Overcoming Addiction With A Holistic Approach
Some people might be worried about how to overcome addiction. Addiction is a complex illness with many causes. When overcoming addiction, it’s critical to determine the optimal treatment strategy and approach for individuals suffering from any form of addiction.
All facets of addiction are addressed in a thorough treatment method to lower the likelihood of relapse in the future. This is why addiction is often best treated using a holistic approach. Those who enroll in a holistic addiction treatment program can gain emotional, mental, and physical well-being while removing many forms of addictions from their lives.
What is a Holistic Addiction Treatment
In addition to the person’s physical state, holistic addiction therapy considers the individual’s emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. People frequently confuse holistic care with non-medical care, which isn’t supposed to be so. Non-medical practices are generally included in holistic care, and however, clinical care is also available. At the same time, some ways of holistic care work to help individuals overcome substance abuse without using prescription medicines, while some other methods work without using prescription medical products.
You can use a variety of therapy modalities in holistic care, such as individual talk therapy, mindfulness meditation training, or massage therapy. A holistic approach to treating addiction from all perspectives aims to address the complexity of each patient. A full recovery is more possible when a holistic approach to addiction therapy is used.
Holistic means considering every aspect of the individual’s health. This means that lifestyle, interests, environment, and everything that has to do with that person are used in the healing process. While physical symptoms of addiction aren’t ignored, they aren’t the focus of treatment. Patients have a better chance of achieving long-term recovery if they are treated as a whole rather than just certain parts of their health.
Advantages of Holistic Treatments in Overcoming Addiction
There are many benefits to using a holistic approach to treat addiction and many other health problems. When you use a holistic approach, it helps uncover the reason for the addiction, and this, in turn, provides the knowledge and means to handle the problem correctly. This proves that when there is a problem in a single area of a person’s life, it affects other areas immensely. A good example is developing an opiate addiction after experiencing emotional trauma or physical pain. They usually develop a habit of not taking of themselves, eating unhealthy meals, and much more. This, in turn, leads to depression, making the process of overcoming addiction harder.
Thanks to a holistic approach to treating addictions, these habits can be curbed and help the individual maintain a healthy and stable lifestyle. It does not matter if it is for an individual or a group of people at once. The medical teams usually provide the physical activities needed to release the necessary endorphins necessary by the body. They also provide healthy meals or meal plans for the energy and nutrition needed for a speedy recovery. These strategies help the individual with sobriety and balance in life, especially by developing new and healthy habits.
Common Holistic Treatments
The holistic treatment used by the medical professional depends on the individual and the intensity of the addiction. However, a few of them are commonly used in the healing process.
- Recreational Therapy: this is when a certified recreation therapist uses recreation activities to affect the individual’s health positively. These positive effects are usually reflected in the individual’s emotions, spirituality, and physical condition. In truth, it enables the individuals to recreate/reinvent themselves by carrying out activities in a safe and supportive environment. What this process also does, in simple terms, is that it enables the patients to create time for leisure activities.
These activities boost the patient’s mood and also increase their competence and autonomy. Once done correctly, the process improves the overall quality of life of the patient. Besides, it will usually develop into a new hobby that the patient can continue using even outside treatment. With time, they might even meet some new friends along the way!
- Dual Diagnosis Treatment: Mental health is a big part of the healing process, and the therapy it requires is quite essential. A dual diagnosis is also called a co-occurring disorder, and it is when someone has an addiction and mental illness simultaneously. This is why treating the underlying mental illness would help the person stay sober. Cooccurring disorders are often visibly seen as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
In this scenario, the patient should get medical attention and counseling sessions from a psychiatrist, addictionologist, and medical staff. The medical professional will inform the family members on recognizing and handling triggering issues before they happen. These medical professionals design programs to break the addiction cycle, and they also help the patient stabilize their moods and teach them how to cope with the problems accordingly.
- Sensory Integration Therapy: when sensory stimulations are used to treat a person, it is called sensory therapy. This process uses sensory rooms and makes them more aware of the body and how they feel about themselves. Usually, when patients feel depressed or stressed, they try to consume their substances to cope with it. The sensory rooms teach the patient the different ways to handle these feelings the right way. There are usually comfortable seats, cushions, numerous LED lights, calming imagery, music, and sounds in these rooms to impact most senses in the body.
These help the patient be calm and properly explore their feelings spurred by addiction. In this environment, the patient is encouraged to engage in activities that make them feel good and focus on their strengths, personal care, and interests. This way, the patient can recognize distress and anxiety due to the addiction and teach them how to handle it properly.
Holistic Addiction Treatment in the San Francisco Bay Area
Holistic treatments are not a one-size-fits-all type of treatment. For those worried about overcoming addiction with holistic treatment, there are several methods that the medical expert will recommend to you. These recommendations will be based on your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being and the severity of the addiction.
Silicon Valley Recovery makes sure to provide nothing but the best treatment plan for every patient under our care. Give us a call directly to our office at 408-547-4089 to schedule a consultation and begin your journey to full recovery!