5 Surprising Methods for Healing Addiction

You don't need to deal with addiction to get informed. If someone close to you with struggling with dependence, being there for him/her and providing moral support and useful information is so important.

Should you hurry up and recommend your friend to check in rehab, you may want to think twice. Traditional rehab programs fail their patients, and the risk for relapse is higher than you think (probably because addiction is seen as a chronic disease, which means patients will never heal). More and more people turn to alternative therapies for addiction, and holistic centers are winning fans as we speak. Here are some of the most unusual, and yet efficient, methods that are used nowadays for healing addiction.

1. Meditation/mindfulness practices

Meditation refers to the art of mindfulness, and its efficiency in reducing the risk of relapse is well-known. Achieving mindfulness helps people with addiction to acknowledge their thoughts and feelings, choosing not to react to the negative ones anymore.

Mindfulness meditation is an excellent method for controlling your mood. It reduces the levels of stress hormone (cortisol), improves the immune system, and sustains your body when eliminating the harsh chemicals.

There are several kinds of mindfulness meditation, with Vipassana meditation as one of the most popular. When practicing Vipassana meditation, your mind learns not to react to the thoughts and emotions that cause harmful behavior. Practicing it a lot may help you become free of all negative actions, dependence included.

2. Ibogaine

More and more holistic healing facilities are turning to ibogaine for healing addiction.ibogaine has been used for centuries by tribes in Central Africa for leading to visions and shamanic experiences.

Western medicine defines ibogaine as psychedelic, but ibogaine has plenty of benefits (when used right). It impacts several neurotransmitter pathways, helping one's brain get to the state before addiction.

It’s beyond a doubt that ibogaine helps with the opioid withdrawal symptoms. It’s commonly used in many healing facilities around the world, but it’s illegal in the U.S. Mexico, Canada, and some other states allow legal use under specific regulations. In Mexico, ibogaine is seen as an experimental drug, and it's used only for patients undergoing professional medical testing. People using ibogaine will also go through special treatment before receiving it, as the body needs to be prepared for handling it.

No matter its legal status in the U.S., you should know that ibogaine is used all over the world for addressing addiction to alcohol, heroin, cocaine, steroids, methamphetamine, and so on. It's also very efficient for treating PTSD and depression.

3. Nutrition and biochemical restoration

Biochemical Restauration focuses on repairing the biochemical imbalances that lead to depression, anxiety, cravings, and addiction.

Specific biochemical imbalances increase the risk for some people to develop an addiction. Hypoglycemia, oxidative and inflammatory stress, amino acid imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and adrenal fatigue are some imbalances that lead to addiction. Once the biochemical imbalances are established, the customized biochemical restoration plan is also set. A personal nutritional program, with amino acids, relaxation, and physical activity, will restore the balance.

Proper nutrition will also keep depression, stress, and anxiety at distance and improve one's mood. Proper nutrition means omega-3 essential fatty acids, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory minerals and vitamins, and complete proteins. The foods become fundamental building blocks for depleted neurotransmitters, healing all systems and tissues affected by poor diet (which is common amongst addicts).

4. Yoga

Yoga isn't only about Lotus' position but is combines three main aspects: breathwork, physical postures, and meditation.

In yoga, the focus is to bring the body, mind, and spirit together aligned. Once the alignment appears, inner peace will help people with addiction, not to relapse. There are many studies on how yoga reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.

It's common for people with addiction to become dissociated from their bodies. Practicing the physical "asana” helps them acknowledge the patterns leading to addiction, helping them change.

Lungs connect the nervous and circulatory systems. Therefore, it makes sense why breath will ensure detoxification and lead to relaxation.

Let's not forget meditation, which helps people with dependence to achieve a more profound sense of self-awareness. When people don't allow the world to affect them, they learn how to control cravings and use the inner power for dealing with substances and temptations.

5. Acupuncture

Even if there aren't many studies on the efficiency of acupuncture for addiction treatment (but there are so many on medication for pain), acupuncture has slowly become a regular therapy within the holistic healing facilities. It's handy for solving emotional imbalances such as depression and anxiety, which are common symptoms of addiction.

There's plenty of evidence on how acupuncture eases out the detoxification, alleviating pain associated with it, controlling cravings, and reducing anxiety. A 2003 study revealed the therapeutic impact of acupuncture on detoxification and alcohol addiction. Studies on cocaine, heroin, opium, and tobacco addiction are undergoing, but it’s only a matter of time until acupuncture’s benefits will be revealed.