Let’s be real, for many, making the decision to attend a substance abuse center for their drug or alcohol problem is usually the last stop on the block, once nothing else has worked. However, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, and, with a good recovery center, comes great recovery.
They say “if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it” – and while for those looking to recover from a drug and alcohol addiction are definitely not hopeless, there are definitely some areas in their lives that could probably use a little elbow grease and more than a temporary band-aid.
The main focus of Ohio Addiction Recovery Center is to improve the overall well-being in a person’s life through first, becoming free from a drug or alcohol addiction, followed by the betterment of their life in all areas.
Through the use of research-proven clinical tools such as cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapies, solutions based and life skills therapy, as well as holistic modalities, the end goal for all participants is an overall improvement of life through a well-rounded recovery model. Here are some examples of the holistic methods that ARC uses to shape that whole body, whole mind, whole life reality for those suffering from alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and mental health disorders.
Life Skills
It is not uncommon for people with addiction to let basic life skills fall by the wayside during their using. This could be anything from healthy communication skills to making their bed. Ohio ARC focuses on day to day skills such as:
- Developing a Daily Routine: creating a scheduled routine often helps people struggling with mental disorders and addiction feel empowered, as well as leaving as little time as possible to relapse.
- The best skeleton for a healthy routine is a good sleep schedule, regular exercise, recovery-related activities, social and family interactions, and eventually, working.
- Employment Coaching: Many people in early recovery have a lot of fear around getting a job, interview skills, resume building, and having the right credentials. The employment coaches at ARC walk through this process with those people in the programs to help them land and maintain employment, while still balancing a healthy recovery schedule.
- Budgeting: A majority of people in early recovery have a hit a place of financial rock bottom for themselves. The budgeting coaches at ARC instill healthy behavioral patterns around finances, like learning how to save, how to budget, how to balance bills and groceries and fun, and then eventually, how to invest for the future.
- Hobby Building: One of the best ways to avoid a relapse is to have healthy and enjoyable hobbies in one’s life. Many people in recovery share about how they used to love sports, playing guitar or making art before their addiction, but it was lost. Finding healthy hobbies gives people a passion for something, provides them with a healthy outlet for emotions and creates a sense of purpose.
Acupuncture
Studies show that acupuncture has become a wildly beneficial tool for the body and mind. Auricular, or ear acupuncture, has been proven to aid in the side effects of withdrawal symptoms and to help reduce cravings. There are generally 5 specific target point areas on the outside of the ear that have shown the greatest results for recovering alcoholics and addicts, they are:
- The liver point: removes toxins from the blood and helps relieve aggression
- The lung point: improves overall lung function and helps relieve grief
- The kidney point: repairs vital organs and reduces feelings of fear
- Shen Men: also known as the “spirit gate”, decreases anxiety
- The autonomic point: promotes relaxation and soothes the nervous system
When combined with traditional forms of psychotherapeutic modalities, many people report that acupuncture helps bring up and also release a lot of tension from old memories, old traumas, and the aches and pains that come with the withdrawal process.
Nutritional Therapy
It is no secret that what and how we eat greatly affects how we think and how we feel. Immense amounts of research have proven that a healthy diet creates an overall feeling of wellness, and the nutritional therapy program at Ohio ARC was designed to promote healthy eating habits that are easy to achieve and can be used by anyone.
Professional nutritionists on staff work directly with the individuals in the program to help create the best possible diet plan for them, promoting a healthier lifestyle that instills the whole body, whole life approach to their recovery.
Yoga
While this concept can sometimes take a little while to warm up to, there has been a lot of evidence and testimonies centered around the benefits of applying a spiritual approach for people in early recovery, and for anyone else really! Yoga, combined with spiritual counseling, can really help people get in tune with their deeper emotions, relieve the stress held in their bodies, and healthy ways to cope with and release those tensions. Besides that, it is a great way to relax, exercise, and practice just being and breathing, which, for many addicts and alcoholics, can be somewhat of an impossible task.
Meditation Techniques
Speaking of just being and breathing, meditation is a vital tool for people in early recovery, and again, for anyone else! However, it is often seen as this elusive, impossibly difficult practice that can actually feel like torture for some. Surprisingly, there are a lot of other ways to meditate that do not necessarily involve sitting still, silent, and completely thoughtless for hours on end.
Learning meditation techniques at Ohio ARC will allow individuals with an opportunity to see meditation as the free form, flexible, and obtainable practice that it REALLY is, and give them the tools they need to make their own meditation that works the best for them. Meditation is not only a step in the 12 steps of recovery, it is also a practice that has been used for thousands of years to help people get in touch with themselves, detach from their irrational thoughts, alleviate stress and impulsivity, and promotes gratitude.
Do You Need Help?
There is absolutely no shame in reaching out for help if you are addicted to opioids and/or any other substances. Addiction is a powerful disease that can infiltrate several different areas of your life if you allow it to persist. Finding a way to obtain treatment can be your greatest chance at living a happy, healthy life free from opioid addiction.
If you need help ending your addiction, do not wait any longer. Contact us right now so that we can get you started on your journey to recovery. We will support and guide you along the way, and help you develop all the skills needed to move forward with a recovered mind, body, and spirit.
Call us today. We are ready to help you stop abusing opioids, regain your focus, and encourage you to live in the light. Nothing is standing in the way except for yourself. Reach out right now. We can help.
