People who are addicted to alcohol and drugs learn firsthand the profound ways that addiction affects a user’s life. Substance abuse disorders, as well as many types of behavioral addiction, render a person completely changed, robbing them of their potential and aspirations, depleting their mental and physical health, and resulting in the destruction of many relationships that previously had been important to them.
As a chronic disease of the brain, addiction warps, and changes minds, making an addicted person’s primary life purpose the obsessive, habitual seeking, and consumption of alcohol and drugs.
Fortunately, there are a variety of addiction treatments that can help people with chemical dependency break free of the chains of addiction. Since addicted people experience addiction in personal ways that vary from one person to the next, it’s necessary for there to be a variety of treatments available so that individuals can participate in the programs that best address their particular needs.
Holistic addiction treatment is available to people in active addiction who may want to explore alternative therapies in addition to traditional ones. To understand how one might benefit from holistic drug addiction treatment, we must first learn more about what holistic treatment is and what makes it unique compared to other addiction treatments.
Recovery for the Mind, Body, Spirit, and Emotions
You’ve probably heard of holistic medicine, which is a philosophy of health that views the body as made up of numerous parts, processes, and systems that each function independently while being dependent on all of the others. This means that when one part of the body isn’t working correctly, all of the other parts will be affected to some degree as well. In practice, holistic medicine has a mind-body-spirit-emotions approach to health in which each component must be assessed and, when necessary, treated to achieve optimum wellness.
Holistic doctors may still use traditional treatments such as medication for a particular ailment, but they also will look at other factors that could be related to a condition, such as sleep and exercise habits, diet, stress levels, and so on. Traditional addiction treatment programs typically begin with a period of medical detox followed by a relatively brief period of psychotherapy consisting of individual and group sessions. These programs tend to be only a “bare bones” addiction treatment that’s comparable to being only a topical ointment for a wound. In the meantime, the individual needs other types of treatment to heal on the inside.
In the case of alcohol and drug addiction, holistic treatment takes a similar approach to that of holistic medicine, focusing on a comprehensive treatment regimen in which the needs of the mind, body, spirit, and emotions are incorporated into the recovery curriculum. Holistic addiction treatment takes into account the many ways that addiction affects a person’s life by offering a more diverse and comprehensive selection of therapies and forms of addiction intervention.
These programs are becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction because, due to the diverse therapies offered, those in need of treatment can develop a personalized treatment plan that addresses their substance abuse disorder on an individualized basis. Customized plans help increase the success rate of recovery for these individuals much higher than other treatment programs.
What are the Benefits of Holistic Drug Addiction Treatment?
Each rehabilitation facility will have a unique curriculum of holistic offerings, but there are therapeutic treatments commonly offered in holistic programs.
Some Practices that People in Recovery Have Found Helpful Include:
- Acupuncture, acupressure
- Art and music therapy
- Massage therapy
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Exercise
- Nutritional counseling
- Tai-chi
- Meditation and mindfulness exercises
- Hypnosis
- Spinal modification therapy
- Spiritual counseling and guidance
Trained specialists also commonly offer treatment specialties and modalities that are part of holistic addiction programs, and these have proven to be helping in providing the tools needed to achieve and sustain sobriety. These specialties include Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and even Reiki. Most of these treatments are designed to address the effects that addiction has on a person in ways other than just the physical, being especially helpful for spiritual, emotional, and psychological healing.
In addition to receiving the psychotherapy that’s proven to be instrumental in recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, holistic addiction treatment programs allow recovering users to address other factors that have caused or contributed to their addiction as well as some of the results. Many people have developed an addiction because of low self-esteem and self-worth, depression, trauma-related anxiety, past physical and/or sexual abuse, and even a lack of spiritual or emotional fulfillment.
Personal issues can be related to a person’s suffering from a substance abuse disorder, which may be spiritual or emotional in nature. Holistic treatment offers an opportunity to address these deficiencies in other aspects of health while participating in comprehensive addiction recovery treatment.
Anyone, no matter the background or belief, can benefit from the level of personalization and the comprehensive approach that holistic drug addiction treatment offers. Even those who have attended rehab before and relapsed can find value in holistic treatment, and perhaps gain even a new outlook on addiction and life.
If you or someone you know is battling an addiction to alcohol or drugs, and you think holistic treatment or other treatment programs can aid in substance abuse recovery, then California Highlands Addiction Treatment Vistas is ready to help you. Call the addiction treatment specialists at California Vistas Addiction Treatment at (855) 918-4085 or reach us online to learn more about your treatment options. Begin your road to recovery today.
