Is Holistic Drug Rehab a Long Term Solution?by Marc Courtiol of Natural Health Journals
Modern drug treatment philosophies have changed how we think about addiction. In the past, alcoholism and drug addiction were thought of as moral failings, and people routinely thought that if the addict would simply learn how to behave, all the problems would go away. But today, we know it is not so simple.
Addiction affects people from all backgrounds and in all possible situations, so morality has nothing to do with it. Rather, addiction is a disease like any other, and treatment should be about healing the person on the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.
Getting clean holistically
While mainstream drug rehab facilities have come a long way, there are still improvements to be made. Recasting addiction as a disease rather than a moral problem has been a positive development, but it has had some unintended consequences. For one thing, addicts are now too often treated as helpless victims who are not in control of their own fates. Many give themselves over to treatment professionals without taking charge of their own recovery, and this leads to a sobriety that is shallow and unsustainable.
In holistic drug rehab, the addict is the guiding force in his or her own recovery. Doctors and treatment professionals can play significant roles in the process, but the addict must realize that health is a self-guided process, and that spiritual healing cannot be provided by a physician. And spiritual healing is often what addicts need most of all; without it, there will always be a danger of relapse or further addiction.
The current state of drug rehab poses challenges for anyone who believes strongly in getting clean holistically. Most treatment facilities are good at many aspects of what they do, but too few allow their patients to guide their own recovery process. The system has become largely standardized, patients are rarely treated as individuals, and many addicts are not even presented with multiple options for recovery. That is why it helps to live in a larger city where there is a broader array of treatment options. If you are not satisfied with the options in your area but are serious about getting sober holistically, you might want to consider traveling for your recovery process.
Discovering the source of addiction
Although it has been established that addiction is a disease, it is impossible to attribute the disease to any one thing. In fact, the exact causes vary from person to person. For one addict, addiction may have a genetic basis. For another, it may be a result of environment or peer pressure. For still another, drug use may be a means of self-medicating emotional pain or filling a spiritual void. Whatever the cause, every addict is different. That is why rigid, non-holistic treatment programs so often fail their patients.
Getting drug-free and staying that way must involve a great deal of introspection. Fortunately, 12-step programs and other treatment philosophies have given millions of addicts the tools to explore the nature of their own disease, but these programs are often either too little too late or not right for individual needs. If you are serious about getting clean, these programs can be helpful as supplements, but you are going to have to take charge of your own recovery. This means delving into your own soul and discovering the source of your addiction.
If you are not sure where to begin, do some research into the tenets underlying holistic health. You will learn that you can take control of your life through a combination of things such as meditation, behavioral therapy, acupuncture, good health, and spiritual wholeness. It may be a long road before you are completely clear of your addiction, but with holistic health, you will be in control of your own fate.
