Holistic Approaches to Sustainable Addiction Recovery and Health

Do you want to know the secret to long-term addiction recovery?

You can use traditional methods to stop using substances, but there's often one piece of the puzzle missing. Long-term recovery is about healing your whole life, not just breaking your substance use.

Fortunately, holistic approaches to treatment are becoming more common as recovery centers see the results for themselves.

Here's what you can learn in this article:

• What holistic treatment can do for your recovery
• The best holistic therapies for long-term recovery
• How to build a holistic recovery plan
• The real way to sustain long-term sobriety

Holistic Treatment: The Complete Recovery Plan

Addiction affects your body, mind, emotions, relationships, and spirit. In fact, as much as 48.5 million Americans 12 or older were struggling with a substance use disorder in 2023.

If you are part of that number or someone you know is, it's good to keep in mind that the best programs available for those suffering from addiction recover are programs that focus on the whole person.

Meaning they treat your entire being, not just the addiction itself.

Traditional treatment is an important and necessary foundation to long-term addiction recovery. Therapy, medication, and proven clinical interventions work, but they don't address the whole person.

If addiction is a disease that affects every aspect of your life, you need recovery to do the same.

Holistic programs like an alcohol treatment in Denville recognize the need to heal all areas of your health. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing are all part of long-term recovery.

Why Traditional Treatment Isn't Always Enough

If you are new to addiction recovery, or if you've been using substances for a while, you may be used to standard treatment methods. Detox, therapy, and medication are the common solutions most people know about.

These methods are helpful, but they are not the whole solution.

Think about the areas of your life that addiction has impacted, and you will see what we mean.

• Your body needs physical healing
• Your mind needs new coping skills
• Your emotions need to be processed
• Your relationships need to be mended

A one-dimensional approach to treatment can't cover all of those areas.

The Standard Solution to Addiction Recovery Leaves Out Key Components

The standard approach to treatment that has been around for decades only addresses a few elements of addiction.

If addiction is a complex disease that causes harm throughout your life, it stands to reason that recovery needs to be just as comprehensive.

The power of whole-person recovery

Holistic treatment recognizes the need to heal on multiple levels and with different modalities at the same time.

It's a combination of clinical, medical treatments and interventions paired with complementary therapies that support recovery on every level.

Here's a fun fact…

Approximately about 75% of people who develop an addiction do recover. Data shows that those who take a more comprehensive, holistic approach often have the best results.

Holistic Therapies That Change Recovery

Your mind and body are not separate things, they are deeply connected. Stress shows up as physical tension in your body. Trauma is stored in your muscles and tissues. When you heal one, it supports the other.

Yoga and Movement Therapy

Yoga is more than stretching, and it's an excellent therapy for recovery. Yoga teaches you to reconnect with your body in healthy ways.

Many people in active addiction either numb out physical sensations with substances or become overwhelmed by them.

Yoga and body awareness help you reconnect in a new, healthy way.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Most people with active addictions know the feeling of racing thoughts, too much mental chatter, and overwhelming urges all too well.

Meditation is a practice that teaches you to watch those thoughts and feelings come and go without reacting or getting controlled by them.

You learn that cravings and negative thoughts are temporary, and they ebb and flow just like ocean waves.

Acupuncture

Who knew that acupuncture could be a thing in addiction recovery? Traditional Chinese medicine has some amazing ways to help heal your body, manage cravings, and ease withdrawal.

Nutrition Therapy: Healing From The Inside Out

Addiction strips your body of essential vitamins and minerals, disrupts brain chemistry, and depletes your physical health.

Nutrition therapy and counseling can help reverse those effects by balancing your blood sugar, restoring vitamins and nutrients, supporting brain chemistry, and helping you build strength and health.

Food isn't a luxury in addiction recovery, it's a necessity.

Creative Expression and Physical Fitness

The arts have always been an important aspect of human healing. Art and music therapy give you new ways to express difficult emotions.

Processing trauma can sometimes be difficult to do with just words. Creative therapies allow you to express without having to put it into words.

Exercise is one of the most powerful therapies for recovery. Movement helps your body produce natural feel-good chemicals.

You reduce stress and anxiety naturally, you improve your sleep, and you feel a sense of accomplishment as you get in shape.

Physical fitness is often a core part of holistic addiction recovery. Group sports, hiking, swimming, and gym workouts are all forms of medicine.

Spiritual Growth and Purpose

Spiritual growth in recovery doesn't necessarily have to mean religion. Connecting to something higher than yourself is a big part of holistic recovery.

Addiction can leave you feeling empty and disconnected, and holistic recovery helps you rebuild that.

Spiritual growth can mean meditation practices, nature therapy, community service, or building strong connections with others.

When you feel a sense of purpose, you aren't just running from something negative in your life, you are moving toward something positive.

Putting Together Your Own Holistic Recovery Plan

So how do you actually do holistic recovery?

Start with a foundation of strong, evidence-based treatment.

• Medical detox
• Therapy
• Medication if needed

Add complementary holistic therapies and practices that work for you.

• Yoga and bodywork
• Meditation and mindfulness
• Acupuncture
• Creative expression

Make daily practices part of your routine.

Eat healthy, exercise, meditate, attend meetings, connect with others, and find healthy things to do with your time.

Addiction recovery is not something you do for a few months and are "done" with. It is a daily practice that you build into your life.

Connect with others.

Recovery is not meant to be done in isolation. Whether it's 12-step groups, therapy groups, or just sober friends to do healthy things with, connection is key.

The Real Way to Long-Term Sobriety

This is the thing about sustainable, long-term recovery…

It takes time and commitment.

The holistic methods we've been discussing are not quick fixes. They are lifestyle changes that support long-term sobriety.

The good news is they do become easier the longer you stick with them.

Healing the whole person means that you don't just recover from addiction. You build a new life that you don't want to run from.

You develop real coping skills that help you in life, and you heal old wounds. You discover who you are beyond your substance use disorder.

That is the real power of holistic approaches to addiction recovery and health.

Your Next Steps

Ready to take the next steps on your holistic recovery journey?

Start with finding a treatment program that focuses on the whole person.

Ask about their treatment philosophy. Do they combine evidence-based treatment with complementary therapies?

Ask questions and see if the program is a good fit for you. Check to see if they have nutrition counseling, bodywork, yoga, acupuncture, fitness programs, art and music therapy, and more.

Remember that each person is unique, and recovery isn't one-size-fits-all. The right program will work with you to create a personalized recovery plan to address your specific needs.

The most important step is to take that first one. Reach out. Ask for help. Commit to healing your whole self.

Long-term recovery is possible. With the right holistic approach, you can build a life of health, purpose, and long-term sobriety.