Holistic Alcohol Rehab
There are many choices for alcohol rehab, with one of them being holistic alcohol rehab. For certain types of people, this would be their first choice. For others, once they have been to other types of rehabs and found them unsuccessful, they may realize that what they really need is a holistic alcohol rehab to address the many facets of addiction.
Any holistic healthcare service addresses the whole person when a plan is developed to resolve ills affecting the body, mind or spirit. And certainly, the need for alcohol rehab includes components of all three aspects of one’s survival. When a person is addicted to alcohol, it definitely affects their mind, decisions and choices. Since high levels or consistent alcohol consumption are very hard on the body, a person’s physical health suffers. As well, a person addicted to alcohol struggles spiritually.
A holistic alcohol rehab would therefore include therapies that benefit all three areas of the person’s life. Treatment that is holistic would improve a wide range of an individual’s concerns, health, life situations and attitudes. If all these areas were benefitted as part of a holistic alcohol rehab program, it could be much more likely to succeed than a narrower address to the problem of addiction.
Contrasting Holistic Alcohol Rehab to Other Types
A holistic alcohol rehab must improve a person’s ability to resolve the problems in life that they might not have been facing. When these problems are resolved by teaching the individual better life skills and attitudes, they become able to resolve these problems through their own decisions and action. When they can do this, then they are more likely to be able to continue the same action after they go home.
If an individual simply consults with a counselor, advisor or even a group (as in group therapy) for advice on how to better face their own life, they may not build these same skills on which they can rely in the future.
Many people benefit from Twelve Step programs and there are actions incorporated into the Twelve Steps that would be universally therapeutic. The emphasis in this type of program is not on improving the physical aspects of addiction, however, nor on broadly developing life skills so life can be faced better in the future.
A holistic drug rehab program is intensively concerned with generating a more positive attitude in those who go through the program, benefiting health, and building those life skills that will be essential in the future.
What Can Detoxification Do for a Person in Holistic Alcohol Rehab?
In most alcohol rehabs, detoxification has a very specific meaning. It only refers to the period of time when a person goes through withdrawal from the drug they were taking. When the drug was alcohol, those entering rehab may need medical support and supervision during this period. Withdrawal for a constant drinker can trigger a high fever, seizures and even delirium. In very serious cases, alcohol withdrawal can be fatal.
Some people who drink too much and too often may yet not need admission to a medically supervised service as they go through withdrawal. A review of the person’s drinking and medical history along with a medical examination will be able to determine what type of support they will need.
Detoxification gets a person ready to start rehab. They need to have at least a fairly clear vision to be able to participate in their own recovery.
Even after a person has completely withdrawn and is no longer suffering from the immediate effects of alcohol, many symptoms may remain. The “Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms” can persist for days, months or even years after a person has completely detoxed from their alcohol use. A holistic approach to alcohol addiction can improve these persistent symptoms as well as the immediate ones.
At Narconon, the New Life Detoxification Program seeks to address these issues with a specially designed program that flushes toxic substances from the body. This special program utilizes a low-heat sauna, nutrition and exercise to rid the body of toxins. The result is a brighter, more alert individual who has been freed from the damaging, dulling effects of toxic residues in the body. They are now ready to start learning how to enjoy being sober.
Addressing barriers to sobriety that might exist because of toxins in a person’s body is an essential part of a holistic approach to recovery.
Enjoying Life in the Present
A period of one’s life spent trapped in alcoholism or alcohol addiction creates a sense of guilt and upset. Creating a new, positive life is so much easier when this guilt and upset are relieved. A holistic alcohol rehab would address this aspect of alcohol addiction recovery as well. Freeing a person’s mind of these burdens is an important aspect of holistic alcohol rehab.
The Narconon program utilizes a series of unique exercises called Objectives to help each person start living in the present. Simply being freed from the past and learning to enjoy the present is a large step forward for anyone recovering from addiction.
As each person completes these Objectives, their communication with the present environment improves. They begin to relate to their surroundings and the people around them to a greater degree. This helps the influence of the past fall away. Pain and guilt of the past are lightened and a person can begin to focus on the present and the life they want to create in the future.
New Sober Living Skills
Addiction to alcohol becomes a never-ending round of telling lies, hiding alcohol bottles and planning one’s life around access to drinks. But now there needs to be a new pattern to one’s life that does not involve lies and intoxication.
The life skills portion of the Narconon program teaches the life skills that are going to be essential in that future sober life. Each person must learn how to face the challenges of life without wanting to hide behind a bottle. Step by step, the Narconon program provides the lessons needed to teach these skills. Then, with close supervision by the Narconon staff, each person in rehab gets experience putting these skills to use.
The result of this theoretical-and-practical approach means that each person can truly see the value in these skills. As part of their rehab program, they actually get a chance to use these skills and see what happens in their life as a result. This approach more strongly instills these skills in each person’s personal universe.
Planning for Lasting Sobriety
The simple act of returning to life and work after rehab can be very challenging and the holistic approach provides solutions for this as well. Since addiction is not viewed as a disease, but rather a barrier to living life, it is possible to plan for sobriety. Taking up new hobbies, getting a new job or participating in a new spiritual practice are all ways that the holistic approach can be put into a daily lasting plan.
At Narconon, staff work with each graduate to form a plan that takes into account whether the person needs to find a new job, move their residence, go back to school, make amends to their parent or spouse or rehabilitate relationships with friends and family. Because these reorganization steps can get a little overwhelming, these needed actions are laid out in a plan, with the most immediate ones coming first. This helps a person focus on what’s most important first, while other actions can wait a few days or weeks.
The Narconon staff member working with the graduate helps make sure all their new life skills have been applied during the creation of this plan. And then after the graduate goes home, that staff member will follow up with frequent calls to make sure the plan is being implemented. If there are snags or problems, the graduate has a helpful person who will listen to the complication and offer advice.
With this well-rounded approach to holistic alcohol rehab, Narconon has been an effective and lasting solution for tens of thousands of individuals over the last fifty years.