What Is Holistic Therapy?
Holistic therapy is treatment for addiction that doesn’t use conventional medical and therapeutic practices. Instead, holistic treatment uses alternative practices to treat addiction without any medicine.
The goal of holistic treatment is to treat the “whole” person, body, mind, and soul rather than just the body. Just as standard addiction treatment mainly entails various forms of standard addiction therapy, holistic treatment mainly entails various forms of holistic therapy for addiction.
Because holistic therapy focuses on treating the whole person, body, mind, and soul, holistic therapy can be physical, mental, and spiritual in nature. To really break down some of the major types of holistic treatment, holistic therapy can even be described as creative in nature.
Exploring Common Physical Types of Holistic Therapy
Holistic therapy that treats the body is usually physical. Thus, individuals will likely have to move their bodies during these types of holistic therapy.
Common physical types of holistic therapy include:
1. Cardio Exercise for Addiction Recovery
Regular cardio exercise is not only good for the human body, but it’s very therapeutic for people that are in addiction treatment and recovery. This is because cardio exercise keeps the heart and body in good shape.
Cardio exercise also causes the body to release endorphins, which are bodily chemicals that cause the body to relieve itself of stress and pain. Endorphins also cause the body to experience a euphoric effect similar to that of certain substances such as opioids. Thus, cardio exercise is a great way for people that suffer from an addiction to substances to get some of that euphoric sensation that they crave, but in a healthy manner.
2. Yoga: A Path to Healing
Yoga is a form of exercise that focuses on flexibility and stretching the body. This form of exercise also focuses on becoming one with the human body. Although much less intense than cardio exercise, yoga is still a physical form of holistic therapy that helps make the human body healthier for those suffering from addiction.
3. Massage Therapy for Stress Relief
Receiving a massage is another type of physical holistic treatment. This is because massages are physical ways to help relieve the body of stress, anxiety, and tension. In fact, receiving a massage can decrease a person’s heart rate and blood pressure.
Massages can also decrease the amount of cortisol that the body releases. Thus, massages can help individuals that are going through addiction treatment cope while in recovery.
4. Acupuncture: A Holistic Approach
Acupuncture is the practice of inserting needles into a person’s skin to hit certain pressure points. Hitting these pressure points causes the body to relieve itself of stress and tension.
This release of stress and tension relaxes the human body in a way that also helps individuals cope while in addiction treatment and recovery. Because acupuncture requires something physical to be inserted into the skin, it can be considered a physical form of holistic therapy.
What Is Holistic Medicine?
Holistic medicine is any alternative treatment for addiction that doesn’t use traditional forms of medicine. Although holistic treatments don’t use typical forms of medicine, they do use holistic medicine. Holistic medicine comes in the various types of holistic therapy services that we discussed in this article. Holistic medicine can also come in the form of all-natural Western and Eastern medicines.
The main principles of holistic medicine are:
Unconditional love and support are the most powerful healers
Each person is ultimately responsible for his or her own health and well-being
All people have innate healing powers
A patient is a person, not a disease
Healing takes a team approach that includes doctors, other medical professionals, and the patients
Healing involves a variety of healthcare practices
Holistic treatment involves fixing the cause of an addiction, not just alleviating symptoms
Benefits of Holistic Therapy for Addiction Treatment
Therapy that is holistic is a great tool to use during addiction treatment. This is because holistic therapy treats the “whole” patient. This makes it less likely for the person receiving holistic therapy for addiction treatment to relapse due to mental or spiritual reasons.
Often addiction treatment centers incorporate holistic treatment methods into their regular addiction treatment programs so that patients get the best of both worlds. This is particularly true at dual diagnosis treatment centers that treat both substance use and mental health disorders.
Contact Grace Land Recovery for Holistic Therapy Options
Grace Land Recovery is a dual diagnosis treatment center. Therefore, we here at Grace Land Recovery use forms of addiction therapy that help treat substance use disorders and mental health disorders. Sometimes this includes holistic therapy methods.
Some of the other forms of addiction therapy that we offer here at Grace Land Recovery include cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma therapy, family therapy, anger management therapy, experiential therapy, and more. Grace Land Recovery offers all of these forms of addiction therapy within its specialized and individualized addiction and dual diagnosis treatment programs.
The substance addictions that the addiction and dual diagnosis treatment programs here at Grace Land Recovery focus on include everything from cocaine to alcohol, to benzodiazepines, to heroin, opioids, and more. To learn more about the different addiction and dual diagnosis treatment programs offered here at Grace Land Recovery, contact us today!
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