When most people hear the term “holistic” in the context of health care, their minds immediately generate images of hippies and snake oil, remedies that rely on pseudo-science and usually fail to produce any tangible results. However, in truth, holistic health care is an effective way of using all of a person’s aspects — physical, mental, and emotional — to construct a healthy lifestyle, not just a functioning body. In fact, holistic practices are becoming more and more mainstream, as conventional health care facilities understand the benefits of building and maintaining a healthy system rather than repeatedly curing a single part with surgery or pharmaceuticals.
Addiction is largely recognized as a wide-reaching disease. While substances degrade an addict’s physical form, psychological dependency can also foster mental and emotional instability. What’s more, social structure around an addict tends to dissolve as the condition evolves. Not only is an addict’s mind, body, and spirit damaged, but his or her loved ones feel the pain of addiction, as well.
Fortunately, there is hope for anyone willing to reach for a helping hand. Rehabilitation facilities that focus on holistic healing are designed to dramatically improve every aspect of an addict’s lifestyle, once and for all. If you or a loved one is suffering from substance abuse, here are the ways holistic healing can help.
Strong Bodies and Strong Resolve
One of the primary tenants of holistic medicine is the maintenance of a fit and nourished body through appropriate diet and exercise. The stronger you make your body through regular activity and wholesome foods, the easier it is to resist your old urges to abuse substances. Thus, rehabilitation centers that emphasize holistic approachesmake addicts stronger in their sobriety for the long term.
What you eat eventually becomes a part of who you are, so it is vitally important that you only consume foods that have healthful benefits. Most holistic nutritionists avoid any foods that contain artificial ingredients or show marks of “refinement.” Instead, most consider whole foods to be best, including fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. A diet composed of these foods will provide enough sustenance to keep the body full and focused. Madonna is well-known to follow holistic meal plans, and she is stronger in her 50s than many women in their 20s.
Almost all types of exercise are beneficial to building a strong, healthy body, but a small handful also work to improve mental and spiritual balance, as well. Yoga and tai chi employ slow movements into particular postures, which encourages muscle tone as well as balance, flexibility, and a sense of calm determination. Because practitioners of these ancient physical arts are less concerned with body image and more concerned with internal balance, yoga and tai chi are ideal workouts for those looking for holistic addiction recovery.
Spiritual Support
Because the spirit is intangible, many people — addicts included — forget that it is vital to keep the spirit healthy.When you neglect your spirit, you will find that even minor stresses become overwhelming and negative urges increase and become more difficult to combat. Conversely, when your spirit is properly nourished, you have calm and confidence in yourself and the world around you.
Many addicts admit to losing their sense of purpose and feeling hopeless in a world so vast. However, addicts who seek holistic recovery will find that spirit-promoting activities, including prayer and meditation, allow them to regain their footing and begin to understand their place.
Healthy Habits
Addicts regularly participate in exceedingly destructive behavior and develop dozens of unhealthy habits not limited to their substance abuse. In fact, many addicts rely so heavily on their substances for positive emotions that they forget which activities once made them happy and whole, and thus, many addicts relapse even after rehab due to an inability to find even small pleasures in everyday life.
Fortunately, holistic healing centers are devoted to the development of healthy habits to replace those that get addicts in trouble. Because exercise produces ample endorphins, many addicts effectively replace their substances with workouts. Others learn to turn to meditation for a spiritual high. Still others find bliss in creative endeavors like painting, sculpting, and writing. With the guidance of holistic health professionals at a qualified rehab facility, you, too, can develop the habits that will keep you sober and satisfied for the rest of your life.