Addictions
Acupuncture seeks to restore the body’s balance by managing a few of its symptoms that lead to addiction.
First developed thousands of years ago, the traditional Chinese medicine technique acupuncture is still employed around the world today to help people suffering from various ailments like back pain, headaches, fibromyalgia and post-operative nausea. One specific type of acupuncture is even being used to treat what many consider among our nation’s biggest health problems: Addiction.
Addiction creates a body-wide imbalance that affects the physical and mental health of anyone who suffers from it. Acupuncture seeks to restore some of this balance by managing and treating a few of its symptoms.
What does acupuncture have to do with addiction?
As early as the 1970s, select addiction treatment and recovery centers have offered patients treatment plans that include a form of acupuncture suggested to help with stress and anxiety, trauma and addiction.
How might acupuncture help with addiction recovery?
Stress reduction and relief from pain are perhaps the two primary benefits of acupuncture, and it is easy to see how this might benefit people in recovery from alcohol or opiate abuse disorders. Acupuncture as an alternative therapy for pain management may prove to be a powerful component of addiction recovery programs, particularly with addictions involving painkillers. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years, but the scale of opioid addiction society is dealing with now is fairly new. It will take time for large-scale results of acupuncture to be assessed more completely.
Why is a holistic approach to addiction recovery the best?
Addiction recovery must be individualized, because while addictions share symptoms and dangers, ultimately addictions are as unique as the individuals who have them. No two people share the same life experiences, heartbreak, challenges, stresses, and demands, and that is why addiction treatment must be individualized and must address the individual as a whole.
