How to Treat a Substance Addiction Naturally

Many people who suffer from an addiction are hesitant to ask for help or even admit to themselves that they have a problem due to the massive social stigma and shame that’s often associated with this type of habit. They’re usually led to believe that their addictions are a sign of weakness or that they’ve failed at life by indulging in them. On top of that, they also believe that confiding in their loved ones regarding their demons will make them a burden on their family and friends; of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that there are a number of psychological and emotional factors that cause someone to turn to drugs or alcohol as a form of escapism from their daily lives. Sometimes, life circumstances are simply too overwhelming to handle and people need a form of reprieve—even if it’s temporary and destructive in the long run—in order to feel good about themselves. For that reason, a personalized drug addiction treatment plan can prove to be highly effective and successful for people who are in need of assistance. This doesn’t just mean getting the person to stop using certain substances, forcing them to quit cold turkey, or detoxification; it also entails conducting thorough psychological assessments and determining the root cause of the problem. This involves actively working toward finding a palpable and lasting solution to the overall problem through holistic healing and the use of cognitive-based methods of thwarting and overcoming serious substance abuse and addictions.

Addiction Treatments That Work

There’s a wide variety of effective, holistic, behaviour, and cognitive-based addiction treatment tactics that can help patients prevail over their problems. To ensure prolonged success of your treatment and recovery beyond, it’s important to create a treatment plan that meets your personal needs and works toward helping you achieve your overall goals. Here is a list of some of the resources available at your disposal:

Healthcare Services
Take advantage of the various healthcare services and clinics that are available in your area. Talk earnestly and openly about your substance abuse or addiction with your physician so that they can recommend the best possible treatment option for you.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
The point of cognitive behavioural therapy is to help patients understand the underlying psychological and emotional causes of their addictions by identifying the very behaviours and situations that trigger their usage in their everyday lives. This is an excellent and effective method of not only learning to avoid your triggers, but also gaining the tools to better handle difficult situations in a constructive manner.

Recreational Activities
Engaging in various recreational activities whether it’s exercising on a regular basis, joining a book club, or occasionally playing low-impact sports is a an excellent form of stress relief. In many ways, it also creates an effective distraction from your seemingly uncontrollable urges to use. Any time you feel like you might revert back to your old harmful habits, you can alleviate that stress by engaging in other physical activities.

Psychiatric Assessments and Treatments
As mentioned, there are countless psychological and emotional reasons that people turn to drugs and alcohol. For that reason, it’s important that anyone undergoing drug and alcohol rehab also receive regular psychiatric assessments in order to track their progress during their treatment.

Family Involvement
Understandably, many drug and alcohol addicts are hesitant or frightened to actually speak to their family members about their problem or admit that they even have one. They’re usually either estranged or isolated from their families or they’re worried about being unjustly judged because of their problem. While this is a very valid fear as a lot of people aren’t accepting of this type of behaviour, there are many cases in which family involvement is strongly encouraged and conducive to the patient’s recovery process.

Peer-to-Peer Support
There’s nothing more comforting for a recovering addict who’s going through a tough time in life than being surrounded by people who can not only sympathize but also empathize with their situation and feelings. Rehab can be a difficult and arduous journey for a lot of people, which means you’ll need all of the support you can possibly get. Along the way, you’ll come across people from all walks of life including former and current addicts and that kind of support is necessary for a successful and ongoing recovery.

Social Interaction
Just because you’ve taken the courageous and life-altering step of enrolling in a drug and alcohol rehab centre, that doesn’t mean that you have to isolate yourself from the world completely. In fact, keeping up your usual social engagements is a healthy way of staying on track with your treatment as long as you refrain from interacting with the people with whom you previously used. Regular social interactions can be a fun way of keeping your mind off of things and relieve stress, which often leads to relapse.

Easy access to the desired substance

Unstable familial relationships

Low self-esteem

Shame and embarrassment

Peer pressure

Lack of local addiction treatment programs

No health coverage

High cost of addiction treatment programs

Lack of helpful information

Freedom From Addiction is a prominent drug and alcohol rehab centre in Toronto. We pride ourselves on being one of the few private addiction treatment centres in all of Canada that’s also accredited by Accreditation Canada. If you or someone you know has a serious or life-threatening substance abuse problem or addiction, we’re always available to help. Our comprehensive and personalized treatment programs are designed with you in mind by incorporating thorough preliminary and regular psychiatric assessments with the intention of uncovering the root cause of your addiction. For more information on our various treatment programs, please contact us.