Addiction Support
Healing The Whole Person In Recovery
Recovery from substance abuse disorders and addictions is usually referred to as a recovery of mind, body and spirit. Generally speaking, if you are a recovering person looking for help, you find assistance for a recovery of mind and spirit- but not for supporting the body.
Addiction support describes precisely the Integrative Medicine approach to provide support to the body, and replenish what is needed in the body while you work your program. We focus on recovery of your overall well being. The chemicals in the body may have been disrupted and need to be replenished with specific supplements, nutrition, lifestyle changes and more.
Supporting The Body With Adjunctive Therapies
Therapies and lifestyle changes for addiction are not meant to take the place of traditional addiction treatment or peer support groups like AA. Rather, integrative and holistic addiction therapies are adjunctive and intended to support the body as it recovers. Most importantly, this will complement and enhance the benefits of conventional addiction treatment and support groups.
Therapies such as acupuncture, meditation, massage, biofeedback and nutritional therapy are meant to support the body, replace what is needed, relieve stress and help restore energy. In addition, our physicians can assist with detoxification and natural regeneration of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Addictions can be to alcohol, tobacco, illicit substances, or prescription drugs. Our country now sees addiction to painkillers and opioids as a national epidemic. And when there is an addict in the family the whole family suffers. When a loved one is suffering from an addiction, the stress of that relationship (or a co-dependency) can be at the root of other medical or emotional issues as the family experiences the stress and chaos of addiction.
In conclusion, you may find adjunctive treatments like acupuncture, but few resources are available to assist you in the natural regeneration of neurotransmitters or in detoxifying your body from the residual toxins left over from the use of drugs and alcohol. Our integrative and functional medicine doctors are trained to do exactly that.
Exclusive NIHA Addiction Support Articles
25% of Teenagers are Doing What?!
It’s common knowledge that adolescence is characterized by risk-taking behaviors and experimentation. As a parent, you try your best to warn your adolescent children about the dangers they may face, especially regarding drug and alcohol abuse. One type of drug use that is less commonly recognized is prescription drug abuse. In fact, after marijuana, prescription drugs are the most commonly abused drug by teenagers. Nearly 50% of Americans take at least one prescription medication, and the sale of prescription painkillers quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. Therefore, prescription medications are readily accessible by children and teens. It’s estimated that 25% of teenagers has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime. One disturbing risk taking trend in regard to prescription drug abuse is for teens to gather for what’s called pill parties, or “skittling.” In these settings, kids are encouraged to bring any pills they can find, and then the pills are dumped into a bowl for them to sample. The risks are very high, given that the child may be taking a very dangerous medication, and is also mixing medications together. These types of gathering have resulted in significant illness and even death for some teens.
Are You Suffering from Sugar Addiction?
If you’ve tried to kick the sugar habit and failed, you may be facing something similar to an addiction. You could be facing a larger problem than you may have realized. Have you ever noticed that when you eat sugar you crave more sweets? Sadly, sugar addiction is...
Is Your Brain Addicted to Sugar?
Research shows that sugar can trigger compulsive cravings and stimulate the need for more and more for the same effect, similar behavior to a drug addiction, although not classified as such. Many Americans had a rude awakening recently if they were in front of their...