Addiction recovery is a journey with many different potential paths and pitfalls. The entire human paradigm is involved — body, mind, spirit, and environment. As complex as it may seem at the outset, the end goal, the result towards which every effort must be bent, is basic and simple — stop using. Trimming the branches around the problem of addiction is often an appealing option for desperate people who want an easy and quick way out of their dependence and misery. And there are many so-called rehabilitation options out there that make extravagant promises for just such a miraculous healing. But just as a diseased tree is not made whole by some random pruning, so the diseased mind and body will not recover from addictive behavior and craving with just a few shallow procedures. No, to get at the very root of the problem of personal addiction, the only fully successful way is through holistic treatment. There are always triggers involved in addictive life decisions and habits, underlying stories that must be brought out into the open and addressed in order to dig out the root of unhealthy behavior and restore balance and harmony, which can lead to solid sobriety.
What is holistic treatment?
The holistic approach to addiction treatment is always customized and one-on-one. There are a variety of approaches available for the physical healing and mental readjustment that needs to take place. And the spiritual factor is never overlooked. Even those who do not believe in a Higher Power in and of itself are still open to the influence of something greater than the self — which is what holistic healing is all about. Since addiction is not caused by the same ‘virus’ or ‘bacteria,’ so to speak, there is no universal ‘vaccine’ available to cure it. Each circumstance and each case is different and in some aspects unique — holistic practices respect this essential philosophy and work with patients to help them realize was a unique and essential person they are. However addiction is classified, it is not enough to treat the symptoms while leaving the root causes alone to continue to fester and start growing again. At its most basic, holistic means ‘the whole’ and so is going to treat the whole problem, not just certain aspects of it.
The human body does not want to be addicted
According to Beachway Therapy Center, “Whatever the addictive substance may be — alcohol or opioids or meth — the holistic approach recognizes that while the physical and mental condition of the patient makes them think they have to have their particular substance in order to live and breath, the reality is that it’s a poison that the body wants to avoid.”
When treated properly with massage therapy, yoga, aquatic sequences, meditation exercises, and other proven therapies, the human body gains the initiative to provide the mind with alternatives to the poison in question. Then it is just a matter of time and discipline before the addictive behavior and triggers to addiction lose their grip and can be viewed dispassionately and nullified — with the help of a holistic counselor and therapist.
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