Recovering Drug Addict

A holistic approach can help your chances at achieving long term recovery.

Photo by kudumomo

When you first get clean and sober, holistic principles are not so important.  Truly, your only challenge in the very beginning is to simply grit your teeth and make it through each day without picking up a drink or a drug.  There is no need to look for balance in your life because it’s going to take everything you’ve got just to stay clean and sober at first.

But as we progress in our recovery, and get a bit of clean time under our belt, the need for a holistic approach becomes increasingly important.  What I mean by this is that you have to branch out from simply staying sober and start improving your life in other ways.  It is not enough to maintain physical sobriety.  Nor is it enough to adopt a spiritual program, and then only take it so far as to be enough to keep you clean.

<h3>Why do we need a holistic approach?</h3>

There are a few good reasons why we should use a holistic approach:

1) By focusing too heavily on a spiritual program, we lose sight of other areas for potential growth, such as in emotional balance, physical fitness, or other addictions (such as smoking).  When we open ourselves to growth in these other areas, it benefits our whole self, which adds back into our spiritual fitness as well.

2) Sometimes addiction is not our biggest problem - I know one recovering addict who committed suicide.  I know of another who basically died from smoking cigarettes and lack of exercise.  In both cases, their recovery efforts had failed them when it came to healing their “whole person.”  These people both defended the position that addiction was their biggest problem, and since they were clean and sober, their other issues (mental illness, smoking, being out of shape) were not so important and could be let slide.  This was obviously a mistake and ultimately led to a fate worse than relapse.

3) We need a holistic approach because recovery is not one-size-fits all. Instead, it’s find-what-works-for-you.  Consider the fact that there are many people in recovery who work very, very different programs.  Someone might focus almost exclusively on meditation.  Another might focus on exercise and nature.  And still another might be heavily involved in 12 step programs.  There is no right or wrong, there is only recovery and relapse.  Whatever works for you is what works for you.  A holistic approach is important for finding these sometimes subtle techniques and habits that lead to long term sobriety.

<h3>Okay, you’ve sold me.  So what is a holistic approach to recovery?</h3>

The holistic approach means to approach recovery as a whole-person solution to overcoming drug addiction and alcoholism.

This means going beyond a spiritual program such as the 12 step programs, although you can certainly still use those programs to benefit you.

But be aware of how much the spiritual component is pushed in some programs, and how it is maintained that it is the “ultimate answer” because addiction is a “spiritual malady.”

In my experience, addiction is more complicated than that.  It affects a whole person, including physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.

Therefore, any solution will have to address these areas of a person’s life.  If you just treat the spiritual element (still very important), then you’re going to get substandard results.

Therefore, I would suggest looking at:

1) Physical - Exercise, nutrition….still smoking cigarettes?  How are you treating your body?

2) Emotional - Strive for balance in your relationships.

3) Mental - I went back to school in recovery.  Others might simply enjoy recovery literature or lively discussions with other recovering addicts.  Are you staying mentally sharp?

4) Social - Networking with others in recovery.

5) Spiritual - Evolving your consciousness.  Continuous learning.  Realizing new connections and seeing truth in everyday life.  Helping others in recovery and outside of recovery too.

The longer you stay clean and sober, the more you need to start taking a holistic approach.  It is no longer enough to sit in meetings every day and claim growth.  Get out there and start living and start making progress in all areas of your life.  This is the holistic approach to recovery.

Tags: drug addict, drug addiction, Holistic Principles, recovering drug addict, recovery

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