Why Holistic Tools Can Aid Your Recovery

Addiction is a complicated disease that takes a multifaceted approach to combat. Treatment centers often use a mixture of specific types of therapy and medication to bring people on the path to recovery. However, holistic healing practices that focus on healthy living and lifestyle changes are also crucial in this journey. Many rehab programs already incorporate these practices into their curriculum and you’re probably already participating in holistic healing, even if you don't realize it. Exploring holistic avenues of recovery can greatly enhance your progress. Learn some reasons why this is, below!



Healing Holistic TreatmentsHolistic medicine refers to a section of practices that focus on naturally bringing balance to the whole person; mind, body and spirit. This makes it a great match for those battling addiction, which affects all of these areas of a person. Meditation and nutritional therapy are holistic practices that are incorporated into basically every recovery program. Other practices, like yoga and acupuncture might work for some but not for others. There’s no right or wrong answer from person to person, so you can give a wide range of activities a try and see what feels right to you.

Benefits of Holistic Activity
The purpose of any holistic practice is to bring balance to the body. From this point of view, addiction is seen as an imbalance that can be corrected through these activities. From calming withdrawal symptoms to strengthening the spirit, holistic medicine has been shown to have a positive impact on addiction recovery. Here are some of the benefits associated with the most common forms of holistic medicine:

• Massage: Improves circulation, calms the body and mind, and puts you in touch with your body
• Hypnosis: Brings emotional conflict to the surface, and promotes higher thinking
• Meditation: Improves focus and concentration, improves mental health, and helps you to endure cravings. Mindfulness meditation, in particular, can be especially effective.
• Yoga, Tai Chi, etc: Strengthens the body and mind, relieves stress, and calms nerves
• Acupuncture: Releases pressure, rids the body of toxins, and boosts the immune system
• Nutritional Therapy: Balances physical and mental nutritional deficiencies, strengthens all aspects of health, and establishes healthy living practices for the future.
   

Balanced Dieting in Recovery
As you improve your overall health, you are building an effective foundation upon which progress towards recovery can occur. While not every reason to eat healthy sounds like it is directly connected to addiction, each little benefit that healthy and holistic activity brings to your life can make recovery easier, in the long run. Consider the many ways in which eating a balanced diet can improve your health. Here are just a few examples:

• Eating a diet centered around fresh produce, lean meats, low-fat dairy, and whole grains is proven to help maintain weight.
• Healthy eating is proven to support a more sustained elevated mood.
• Eating right can also boost your energy levels, helping you face each day with a stronger mind and body.
• A healthy diet reduces your risk of many diseases that are linked to obesity, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, gallbladder, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and some cancers.
• Eating well typically improves your overall appearance—even down to having better hair, skin, teeth, and nails—and this, in turn, can strengthen self-image and overall mental health.
   

Addiction is Often Co-Occurring with Other Mental Health Problems
The National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that individuals with a mental health condition are responsible for the consumption of 69 percent of alcohol, 84 percent of cocaine, and 68 percent of cigarettes. That's significant when you consider that mental illness clearly does not exist in the general population at these rates. So, clearly there is a connection between mental illness and addiction here (and often that connection is self-medication for a mental illness). What this means is that there are many benefits to treating a mental health condition that you might not be aware of. Treating depression, for example, could reduce your risk of many diseases that can be exacerbated by depression, such as addiction, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and many other chronic physical health conditions.