Enhancing Addiction Treatment With Complimentary Therapies

better prepared to handle the long-term recovery of permanent abstinence from drugs and alcohol. They are educated on the benefits of certain nutritional supplements and physical activity. Through talk therapy, clients have the psychological support necessary to help them handle the stresses that life can bring.

Treatment centers that incorporate biochemical restoration practice in the theory that addiction is the result of unbalanced chemical messengers in the brain. Researcher Kenneth Blum described this as “reward deficiency syndrome.” Addicts seek out stimulus to make themselves feel better. Their brain chemistry requires different levels of stimuli than non-addicts to feel good. In biochemical repair, clients receive individualized medical assessments and customized biochemical treatment regiments. Initially, a series of medically supervised laboratory test are run to identify problematic factors such as hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies or toxicities, excessive metals, food allergies and histamine levels. Amino acid and hormonal imbalances are also identified. The test results are interpreted by physicians and individualized health plans are created to correct imbalances. Symptoms of these imbalances include: inability to concentrate, anxiety, depression, poor memory, headaches, blurred vision, indigestion, nervousness, mood swings, racing thoughts and fatigue. Appropriate vitamin, mineral, amino acid and hormone replacement therapies are then used to correct deficiencies and provide relief from the symptoms. For example if a person has high histamine, neurons in the brain fire excessively which causes racing thoughts resulting in insomnia, extreme anxiety, difficulty concentrating and compulsive behavior. To address this condition, a patient would be given the amino acid L-Methionine to bring down histamine levels which dramatically reduces or eliminates the symptoms. These treatment formulas are natural chemicals essential to good health.

Biochemical repair can trigger dramatic changes in the body and improve total health and well-being. “I am sober, healthy and happy now,” said Linda. “I can really enjoy my life again.” People struggling with addiction have a better chance of maintaining long-term sobriety when treatment centers employ a complete recovery plan incorporating biochemical repair, talk therapy and strategies for a healthy lifestyle including nutrition and exercise. For decades, many treatment centers have been relying solely on talk therapy and have accepted the dismal success rates. By incorporating the “missing link” of biochemical repair, success rates can be significantly improved.
~ Joe Eisele is a nationally certified alcohol and drug therapist and the Clinical Director of InnerBalance Health Center in Fort Collins, CO.

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