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April 30, 2004
Alternative Therapies Address Addiction
Psychology Today addresses the role alternative therapies play in helping ease addictions. They examine several different techniques--acupuncture, homeopathy, massage therapy, aromatherapy, yoga, nutrition therapy, and dozens more--in conjunction with traditional abstinence approaches.
Holistic therapies are helping to bridge the gap between conventional, exclusively abstinence-oriented approaches and the newer, more controversial harm-reduction philosophy.
When addressing an addiction, all holistic techniques begin with the same basic philosophy: people develop addictions to correct an "imbalance" within them. The goal of many holistic therapies is to restore the body to its naturally healthy state.
It's too simplistic to say an addiction can be massaged away, but the power of this hands-on therapy is being tested on people dealing with anorexia, bulimia, smoking, and other addictions, with impressive results.
Various research is now testing the effectiveness of massage therapy At the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School, 48 different studies are currently underway to determine the effectiveness of massage on problems, such as anorexia and bulimia, drug addiction, asthma, and diabetes.
My experience with auricular acupuncture for treatment of stress also reduced my hankering for chocolate. Of course, I quit acupuncture immediately.
Posted by linda at April 30, 2004 9:37 AM
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