A Holistic Approach to Mental Health

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Once the physical side of addiction is addressed, it’s time to address the mental and emotional aspects of addiction. This portion is probably the most critical part of recovery. There are issues and problems a user has never confronted, and continuously running from them has created even more.

Since many treatments do not tackle all the issues of addiction, comprehensive approaches are more likely to have better outcomes than the traditional for the longevity of sobriety.

Mental and Emotional Aspect:

There are many ups and downs when coming off drugs, which is a very emotional time for both the addict and their loved ones. It is essential to bring the addict’s attention off the past and other interior stresses into the here and now. There are a series of tasks to assist someone to gain or regain their focus. These objective tasks not only bring one back into present time but also teach the necessary life skills of patience and discipline. Throughout this section, a “buddy system” or twinship is used to reinforce how to work together as a team to accomplish similar goals. Twinships also encourage accountability and responsibility for oneself as well as for another will increase.

Throughout these exercises, staff are there to guide and advise. Patience and strength to overcome hurdles are the focus.

Following this is the life skills section of the program. This is where one can dig into their past and the life situations that led them astray. Most tend to have an eye-opening experience when they gain an understanding of what problems they solved by using drugs or alcohol.

They will experience a “cleansing of the soul” when they take accountability for their past and personally clean up any wrongdoings with family and friends. These handlings have helped mend broken relationships, and many comment that they feel like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders.

During this time there is also a process of selection to remove from their life, those who are a disadvantage to be around – the ones who have created harm for them. At this point, they will have the strength to move forward in their life. Person after person will experience an almost magical resurgence.

Obviously, no two people are alike, and one person may get more out of one part of the program and another might get more out of a different portion. There is no one size fits all addiction treatment, and that is what we aim—an individualized approach to fit each person’s needs.

When someone turns to drugs, they are doing it because they are trying to solve a problem with what they think is the solution. Helping them to solve this by locating the problem(s) and giving them tools instead of drugs to fix it, is the way to achieve a drug-free life.


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AUTHOR

Aaron

Aaron has been writing drug education articles and documenting the success of the Narconon program for over two years.

NARCONON NEW LIFE RETREAT

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION