Overcoming addiction: an holistic approach

It could be a friend, relative or yourself battling addiction from alcohol, cigarettes, painkillers or illegal drugs. Whatever the case may be, addiction can be one of life’s toughest challenges. In overcoming addiction the following tactics can help make the biggest difference.
 

s     1. Treat the patient with the addiction, not the addiction of the patient

Most centres of addiction treatment focus on only one thing. Some believe that addiction is primarily a psychological issue, and only treat those issues. Others think that the physical addiction takes precedence, and implement a detox, but do little else. Both methods fail—because both treat the addiction.

s      2. The Body

Any successful addiction treatment needs to safely detox the body. You can’t do anything with a body that is broken, or suffering from massive hormonal imbalances.
Get the toxins out and restore balance to all the body’s systems. Sometimes, that means a prescription of anti-depressants, if brain chemistry has been damaged by the addiction.
Sometimes, we also need to do work with organs that have been damaged. Whatever the case—and it varies by case—always ensure the body is capable of achieving balance and health, without drugs.

s     3. The Mind

Simply restoring balance to one’s physical symptoms isn’t enough. It is important to also teach patients how to quiet the mind. This can take several forms; Meditation, cranial electro-stimulation (CES). These are gentle electric stimulators—much like you see used for pain. In fact, Alpha Stim units work on sore muscles as well. But when applied to earlobes, CES helps change our brain waves, more closely mimicking the alpha waves found in meditation. The effects are immediate. After only fifteen minutes, patients feel calmer and more relaxed.

s         4. More centered.

The longer-term results can be astonishing as well. For instance, in nicotine addiction, inhibitors that block nicotine receptor sites has been quite effective. 85% of patients who take those inhibitors quit smoking but when given the inhibitors in conjunction with the alpha stim unit, that number goes up to 99%. That’s the sort of holistic approach that you need to combat addiction.

s       5. The relationship to the world

Becoming healthy and centered is the best way to kick a habit. But to keep it kicked, you have to change your relationship to the world. That’s where the physiological aspect comes into play, this includes things like finding the correct nutritional balance or taking vitamins and supplements, finding forms of exercise that work for patients and establishing healthy sleep patterns. After all, returning to health is just the beginning. Remaining in health is the ultimate goal. And that always begins with nutrition and exercise. 

s        6. How you can help

However, many of us know someone who needs help. An intervention is a difficult process. You should first seek the advice of an experienced interventionist. They can teach you how to successfully talk to someone in need of help, one-on-one. If that doesn’t do the trick, you might need a larger intervention. In some cases, you’ll need to bring an expert in to assist face-to-face. But here’s the most important thing. That person has to be ready. And if they aren’t, all you can do is be as supportive as you possibly can. However, while you should be supportive—and give whatever help you can—you also need to set boundaries. You can’t let their life ruin yours. And sometimes, those boundaries are exactly what someone needs to truly see when they’ve gone too far.
 

I hope it helps you understand a little more what you can do to make a difference in their life.

Article courtesy of Health news by Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.