experienced following any effort at cessation of drug use. The imbalance of the X system is the basis and foundation of the negative impact of drug addiction and the root cause of all the physical, mental, and emotional complications linked to addiction. Any cure of addiction thus hinges on regaining the balance of an otherwise imbalanced or damaged X system. Thus, in order to regain balance to the X system or the neurotransmitters of brain, a proper medicine is required. We must provide the proper material for the body to cure addiction or any other disease.

• Bill White: And how is that repair achieved within Congress 60?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: The effective treatment of addiction requires answering three questions scientifically.

1. Which part of the addict's body is damaged? The pathology of addiction must be specified.

2. What approach are we going to take to repair such damage? In other words, what kind of reparative medicine is required to restore the X system?

3. What is the exact time needed for such treatment to reach a certain cure?

If experts address these three parameters and provide the necessary materials for the body to heal, then the rest is up to the body. Meaning that the body takes what is required and uses it to repair itself. To repair this damaged X system, Congress 60 utilizes opium tincture (It is called OT within Congress 60) tapered over a period of 11 months. At that point, people are then able to live free of all opioids and other intoxicants.

The specific protocol for use of minimum opium in stage one recovery within Congress 60 is referred to as the DST method, which involves at least 15 stages of decreasing dosage of opium tincture. The DST method is a formula by which drugs, alcohol, and addictive medicines are tapered and finally relinquished. In this method, the D stands for the Dezhakam coefficient of 0.8 by which dosage is decreased in each step; S stands for step, which means maintaining the daily dosage for 21 days; and T stands for time, the duration of the overall treatment, which averages approximately 11 months. Daily drug use, the amount of each dosage, and times of pretreatment drug use must be clarified in this method and then the tapering can begin. Calculations of OT dosage are prepared by one of the trained guides or assistant guides and stamped by an authority representing the Congress 60 branch. This signed slip is then taken to a clinic where the individual is given the prescribed quantity of OT for a week.

The goal of the DST method is not the immediate cessation of drug use, but the restoration and repair of the endogenous opioid system through sustained adherence to the DST protocol. Once tapering through the DST method is completed, it is recommended that the individual continue group therapy for a year, at which time, the person may cease participation in Congress 60 or volunteer for one of the many service roles within Congress 60. The DST method has been similarly adapted to help members of Congress 60 recover from nicotine addiction.

• Bill White: How was this method discovered?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: I am an electronic engineer by training. I worked in the field of industrial research, design, and repair for 30 years as my addiction to alcohol and then hashish and opium took over my life. I was ahardcore addict for 17 years. I tried many different treatments to cure myself but was repeatedly unsuccessful. In the end, I began playing a game that evolved into research using myself as a subject. By determining my daily dosage, time of use, and tapering of the drugs, I implemented a plan using opium tincture and to my own disbelief, was successful after an eleven month period to break my physical addiction. I then published an account of my experience in a book, Crossing the Zone 60 Degrees Below Zero, and started an NGO [non-governmental organization], Human Revivification Society (Congress 60) to help others seeking addiction recovery.

• Bill White: Have you encountered individuals whose addiction is so intractable that they require maintenance on OT beyond the 11 months of treatment within Congress 60?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: Sometimes we encounter people who use several types of narcotics at the same time, and in this case the tapering takes a bit longer but other than that we have not had to extend this process. Tapering over the eleven-month time period has been almost universally successful within Congress 60. It is not dependent upon age or type of narcotics to which one was addicted or the amount of drugs that one has taken. If the neurons are not completely destroyed, then the X system can be repaired. Now if the therapist prescribes the wrong medicine or materials for an unsuitable period of time in an inappropriate amount, then the body is highly unlikely to repair itself.

• Bill White: How has the DST method evolved or been refined since it was first developed within Congress 60?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: The DST method has not changed much since its introduction. The time for each tapering step (S) used to be 15 days and after years of experience it was changed to 21 days. The prescribed amount of OT is different in different cases and in some the initially prescribed amount is decreased.

• Bill White: What is your understanding of why OT is an effective medication for use in the treatment of addiction to drugs other than opioids, e.g., the use of OT in the treatment of methamphetamine addiction?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: All addictive drugs, including alcohol or methamphetamine, exert similar damage to the X system. OT is unique in its reparative effects on this system. Twenty years of scientific and practical experience tells me that no medicine is better than opium. Opium contains a variety of alkaloids like morphine, codeine, narceine, thebaine, etc. that resemble closely the brain’s neurotransmitters. The perfect medicine (opium) is located in nature but sadly, this magnificent medicine has been abused by people and it has turned into the most dangerous medicine! Opium could save millions of lives! It is exactly like a surgery knife, and in the hands of a surgeon it is life and cure but an ignorant person could end his life with this very knife.

• Bill White: Do you foresee the development of new medications that might take the place of OT within the DST method of treatment?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: No, we could use methadone with the DST method and cure addiction partially, but I am completely confident that no medicine could replace opium or opium tincture (OT). The key to cure many diseases lies within opium; of course we must learn how to use it first.

• Bill White: You have referenced the use of the DST method with problems other than addiction. What is the current progress in this area?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: I formed a legion about 5 years ago called the X legion and this legion is being held every 14 days. The members of this legion have no history with addiction but are being helped with other conditions such as MS, ulcerative colitis, epilepsy, migraine and other diseases. Hopefully I will be able to publish some of these case reports soon. The results of using the DST method with other diseases have been tremendous and unbelievable.

• Bill White: While bodily repair is occurring through the DST method, members of Congress 60 are involved in a wide variety of other activities, including group therapy, athletic and sporting events, the arts, and community service. This seems to bridge the gap between medicine and the larger recovery experience.

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: I believe medical treatment and recovery are two sides of a coin which I call cure. But things happened in a way that these two (treatment and recovery) became separated and each claimed addiction treatment separately. The key to solve this situation is to combine medical treatment and recovery once more. It is about 20 years that I am trying to do so. I even told our members to resume their educations in fields like medical, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, and counseling to be able to get involved in clinics. In order to cure addiction all three aspects of body, psyche, and worldview must be taken into consideration. Medical treatment must be done with recovery simultaneously.

• Bill White: Are other clinics in Iran whose goal is treatment of addiction using the DST method to treat addiction?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: Yes, many are emulating Congress 60 methods exactly. They are utilizing worldview, sports, arts, and family sessions like Congress 60. Those who fulfill treatment within clinics with the DST method are asked to attend physician legion to be introduced to other experts. As you are aware, Fridays are holidays in my country, and each week we have the physicians’ legion from 8 to 9 am within a park and approximately 50 physicians participate. I am the guardian of this legion and each session one of the physicians is the guest speaker and another physician takes part as secretary and writes down the shares. I did this to share the knowledge of addiction recovery with scholars, experts, and physicians and to transfer the experience of Congress 60 to clinics which cooperate with us and to move this information from them to other clinics and scientific centers. I intend to transfer Congress 60’s ideas to clinics so that every physician and his clinic staff will become a small branch of Congress 60. This will enable them to make use of the potential of revived addicts within their clinics. Some clinics in which the Congress 60 methods are being used reported a rapid growth in number of patients (their income) and their spirits being lifted as well because now they are capable of curing addiction!

• Bill White: Are the clinics using OT instead of methadone or switching patients from methadone to OT and then using the DST method to taper them over an eleven-month period?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: Some of the clinics utilize OT instead of methadone, because they have seen the potential of OT and they utilize the DST method to taper off the OT or to taper patients off of methadone. Some of them use OT as a maintenance medication.

• Bill White: Are other clinics adapting the larger culture of Congress 60—the group support and the involvement in sport, arts, and community service?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: Yes, some of the clinics pay attention to the recovery of Congress 60 for their patients and have formed legions in their clinics. They are using the exact map of Congress 60. Some clinics realized if they integrate exercise and other community services into long term recovery and form legions for second travelers (those who finished the treatment) in order to keep them coming to the clinics, they can depend on this capital. These people (who finished treatment) can and will attract and absorb newcomers. Some of those clinics can be considered as small Congress 60s! I am positive that one day humanity will realize the importance of this method, but that I will not be in this world anymore to witness it.

• Bill White: Over the years, we have talked a great deal about the role of sports and related activities in Congress 60. How would you summarize the potential role of sport and athletic competition in addiction recovery?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: Sports has a unique and effective role within Congress 60:

1. A healthy body is the main benefit of sports.
2. Sufficient movement reduces illness.
3. Sports fill the free time properly.
4. Sports can bring people closer.
5. Sports provide a joint goal (competition).
6. Don’t forget the great feelings caused by sports.
7. Sports are mandatory within Congress 60 for members and their families.
8. Congress 60’s participation in competitive sports is the main means of conveying the power of the DST method to the world. Seeing people who were once addicted perform as world-class athletes stuns the world!

• Bill White: More recently, Congress 60 has been involved in integrating the arts (theatre) into the recovery process. Could you describe the importance of such acts within the process of addiction recovery?

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: I try to utilize every potential within Congress 60. We have many individuals among us who are artists. We have been active in the field of theatre and short movies. We have formed a musical team and hopefully it will be transformed into an orchestra soon. Today our music legion is comprised of 30 individuals. Maybe I have mentioned before that in most of our sessions we sing special songs made for Congress 60 together. We have always tried to utilize music as well as we can.

• Bill White: An ethic of community service seems to pervade Congress 60. Could you describe the importance of such acts within the process of addiction recovery?

Hossein Dezhakam: Helping others within Congress 60 is perhaps even more than ethics. I hesitate to term it “faith” or “belief,” but there is a prevailing belief within Congress 60 that: Others planted and we ate. We must now plant so others can be fed. This is our way of saying that others helped us to gain our health and we must now serve others on a voluntary basis.

• Bill White: Hossein, thank you once again for taking the time to respond to my questions about Congress 60 and its methods.

Mr. Hossein Dezhakam: It has been a great pleasure, Bill. I look forward to our continued conversations in order to share my findings regarding the DST method and the X theory with people around the world.

source: http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/leadership_interviews