Recovery: A Holistic Approach

In the word of addiction, and in the mind of addicts, things usually play out like this:

Drugs are fun.

And addicting.

Recovery is not fun.

And easy to give up on.

The road to recovery is not one that people generally look forward to. It is long, painful, and can leave a trail of heartbreak in its wake. Because of this, it is important to approach recovery in a holistic way.

What Is Holistic Recovery

According to Google, holistic is characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of the disease.

Addiction affects the addicts whole being. It doesn’t just attack one aspect of a person’s life. Instead, it is a complete illness. It affects an addict biologically, psychologically, socially, and emotionally.  In that way, addiction acts as a virus, getting into every corner of the users life.

How To Recover Holistically

Brian McAlister, a contributing writer to addicitonblog.org, says that he began using the holistic approach to recovery because of a conversation he had with an ‘old timer’ who had been an addict in his younger years. That old timer told McAlister that in order to fight his addiction he needed to change just one thing: EVERYTHING.

Instead of using medication to fight addiction, the user should instead invest time in changing himself or herself as a person. If they can change their habits, life style choices, and thought process, they can then challenge their addiction head on. The holistic approach is about developing skills to handle life’s challenges and not merely ‘treating’ the addiction.

Aspects of Holistic Recovery

Physical:

A recovering addict feels SO much better physically after only a week or two of not using the drug or substance that plagues them. However, that is an extremely vulnerable moment in the recovery process. It is important for the user to not fall back in the trap of drugs simply because they feel better.

Emotional:

Newly sober people can have trouble facing emotions without self-medicating. For that reason, it is important for the user to engage in addiction recovery communities.

Examples: 12-step programs, meetings, therapists.

Mental:

Anger, stress, and fear can often times lead to relapse. The addict must learn to deal with these mental ailments in order to fight the urge to use. There are simple tricks that can be used to combat such feelings.

Examples: Exercise, yoga, creativity (reading, writing, drawing), tactical breathing.

Spiritual:

Many users find salvation in faith. Prayer and meditation is a healthy way to combat addiction.

Stability:

Once the addict is on the road to sobriety and has ceased use of the drug or substance that has taken control of their life, it is important to find stability. Financial, locational, and even material stability are keys to maintaining sobriety. Think of it like a house: you can’t put up the walls until you have made a solid foundation. The same goes for sobriety. You can’t begin a new life unless there is a sense of stability.