During the acute stages of my recovery from alcoholism I decided to seek out an acupuncturist and herbalist to help me deal with my symptoms. It was the best decision I ever made. I chose a gentle form of Japanese acupuncture that was treating the root causes of my addiction, such as the manifestations of imbalanced energy in my spleen from living too much in the past, my inability to let go of deeply buried traumas, etc. Together, with a constantly changing combination of herbs, that worked on my liver, spleen, kidneys and lungs, I was gradually able to make big leaps forwards and upwards. Have you ever tried anything similar? And how did you fare?
I have not tried anything like this personally but I am a firm believer in do what works for you. You tried this and it works so that shows me that your body was able to respond to this kind of treatment. I have wanted to try acupuncture for some health issues but haven't broken down to try it yet. I have been dabbling in the practice of essential oils and while I'm not 100% sold on it I do feel like it is worth a try and I will keep it up for a while. I'm so very glad you found something to help you. Keep up the good work.
I think alternative treatment has a lot too offer in regards to addiction treatment. I have read a number of articles that talked about how a person's diet can contribute to the extent of their addictions. One doctor advocated that smokers first fix their diet, eliminating all unhealthy foods, refined carbs and switching to mostly or all organic food before making another attempt to quit smoking. In his opinion, based on his experience, those who followed that course were much more successful at quitting permanently. Tobacco is of course just one particular substance, but I would expect the same principles hold for other thing like alcohol and other drugs. Everybody is unique though, so there isn't one perfect answer for everyone. I'm glad you found a treatment that worked well for you. Especially since you were able to address not just the physical components, but also the emotional and psychological factors of your addiction.
My fiance is addicted to prescribed meds and because the doctors have had him on the for so long it's becoming very hard to get him off. And now they are trying to slowley take them away and it's only making it worse. I know there are other meds he can take that aren't as strong or harmful and will help him stretch aways from the bad but the doctor is just not doing it!
I am also a strong advocate of alternative medicine. There's so much dependency on synthetic drugs nowadays that it's become hard to convince people that manufactured medicine may contradict our system at times. Hence, the side effects or replacement addiction (if you're taking it to overcome an existing addiction). Although resorting to herbs may cause healing crisis in some cases, this response is only natural because toxins are being purged out of your body.
I, also, have chosen natural path in maintaining good health. I've seen loved ones of friends who have suffered the effects of substance abuse and from prescription drugs that do not lengthen my life if I take them. So, I have made a resolve to be drug-free as much as possible. Be very brave in what you have started to do. I wish you well and good health, @amethyst.
Good for you guys who've managed to get clean using natural methods, though it wouldn't be my first recommendation. The issue with natural methods is that there often aren't enough evidence based studies to prove that the methods of treatment work and aren't, in some instances, even harmful. Medications and some therapies have been through studies and peer reviewed. They have to be effective to a certain degree to be approved to be used with the general public. That is why I generally choose traditional methods over natural treatments.
Alternative treatments are quite effective. As a mater of fact, Naturopath doctors have very similar backgrounds to medical doctors. They can prescribe medication and everything, however their approach is more wholistic and they will opt for the most natural resources to cure your problem.
The only warning I would give about alternative medicine is to research it before attempting to use it. A lot of them sound very appealing but do not have a huge positive turnout rate while some have huge success rates.
I would deffinity do detailed research for any treatment you choose. However, don't completely disregard combining alternative treatment into your plans. There is a lot of promising research on it and it can be a way of getting treatment that empowers you to rely less on medications.
Alternative medicine has its advantages and has made a lot of progress recently. Moreover, there has been found that herbs are the best in battling drug, nicotine, or alcohol addiction. However, it hasn't proved to be curing severe diseases. My friend informed me that it is better to seek pills tested by scientists as a specialist. I recently discovered http://fenbenlab.com/ that helped me choose the right products for my mother, who has a dreadful illness. Their team told me that alternative medicine was not the solution in her situation. Now everything is fine.