Addiction to alcohol or other drugs (from barbiturates to cocaine) is a physical and emotional dependence on that substance and the effects it produces. It involves a loss of control, often causing devastating effects on all aspects of the individual’s life including work, family, and health.
CONVENTIONAL APPROACH
For allopathic medicine’s treatment program for drug and alcohol addiction to be successful, drinking or taking drugs must stop completely and, usually, voluntarily. This can be attempted through counseling, support groups, and drug therapy. Treatment can be intensive, as in a residential facility, or informal, with meetings with a therapist or support group.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT
Counseling is the main thrust of conventional medicine’s treatment pro-gram. A trained therapist can help pinpoint what emotions and behaviors led to the onset of addiction. It can also address problems such as low self-esteem or depression that precipitate continued use. The counseling sessions can be done on a one-to-one or group basis. Self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provide much-needed support and encouragement.
DRUG TREATMENT
In most cases of addiction treatment, drugs are used sparingly. Some examples are
- disulfiram, which ads as a deterrent by producing undesirable and potentially dangerous side effects (such as vomiting and blurred vision) when alcohol is consumed
- tranquilizers, which relieve the anxiety that often accompanies withdrawal (Extreme caution should be exercised because these drugs can be habit-forming.)
- methadone, which can reduce the symptoms of heroin withdrawal (This drug is also addictive and may have to be taken for years before success is achieved.)
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Many alternative therapists assert that conventional medicine’s treatment program for addiction fails to support the body adequately as it withdraws from the once-steady presence of alcohol or other drugs. The following therapies attempt to offer that support. They are often used in combination with counseling and other support programs that address any underlying psychological causes of addiction.
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY
People with alcohol or drug addiction arc usually malnourished and have suffered some damage to the body, such as liver damage. Nutritional therapy attempts to correct any nutritional shortcomings and to help the body eliminate toxins.
Several supplements can aid in the detoxification process, including zinc and vitamin C. People with alcohol addiction are often deficient in these nutrients anyway, as alcoholism can severely affect a person’s judgement about diet and can limit the body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients. Alcohol and drug use may increase the body’s load of free radicals, compounds that can damage tissues. Antioxidants are, therefore, recommended for their ability to neutralize free radicals. Nutrients that are antioxidants include beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc, and selenium.
Alcoholics are almost always deficient in the B vitamins, particularly vitamin B1 (thiamine). In fact, this deficiency is responsible for many of the behaviors exhibited by severe alcoholics. Thiamine levels need to be restored during rehabilitation, which often requires injections of the vitamin at least initially.
The majority of people with alcohol addiction have a state of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Unanswered is which came first: Did the addiction and resulting malnutrition bring on hypoglycemia? Or did a previous state of hypoglycemia set up a type of craving for alcohol? Either way, to remedy low blood sugar:
- Significantly increase the intake of unrefined complex carbohydrates, including whole grains and fresh vegetables and fruits.
- Avoid all sugars, from corn syrup to fruit juices.
- Reduce the intake of refined carbohydrates, such as white bread. As these dietary changes are made, many practitioners of nutritional therapy recommend adding more protein and supplementing with B complex and chromium.
Here’s a sample high-dose vitamin C prescription for alcohol or drug addiction treatment: Begin by taking 3 grams a day and increase the dose by 1 gram every day until you reach your bowel tolerance (that is, until you get mild diarrhea), then back down a little. Maintain that dose until abstinence has been maintained for several months.
HERBAL MEDICINE
Herbs can ease some alcohol or drug withdrawal symptoms (from anxiety to insomnia) and help detoxify the body. They also may be used to reduce the addicted person’s craving for alcohol and other drugs.
Especially helpful are herbs that influence the nervous system, gently encouraging a relaxed and sedated state. These include catnip, chamomile, peppermint, and skullcap, which can be used together as a tea. St.-John’s-wort is often prescribed for mild depression.
For detoxification, several herbs contribute to cleansing the blood. They include burdock root and echinacea (purple coneflower). Others such as milk thistle, which contains silymarin, support the liver—the main toxin-filtering organ—and may help prevent drug-induced dam-age to this organ.
Kudzu root has long been used by traditional Chinese doc-tors to reduce the appetite for alcohol. Recent research with hamsters confirmed that alcohol-free kudzu root extract can cut the animal’s consumption of alcohol in half.
An herbalist may prescribe the following remedy to someone with alcohol addiction to treat or prevent serious liver damage: Take 100 to 200 mg of milk thistle extract (standardized to 80 percent silymarin content) three times daily.
ACUPUNCTURE
The ancient Chinese science of acupuncture has earned widespread regard in America as an effective treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. Success rates can be as high as 50 percent of patients treated. Acupuncture looks at addictions as imbalances in the flow of the body’s vital life energy, or qi, particularly on the kidney, liver, or nervous system meridians. Using tiny needles inserted in particular points on the body, this therapy works to correct the qi imbalances. Not only does this ease or eliminate withdrawal symptoms, but the patient’s mind is then prepared to tackle some of the factors that led to the addiction.
Auriculotherapy, a form of acupuncture that treats the entire body through points on the ears, is particularly recommended for addiction treatment. Treatment usually consists of several months of acupuncture sessions coupled with counseling and lifestyle modifications.
One clinical study done in Minneapolis tested auriculotherapy on people with severe alcoholism. Patients who received fake acupuncture therapy had more than two times the number of relapses into drinking compared with those who received real acupuncture therapy.
Acupuncturists, traditional Chinese physicians, some naturopaths, and even a few medical doc-tors are trained to give acupuncture treatments.
GUIDED IMAGERY AND CREATIVE VISUALIZATION
Many people who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs started using these substances as a way to relax, ease tension, or improve self-esteem and confidence. Guided imagery and creative visualization can teach people to reach these ideals without the assistance of harmful toxins. For example, a treatment session can consist of a patient picturing the positive results-of a drug-free state (from the concrete, such as clear, shiny pink breathing airways, to the abstract, beams of light radiating from the lungs), as well as the negative aspects of a drug-induced state.
Breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques are used to clear the mind as a way to maximize these imagery exercises. The mental exercises can also give the mind negative suggestions about the particular drug or alcohol so that the next time the substance is consumed the body produces unpleasant effects. (This is similar to conventional medicine’s drugs that produce unwanted side effects whenever alcohol is consumed.)
Progressive muscle relaxation is often per-formed before a guided imagery exercise as a way of “warming up.” It involves letting go of tension in small, isolated steps until you are relaxed. After you’re relaxed, imagine the positive aspects of sobriety—healthy liver, dear mind, proud loved ones—and picture the degrading, unhealthy aspects of addiction. These exercises can reinforce the will to be sober.