If you are exploring addiction treatment and rehabilitation Rehab in Cape Town, you are on the right path towards getting the help you need. But you may also be wondering what alternative treatment options there are for treating your addiction.
In this article, we’ll explore a few of the most commonly-used alternative addiction treatment options that are growing in prevalence today, and help you understand if these methods of drug addiction rehabilitation may be right for you Rehab Cape Town. Let’s get started now.
Physical Exercise And Self-Improvement
Multiple studies conducted throughout the world have shown that physical exercise can have numerous benefits when recovering from drug addiction. Regular physical activity has a number of benefits. It releases endorphins which help improve your mood. Exercise can also help improve self-esteem and make it easier to sleep restfully.
Beyond this, physical exercise can also help improve immunity and energy levels, providing you with a healthier overall lifestyle and helping reverse the negative physical effects of drug addiction.
Exercise may even help you kick your drug habit. One study performed on 20 drug users found that, when participating in group exercise 2-3 times per week for 6 months, 10 individuals decreased their drug use – and 5 completely discontinued their substance use.
Art And Music Therapy
Art and music therapy provides a healthy outlet for emotions – both positive and negative – and has shown promise for those who are in recovery from drug addiction. You can express yourself in unique ways – ways that may not be possible in traditional talk therapy sessions. You can also check NatureSoundRetreat.com
It’s been found that, in combination with traditional 12-step programs for recovery, art and music therapy has a big positive effect on drug addiction recovery – helping with higher rates of sober living, and lower rates of relapse.
Mindfulness And Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation practices are new areas of drug addiction treatment that are being explored by modern holistic therapists. Learning to focus mentally and take control of your body and mind may have some powerful benefits for overcoming addiction – particularly when combined with other types of traditional drug addiction therapies.
Clinical studies have shown that mindfulness and meditation practices in recovering addicts help increase feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and contentment – which helps overcome the desire to abuse substances including alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
Mindfulness training, which helps you identify negative emotions and separate yourself from them, was also shown to help arrest the negative emotional state that may drive you to relapse and fall back into old habits of addiction.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is being explored as a method for treating substance abuse disorders and addiction. The idea behind hypnotherapy is to help find ways that patients can reduce cravings, promote rehabilitation, and live more satisfying lives.
One study of a man treated with hypnotherapy for drug and alcohol addiction found that, within 6 months, he was able to completely eliminate the use of both drugs and alcohol, and remained substance-free both 6 months and 12 months after the study was concluded.
A hypnotherapist may try to do things like:
- Ask you to visualize a future where you’re living a sober life
- Instill positive thoughts that encourage you to see yourself as a strong person who can overcome your addiction
- Provide hypnotic suggestions that discourage the use of a drug. For example, a fear or dislike of needles in a patient who uses injection-based drugs like heroin
- Discuss past traumas and events that may contribute to your addiction, and how they can be overcome
While hypnotherapy may not be for everyone and its scientific basis is not yet fully known, there are indicators that it can be helpful, particularly when used alongside traditional treatments for drug addiction.
Understand Your Alternative Treatment Options For Drug Addiction Treatment
It’s important to note that these alternative treatments do not have to be used by themselves – but can be integrated into a holistic healing plan in a traditional clinical rehabilitation setting.
By utilizing both traditional methods of addiction treatment and these alternative treatment options, you and your treatment specialists will be able to craft a unique, custom-tailored treatment plan that can help you improve your health and well-being, and overcome your drug addiction.
