Why Choose a Holistic Recovery Approach?
Choosing the right approach to alcohol use disorder is an incredibly important decision. If you take a path towards recovery that does not align with your authentic self or take into account your unique needs, the likelihood of falling back into past habits & behaviors is almost guaranteed. Unfortunately, many treatment programs follow a more 'one size fits all' approach. This can leave you struggling to try to align yourself to their program, and not feeling heard, understood, or supported. Choosing a holistic recovery approach allows for the creation of a you-size-fits-you plan; one that can grow & change as your needs shift so you're always supported on the road to becoming your ideal future-you.
What does "Holistic" mean anyway?
The basic definition is: relating to or concerned with the whole or complete system, rather than with the individual parts.
As it pertains to people & medicine: treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental & social factors, rather than just the symptoms of an illness.
Alcohol Use Disorder & Addiction are whole-person problems that requires whole-person solutions. None of us started our relationship with alcohol by drinking alone, for no reason whatsoever. Most often, there are past or present traumas &/or underlying mental health issues contributing &/or creating the desire for self-medication & escape. There are very often social conditions in our lives that enable our self-medicating. In order to ease the symptoms (drinking more than we'd like to), we need to address the underlying conditions (our 'why').
The focus of Holistic Recovery is forward. While we will discuss alcohol, quite a bit, the main focus of work will be on enriching your life. By putting attention on yourself & your well-being, instead of 'trying not to drink' - you can create a life you want to be living & be present in. A life with you back in the driver's seat, & not on autopilot.
So, what does holistic recovery coaching include?
Social
We are social beings and have an innate desire to have a community of people in our lives, and to be loved & accepted by these people. We have hobbies we enjoy, many of which include those in our social circle. The thought of giving up alcohol can often leave us thinking we also have to give up most of those people & things we love. This might be true for some of our activities & some of our people, but it doesn't have to be as all-encompassing as you might think. Yes, life will change, but we will work through these changes & discover the new you, the new activities you might enjoy, and the old activities you might have given up as adulthood & alcohol took over. A sober social calendar is far from empty, I promise.
Exercise
Physical health & mental wellbeing are inextricably linked. When we are suffering physically from an illness or injury, we are more prone to experiencing depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, & many other issues. Exercise, or deliberate physical activity, has strong scientific evidence of elevating mood, alleviating & preventing depression, reducing anxiety, improving self-esteem, buffering effects of mental stress, & improving sleep quality. Even a 5 or 10 minute walk can reduce anxiety & stress. Exercise is not just for losing weight, or trying to "look better." Exercise helps us feel better, inside & out.
Stress Management
Stress has basically become synonymous with living life. We experience all sorts of stress coming at us from many different directions. Stress also takes multiple forms including positive stress & negative stress. Many of us have employed alcohol as the crutch for these situations. Get bad news from a family member? Pour a drink. Get a promotion at work? Go out for celebratory drinks with friends. Learning some new tools for healthier stress management & how to implement them in daily life is a must for disrupting the habit.
Nutrition
The old adage "you are what you eat" wasn't created by chance. Our diet can & does affect our mental health & wellbeing, as well as our physical health & wellbeing. But, "diet" in today's lexicon has become a four letter word. We tend to think of it as dietary restrictions, denying ourselves our favorite foods and drinks, & as a temporary set of rules to follow to achieve a certain number on the scale or dress size. Diet is simply the food & drink we consume. And it is very often overlooked in traditional treatments for addressing physical & mental health conditions, as well as addiction & recovery. Removing alcohol from the menu may also usher in some different cravings (looking at you, sugar). We can work through these changes & interim cravings, as well as create an improved relationship with food.
Sleep
Humans spend about 25-40% of our days asleep - or, at least, we should. However, sleep is very often sacrificed in lieu of other activities. Some of these activities might not be preventable (sorry, parents of newborns), but most often, we voluntarily give up our sleep hours. Sleep deprivation can cause a slew of negative consequences, both mental & physical. Poor decision-making, increased appetite, reduced motivation to exercise, and increased mental stress are just a few of these consequences, and some that can result in leaning on our alcohol crutch. While we cannot prevent all of our sleep disruptions, we can develop better sleep hygiene & practice it to build a more solid foundation for our daily lives.
Spiritual
Spirituality means something different for everyone. For some it's religion, for others it's nature. Whatever form spirituality takes in your life, we will work with these connections and beliefs to ensure your path to recovery is solidly rooted, encompassing your whole self - mind, body, & spirit.
Who you are & who you want to become will determine your unique recovery path. We will work together to create a strategy that fits you, & will grow with you.