After years of settling for one size fits all approach, increasing numbers of addicts and treatment providers are developing alternative addiction treatment models. Replacement therapy and 12 Step inspired rehabilitation have helped countless sufferers, but they aren’t right for everyone. And as our understanding of the physical and mental components of addiction deepens, new therapies have been developed which have proven more effective for many of those who couldn’t recover via traditional methodologies. Today we’ll take a look at reasons why alternative addiction treatments are becoming more popular and more effective with each passing day.
1) Surrender=Victory: The War On Drugs
Public opinion about drug use and addiction has undergone a dramatic reversal in the past few decades. Widespread acknowledgement among the public, health-care professionals, and even law enforcement that the “War On Drugs” has been a miserable failure has finally arrived. This is evident in public opinion surveys, the decriminalization of marijuana and other substances previously demonized as drugs of abuse which corrupted the youth, and the success of harm-reduction based approaches pioneered in Portugal and adopted around the world. While addiction is still heavily stigmatized, we have progressed to a point where most experts, governments, and treatment centers view the addict as a sick person in need of medical help, rather than a criminal who deserves punishment.
Because of this sea-change, we have become increasingly pragmatic in our approach to treating addiction. Rather than viewing abstinence as the only solution, most countries are open to adopting whatever strategies are proven to save lives and reduce the strain put on their health-care systems by the myriad problems caused by addiction. Whether this includes alternative addiction services like needle exchanges, substitution programs, safe-injection sites, or exploring alternative treatments like ibogaine and psilocybin, we have finally started to move forward and seek real solutions, instead of treading water and blaming the sick for their illness.
2) Loss Of Trust In The Pharmaceutical Industry And Medical Establishment
The opioid crisis was a complicated phenomenon exacerbated by a host of social, economic, and psychological factors, but in essence it boils down to a catastrophe caused by corporate greed and the failure of the medical establishment to properly regulate dangerous substances. It has resulted in hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths around the world, and led millions of unsuspecting patients down the dangerous road to addiction.
The crisis revealed an ugly truth about the pharmaceutical industry: that they were willing to minimize, ignore, and conceal evidence that would hurt their bottom line, and they consistently prioritized profit over public health. This has led many in the field of addiction treatment to wonder why replacement therapy, a course of treatment which leaves addicts dependent on a daily fix of methadone, buprenorphine, or another similarly addictive substance, has been embraced, while ayahuasca, psilocybin, and ibogaine, substances which sometimes require a single dose to provide freedom from cravings and withdrawal symptoms, have languished in the wilderness, their considerable power to treat addiction left largely unexplored. For cynical observers, the answer seems quite simple.
3) New Ideas About Addiction
Addiction had long been viewed as a moral failing, blamed on drugs so insidiously alluring that individuals were powerless to resist their siren song, or viewed as a disease so complex and crippling that a cure was impossible. But thinkers like Dr. Gabor Mate and Johann Hari have offered compelling alternative explanations which have convinced many and informed new treatment methods. Mate notes that when asked what their addictions did for them, patients universally responded with “It helped me escape emotional pain… helped me deal with stress… gave me peace of mind… a sense of connection with others… a sense of control.”
Mate concludes that these responses prove that addiction is neither a disease nor a choice, but an attempt to solve a problem which is always rooted in pain and relief. He sees treating addiction without addressing the underlying pain as similar to treating a broken arm with a powerful painkiller: “to treat the addiction, which is a symptom, without treating the pain that underlies it is to deal in effects rather than in causes, and therefore dooms many to ongoing cycles of suffering.”
4) Holistic Therapies
It’s a very rare addict who only needs to treat their substance misuse in order to regain their health. The addicted typically neglect their physical and mental well-being, and enter treatment in a deeply unhealthy state. Incorporating holistic treatment can offer profound benefits, fostering a sense of physical strength, confidence, spirituality, and gratitude as those in recovery embark on their new lives. Something as simple as eating nutritious food, or as complex as kundalini yoga or Naikan therapy can help patients reconnect with their true selves, and glimpse the potential for a happy and healthy life that lies inside us all. Treatment providers are realizing that in order to rebuild the body and mind after the nightmare of addiction, we need to instruct those in recovery on how to build and maintain physical and mental strength
5) Alternative Addiction Research
After years of neglect, scientists, academics, and large well-funded companies are finally getting serious about exploring the potential of substances that have long been criminalized and dismissed out of hand. CBD oil is being touted for its healing properties, and using psychedelics and oneirogenics to treat anxiety, depression, addiction and PTSD is rapidly becoming a mainstream approach. We’ve seen entrepreneurs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O’Leary, and Peter Thiel put their money into research, and the US FDA has fast-tracked studies exploring the therapeutic use of psilocybin, ketamine, ayahuasca, ibogaine, and MDMA to treat a host of ailments.
At Tabula Rasa Retreat we are committed to exploring every avenue to heal mental illness and addiction, and we’re delighted to seeing the medical establishment finally come around to our way of thinking. If you’re interested in exploring any of the treatments discussed in this article, get in touch with us today!
Tabula Rasa Retreat has rapidly positioned itself as Europe’s premier ibogaine clinic. Located in the Alentejan region of Portugal, its clientele is mainly from the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, UAE and the USA. All treatments undergo medical vetting and are medically monitored and supervised. Our medical staff are ACLS trained. To support ibogaine treatments, expect holistic therapies such as breathwork, bodywork, massage, meditation, kundalini yoga, reiki, gong baths, drumming circles, equine assisted therapy, personal training and nutrition advice. This is further supported by 1:1 counselling and group therapy by our in-house counsellors.
For further information visit www.tabularasaretreat.com or call PT +351 965 751 649 UK +44 7961 355 530