Addiction is a disease that has the potential to completely shatter every area of a person’s life. It can cause a person to lose everything they had and then some. When addicted to drugs or alcohol, a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing is not only ignored but regularly damaged. By the time that person is ready to ask for help, chances are they will have a lot of work to do to fully restore themselves.
Depending on the severity of the addiction, people will participate in residential treatment, or outpatient treatment. Within each of these levels of care, patients will work on detoxing their bodies of mind-altering substances and get hands-on with the therapeutic work they need to manage the personal aspects of this disease. By the time treatment is completed, some individuals require further care in order to solidify themselves in their recovery. For many, that further care is found in holistic treatment.
What is Holistic Addiction Treatment?
Holistic treatment is a type of care that considers a person’s mind, body, and spirit in recovery. Alternative therapies are offered through holistic treatment and are proven to help individuals continue to abstain from substance abuse. Some of the most common holistic treatments include the following:
- Acupuncture – the use of small needles into different areas on the body to activate pressure points to reduce stress or pain
- Reiki – a Japanese method of promoting spiritual wellness and healing
- Massage – utilizing physical touch to help release stress, treat pain, and improve mood
- Meditation – the art of attempting to clear the mind and create stillness and calmness by doing so
- Yoga – Stretching, breathing, and moving in an effort to bring peace and relaxation to the mind and body
- Nutritional therapy – eating foods and consuming beverages that are proven to help balance brain chemistry and promote healthy bodies
- Herbal medications – all-natural medications that can help treat common issues such as sleeplessness, headache, upset stomach, and body aches
- Biofeedback/neurofeedback – Observing how the body and mind function in an effort to develop stronger self-awareness
These therapies are not designed to serve as a person’s complete course of addiction treatment, rather it is more effective when it is used as a supplement to a treatment program. Those who participate in holistic treatment can expect to learn non-traditional methods of recovery and develop skills designed to keep them from using again in the future.
Principles of Holistic Treatment
The American Holistic Health Association reports that the basic principles of all holistic treatments are:
- The use of safe and effective therapeutic options
- Trying to find the root of the disease as opposed to only treating symptoms Integrating medical, educational, psychological, spiritual, and physical health methods into all treatments
- Encouragement of patient autonomy and communication between physician and patient
- Treating all disease as a result of dysfunction in the person as opposed to a singular event
- Supporting constant growth mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually of the patient
Outside of implementing the above-listed principles, holistic treatment focuses on improving each patient’s full and complete wellbeing.
Benefits of Holistic Treatment
- Provides non-medicinal options for addiction and mental illness
- Reduces symptoms associated with withdrawal
- Offers opportunity to balance emotions
- Allows for meaningful spiritual grounding
- Clears the body of all toxins related to drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy foods
- Helps balance out brain chemistry
Holistic Addiction Treatment in Orange County
Holistic treatment has proven to help reduce relapse, which is arguably one of the greatest benefits of all. Activities such as meditation, yoga, acupressure, and reiki can help those in recovery learn how to utilize their breath as a means of relaxation, their minds as a method of creating positive outcomes in their lives, and behavior to support their long-term sobriety. Holistic treatment can encourage major lifestyle changes that keep individuals from turning back to alcoholism or drug addiction again. At our addiction treatment program in Orange County, we understand the many challenges that develop in the face of active addiction. We know that just getting the courage up to ask for help takes a significant amount of energy. But when you ask for help, you are taking the critical first step in getting the treatment you need to stop using and start living.