Holistic Addiction Treatment

By The Oasis Team on 15 November, 2009

Harnessing the benefits of healthy living for the mind, soul and body to help recover from addiction.

Harnessing the benefits of healthy living for the mind, soul and body

A drug rehab will often offer a very practical programme for taking care of the emotional issues that addicts face, as well as an introduction to the Twelve Step programme of recovery. These steps and the fellowships involved are an excellent source of support, motivation and maintenance to those recovering from addiction to drugs. However, the holistic aspects of recovery can also be extremely beneficial to the well-being of addicts.

Many drug addiction treatment centres offer not only the Twelve Steps and addiction therapy for healing addiction problems: There is also a strong focus on healthy living and emotional, physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Find out more about holistic treatment with addiction recovery therapists and a nurturing and positive environment at Oasis.

Recovery in a drug rehab means doing things differently
Individuals suffering from addiction are suffering from an incurable disease that is progressive, often worsening until death, institutions or jail. The Twelve Steps are regularly used as part of recovery in rehabilitation centres as the Steps offer a continued source of support, maintenance and change. A key part of an addict working a Twelve Step recovery programme is the adoption of a power greater than themselves.

The Twelve Steps are a blueprint to a spiritual way of life. This does not mean that recovering addicts need to convert to religion or spend their time meditating and chanting. A spiritual programme is simply one that encourages the adoption of spiritual principles such as honesty, open-mindedness and willingness.

Some recovering addicts return to their childhood religion and may work the Twelve Steps with any individual God as their Higher Power. However, the Twelve Steps state that a person's Higher Power needs to be only two things - loving, and separate to the addict. A Twelve Step programme is not a religious programme by any means: it is the individual choice of every member.

A Higher Power need not even be a 'being'; it can be the group or the action of doing the right thing each day. The emphasis, however, is on the loving and caring aspect of it.

For much of every addict's life they have chosen paths that are incredibly damaging and unkind to themselves. They poison their bodies with substances, enter toxic relationships, engage in dangerous behaviour such as driving drunk and do not take care of their physical self. They may live in bad conditions, unwilling to maintain personal hygiene and consume an unhealthy and improper diet. Much of this behaviour comes from the low self-esteem many addicts experience - they cannot comprehend that treating themselves badly is simply unacceptable, and they do not believe that they deserve better. However, if they follow the guidance of a loving Higher Power, they begin to make healthy and self-affirming choices.

Getting healthy - inside and out
Most addicts enter recovery in a terrible physical state - they are malnourished from rarely eating or overweight from over-eating, have unhealthy bodies due to the toxins they willingly ingested and have bad teeth due to lack of dental care. Addicts who continue to eat badly and ignore taking care of their physical state are not bringing any positive influence to their well-being.

Exercise and a healthy diet are not only physically important; they are emotionally and spiritually important too. Many recovering addicts require psychiatric medication as the chemical balance of their brain has been upset by the drugs that were present for years. However, proper diet and exercise can have a positive effect on these conditions. Under-nourishment is often the cause of depression or worsens chronic depression. Proper eating and exercise are excellent for helping to relieve depression and instill a sense of self-worth in addicts, as well as helping to normalise sleeping patterns and raise energy levels.

Meditation is another part of recovery from addiction. Relaxation and opening the mind to positive thinking is another beneficial part of recovery. Much of the spiritual aspect of the Twelve Steps is faith in a Higher Power and the trust that no matter what may happen, the addict will be safe in their hands. Meditation to music, or talking to a Higher Power, in order to 'hand things over', can relieve stress levels greatly and provide much needed comfort to those who are struggling. Meditation is a perfect opportunity for recovering addicts to acknowledge gratitude for what they have achieved through staying clean and sober.

Many drug treatment facilities treatment centres offer yoga to their clients as the practice focuses on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being - all the areas of an addict's life that have been tarnished by their addiction.

The key to happiness
Recovery from addiction requires abstinence plus change. Arresting the obsessive and compulsive behaviour is the first step towards healing. The second step is the improvement of the addict's life and the realisation that they too are a good person and deserve a life that is satisfying and fulfilling, where they can reach their full potential.

A holistic way of life can be explained simply as treating oneself well. This includes physical, emotional, mental and spiritual growth. A loving Higher Power will only want what is best for the recovering addict. An addict with a loving Higher Power will begin to make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives, accepting that they are a valuable person and can achieve great things. Having fun and laughing may seem impossible when an addict enters recovery from addiction, but when adopting a holistic lifestyle, this will follow naturally.

Take a more detailed look at the drug addiction counselling available at Oasis Counselling Centre, a drug and alcohol rehab in Plettenberg Bay.

 

About the Author
Oasis Counselling Centre is an addiction centre offering addiction treatment to addicts requiring admission to rehab.