Alternative Methods for Healing Addiction
Alternative Options for Healing Addiction
Addictions are the excess use and dependency of/on anything including food, sex, alcohol, smoking, caffeine, sugar, shopping, chocolate, drugs… Why do we become addicted? Many addictions have their roots in painful childhood experiences. According to a study undertaken by the National Academy of Sciences, children are more likely to end up addicted to something if they are physically abused, humiliated, or lied to, and if their parents are themselves substance abusers.
For example, alcoholism is four to five times more prevalent among the biological children of alcoholics than among those with nonalcoholic parents.
New research suggests that we may well be hardwired for addiction from a very tender age.
Are you addicted?
1. Do you feel that you just don’t want to stop indulging in a particular substance — caffeine, sugar, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex — right now, although you could at any time?
2. Have you ever tried to stop for a week but been unable to do so?
3. Do you resent the advice of others who express concern about your substance use?
4. Have you ever tried to control your addiction by switching to an alternative addictive substance? For instance, have you ever taken up smoking so that you could give up drinking?
5. Do you envy people who can indulge without getting into trouble?
6. Has your substance use created problems with friends and family?
7. Do you try to avoid family or friends when you’re using your substance?
8. Have you lost relationships because of substance abuse?
9. Are your friendships determined by whether others indulge in the same substances as you?
10. Do you indulge in your substance alone?
11. Have you ever neglected your family or work for more than two days in a row due to substance abuse?
12. When substances are limited or unavailable at social events, do you try to obtain some anyway?
13. Have you missed time from work during the past year due to substance use?
14. Has your substance of choice stopped being fun to use?
15. When you are low on your substance, do you feel anxious or worried about how to get more?
16. Do you plan your life around your substance use?
17. Do you ever consume more of your particular substance than you intend to?
18. Are you consuming more than you used to in order to feel the same effects?
19. Do you consume as much as you can and feel reluctant to discard any leftovers?
20. Are you experiencing financial difficulty due to substance use?
21. Do you use your substance when you are disappointed, depressed, or going through a difficult time?
22. Does your substance use affect your sleep?
23. Has your sexual ability or desire suffered from your substance use?
24. Are you concerned that if you stop using, you will lack energy, motivation, confidence, or the ability to relax?
25. Do you use your substance repeatedly to sleep or stay awake?
26. Do you ever lie to others about how much or how often you consume your particular substance?
27. Have you ever stolen money or goods to support your habit?
28. Have you lost a job because of substance use?
29. Do you ever regret the way you behaved while you were on a substance-use high?
30. Do you experience irritability, headaches, or tremors when you have not consumed your particular substance for a while?
31. Have you ever passed out from substance use?
32. Have you ever felt your life would be more productive if you were not indulging in that particular substance?
33. Have you become more irritable and difficult to get along with?
34. Is your pattern of use potentially dangerous? (This can be true even in cases where substance consumption is neither frequent nor excessive.)
35. Do you lack self-control in deciding whether or not to consume your particular substance?
36. Is your habit putting you into a state of poor health?
37. Is your substance abuse dangerous to others? (Via secondhand smoke, drunk driving, using up family resources, et cetera?)
How many questions did you answer yes to? Deep down inside, if you are being honest with yourself, you know if you have a substance- abuse problem or are on your way to one. Do something about it now, while you can.
Crystals Helpful for Healing Addiction
Amethyst, Bloodstone, Fluorite, Labradorite, Quartz, Ruby.
Hydrotherapy: Steam baths and dry saunas have been used as healing therapeutics for centuries. Perspiration is one of the best ways to detox our system. Sweating helps rid the body of wastes products, regulates body temperature, and invigorates our largest organ, the skin. Steam increases white blood cells, which protects and strengthens our immune system. Medical studies show that frequent steam baths help reduce stress and keeps your circulatory system running smoothly. Warning: If you are pregnant, have diabetes or have heart disease, consult a doctor before taking a sauna or steam bath.
Detoxification Bath for Healing Addiction
2 Droppers full of Amethyst gem essence
2 Cups Sea Salt
2 Cups Baking Soda
4 Tbsp. Ginger Powder
Place all ingredients in a hot bath and bathe for 20 minutes. Drink plenty of water. This bath withdraws impurities from your body and helps you to feel better. This bath can be done 2 to 3 times in a week or as needed.
Crystal Herbals for Healing Addiction
Selenium: Selenium, an important antioxidant, is a trace mineral found in soil and food. It protects neurotransmitters. Deficiency in selenium has shown to have a negative impact on mood. It also helps to reduce bad cholesterol and keep the heart healthy. You can get much of your selenium from dietary sources such as: Alfalfa, fennel seed, ginseng, butter, garlic, liver, Brazil nuts, shellfish and other fishes. You can find it in sunflower seeds, yarrow, wheat germ and Brewer’s yeast.
Zinc: an essential mineral has been found to have positive effects on the nervous system as well as helping to produce a calming effect.
Most multivitamins contain zinc. Food sources for zinc are Oysters, meat, poultry, nuts, beans and dairy products.
Massage Therapy not only treats those parts of you, which are a problem, but also affects the whole of your metabolism through normalizing your circulatory, muscular and nervous systems and their interdependent functioning. Massage is usually done with soothing massage oils or relaxing body lotions in order for the practitioner’s hands to “glide” over the body with smooth, relaxing strokes.
Technique: With a crystal wand or sphere about the size of a tennis ball or smaller, lay on the floor and place the sphere under you in the points between and under the shoulder blades. Massage the area by gently rocking over sphere. Move the sphere around to different trigger points on your back. The trapezius muscles at the base of the neck, at the base of the skull, lower back.and even in the dimples of the buttock, for here is where we hold a lot of tension that crawls all the way up the spine to the behind the shoulder blades, which in turn burn up to the base of the skull. Let your body relax over the sphere until the tension dissolves.
Meridian Therapy: The San Jiao (Triple Warmer) Meridian
The San Jiao is a traditional Chinese medical (TCM) concept of a functional organ that is not found outside of TCM). However, from the meaning of the original word, which is the texture beneath skin and between muscles, there has been some proposed theories stating that this conceptual organ corresponds to the lymphatic system. San Jiao has been translated as “triple heater,” triple warmer (or three warmers),” and “triple burner,” the latter of which is probably favored because of the involvement of the San Jiao in metabolism (burner meaning “metabolize”).
The San Jiao meridian is located from the fingernail of the ring finger, up the outside center of the hand and arm, behind the top of the shoulder but above the shoulder blade, up the neck to behind the ear, then up and around the base of the ear to the top & front, then on the outer tip of the eye brow.
In TCM theory, the San Jiao is a yang organ paired with the pericardium, which is, the yin organ associated with it. Yang organs are typically hollow, whereas yin organs are more solid. The upper compartment is the chest down to the diaphragm – which is associated with respiration. The middle compartment is from the diaphragm to the umbilicus – which is associated with digestion. The lower compartment is from the umbilicus to the top of the pubic bone – which is associated with elimination.
The San Jiao is said to be a metabolism mechanism similar to an old- fashioned water wheel that is turned by incoming water and creates energy for accomplishing a task, such as grinding grain in the case of the water wheel, or for metabolizing and digesting food in the case of the San Jiao. The San Jiao is closely associated with the spleen functions of transformation and transportation, particularly the metabolism of incoming food. The San Jiao is also closely associated with the kidney’s function in TCM. The San Jiao, however, is not limited to one metabolism function as the spleen or kidneys are, but is a general metabolizer, which can be applied to a variety of metabolism needs.
Pendulum work with this meridian: Hang the pendulum over the meridian and move it up slowly, looking for blockage or cold spots by starting at the fingernail of the ring finger, up the outside center of the hand and arm, behind the top of the shoulder but above the shoulder blade, up the neck to behind the ear, then up and around the base of the ear to the top & front, then on the outer tip of the eye brow.
Clear these meridians with such grids as the Chakra grid, Heart and Mind grid and the Tree of Life grid. An Aura balancing layout acts as a great detoxer.
Crystal Tips for Healing Addiction and Detoxing
*Quartz, Amethyst, Fluorite, and Labradorite are important stones for this disorder. The idea is to bring the energy down from the head and to “release” the tension.
*Danburite is used to bring about change. Powerfully radiates bright, pure, white light, filling our body, mind, and spirit (and relationships) with loving light. Excellent to cleanse, purify, or debrief. Use this to scan the body for blockage or cold spots. Place one piece of Danburite at the Crown Chakra and use five quartz for an Infinite circuit.
*Consider using your crystals in acupressure points, trigger points and for calming the body with massage, Chakra balancing and an Aura cleansing.
*Carry purple stones such as amethyst and fluorite.
*Create a gem essence with amethyst, purple fluorite and quartz. Take 8 drops under the tongue 3-4 times a day.
Deep breathing is a great tension reliever. Take note: you’re doing it right if your stomach is moving more than your chest. Check yourself for signs that you are tensing up and not inviting a free flow of air. Check for clenched teeth, clenched fists, hunched shoulders.
Acupressure: In 1972 a neurosurgeon in Hong Kong, H.L. Wen, discovered that acupuncture could relieve symptoms and cravings associated with drug withdrawal. Because of its effectiveness in relieving symptoms as well as preventing relapses, his discovery gained more and more popularity and was used in hospitals and detox centers throughout the US. 1985 an official protocol was developed and the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) was formed. The protocol involved using five specific acupuncture points on the ear. In August of 2000, Yale University School of Internal Medicine conducted research further demonstrating the effectiveness of the NADA protocol for cocaine, heroin and methadone addiction, as well as to stop smoking, help the body detox and relieve the body of stress. It is my highest recommendation, that you seek out an acupuncturist to perform this protocol.
Chakra balancing stimulates the seven main energy sources, which govern all the major organs and psychologically alters and clears the body’s energy in order to allow healing to take place.
This means that the polarities of the crystal will change when subjected to pressure or heat (even body heat from the hands). This will radiate energy from the crystal due to this reversal of polarities. It provides the transfer, storage and transformation of energy. It offers a balanced energy field, an energy modification, which amplifies both energy and thought, clarity in thinking, and harmony and alignment with the Chakra energy areas.
Gem Essence: Create a gem essence with amethyst, purple fluorite and quartz. Take 8 drops under the tongue 3-4 times a day.
Make notes on your treatments here:
What works?
What did not?
What seemed to be the root cause of this problem?
What triggered it?
Which technique/s relieved it?
What stones did you or your patient find most helpful?
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About the Author
Connect with Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac. at http://www.peacefulmind.com
Therapies for healing mind, body, spirit
Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac. has been in the alternative health field for over 18 years. He is an expert in treating infertility and gynecology, pain management and anti-aging therapies. His knowledge, expertise and clinical training has offered him the ability to experience and continually learn about the body and its energy system in health as well as in disease.
I’m looking for the alternative healing portion of the article per the title, but not finding Part B ~ the healing. Can you give us the link?
O I see that it’s is a series of links. Am always on the alert for tips to offer our heroin addicts.