Alice Turing
Talk to someone who has been through rehab, and they’ll tell you that detox is only the beginning. The hard part is to master the art of living in your body again without trying ways to numb the pain. It’s the ultimate difference between getting sober and staying sober. And holistic therapies can be used to achieve the goal.
Holistic, in this case, isn’t about rejecting conventional medicine. It’s about expanding the frame of reference. It’s about treating the person, not the disease. Physical repair, nutritional reconstruction, emotional management, and stress management. These are not mere add-ons, but potential predictors of success or failure for staying in recovery or relapsing. Here are a couple of therapies that can help by addressing what addiction does to the brain and body.
Yoga and Mindful Movement
The thing that makes yoga worth considering here isn’t the postures, but what goes on in the brain during those movements. Some HPA axis research has demonstrated that yoga practice can reduce ACTH production, which in turn reduces cortisol and the catecholamines that follow. For someone in early recovery, whose HPA axis has been hijacked by substance use for years, this is no small thing.
Considering the impact, many treatment facilities now take holistic care seriously and incorporate yoga into their clinical frameworks rather than offering it separately. In fact, you can find a luxury rehab in Los Angeles or your local area that uses a clinical approach and combines yoga and meditation with CBT, DBT, and trauma-informed care, along with experienced therapists in a real residential setting.
Interestingly, some of these facilities now also offer clients access to personal training, nutritional planning from a professional chef, and a pet-friendly environment. All of this helps people feel comfortable and not like they’re in a medical institution, which improves outcomes quite significantly.
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
If yoga can help the body cope with stress, the mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) approach addresses the cognitive component of craving. The standard approach is for individuals to avoid situations that might trigger relapse, and that is partially effective but does little to prepare the individual for the time when these strategies prove unsuccessful.
MBRP approaches craving differently. Rather than trying to stop or outrun these cravings, participants in MBRP become aware of these cravings without judgment by using techniques like urge surfing, body scan, and seated meditation. The rationale for MBRP is based on exposure-based concepts. The assumption is that by repeatedly experiencing discomfort without acting on it, you become immune to it, breaking the association between craving, substance use, and triggers.
Bear in mind that MBRP is an aftercare measure, not the initial treatment. IT is most effective for those who have already been through the initial stages and are in the long maintenance period where enthusiasm wavers and old behaviors are likely to return.
Endnote
These therapies are quite useful, but rather than replace medical supervision and peer support, they fill in the gaps in biology, the body, and thinking that medicine and conventional therapies don’t completely address. For anyone in recovery or helping someone recover from an addiction, these therapies aren’t shortcuts. Instead, they expand the available toolset for one of the hardest things that humans have to deal with.
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I'm Alice and I live with a dizzying assortment of invisible disabilities, including ADHD and fibromyalgia. I write to raise awareness and end the stigma surrounding mental and chronic illnesses of all kinds.
