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PEACE, POWER, and a SOUND MIND

Balboa Press

Contents

Prologue.................................................................................IXChapter 1. Understanding Addiction.......................................................1Chapter 2. Addiction: A Family Affair....................................................15Chapter 3. Toxic Relationships...........................................................26Chapter 4. Addiction to Anger............................................................37Chapter 5. The Healing Process...........................................................46Chapter 6. Alcoholics Anonymous..........................................................56Chapter 7. Healing Neurochemical Imbalances through Holistic Methods.....................69Chapter 8. Healing with Yoga.............................................................73Chapter 9. Conscious Breathing: The Cornerstone for Health...............................78Chapter 10. Meditation for the Quiet Mind................................................82Chapter 11. Guided Imagery...............................................................89Chapter 12. The Power of Affirmation.....................................................94Chapter 13. Auricular Acupuncture........................................................98Chapter 14. Is Relapse a Necessary Part of Recovery?.....................................105Conclusion...............................................................................112Bibliography.............................................................................115

Chapter One

"We cannot understand anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses." —Carl Jung

During the past fifteen years, working in the field of addictions, I have witnessed many clients enter treatment wanting and expecting to find a way to turn their lives around. Instead, in many cases, they have been given a psychiatric diagnosis and prescribed heavy-duty medications that made them feel worse than when they started.

When we go to a doctor or a hospital for help, we put our trust in those healthcare providers, many times without question. We are not taught as a society to participate in our healthcare or to partner with our physicians in our treatment. Western medicine is primarily based on treatment of the symptoms, not treatment of the underlying problems. It was with this understanding that I created a program that combines the wisdom and structure of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with self-empowering holistic methods.

By embracing the holistic practices that I cover in this book, I have witnessed numerous clients recover and maintain long-term sobriety, as well as physical, mental, and emotional health. I have seen them accomplish recovery with limited or no use of psychotropic medications. It takes thought and willingness to engage in practices outside of our comfort zones. When making lifestyle changes, such as practicing yoga, developing healthy eating habits, or exploring meditation, we've got to understand that the results are not always immediate. With persistence and consistency, a person can obtain health, and balance in all areas of their life.

Because people with addictions are used to seeking and acquiring immediate gratification, lack of commitment to their own health and wellness and to necessary lifestyle changes is perhaps the number-one reason for their lack of success. It is important to learn that we are all responsible for our own physical, emotional, and mental health. My goal is to teach people different methods of healing and allow them to choose the methods that they most enjoy and find most effective. I have found that when people are involved in their own treatment plans and given options from which to choose, their rates of success increase tremendously.

Alcoholic Anonymous is one of the most successful methods of arriving at sobriety for people addicted to alcohol and other substances. Perhaps this is true because, in the field of addictions, the modalities of treatment are very limited. AA's success is in large part due to the fellowship and peer support it offers. This is invaluable when people are in the early stages of recovery and have to learn to socialize without the use of substances. Working with an AA sponsor allows people to engage in introspection that is vital for behavioral changes.

Another powerful component of AA is that it provides accountability to another person or group of peers. Peer and social acceptance are significant needs for most people in all stages of their lives. This is the premise on which Dr. Bob Smith and Bill Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous many years ago. They found that when alcoholics talk to other alcoholics, they understand one another. They feel accepted, can talk through their problems, and can hold each other accountable.

Although AA has its strong points, it also has its limitations. Some of these limitations include the idea that people must be labeled as addicts or alcoholics for life and must attend meetings on a consistent basis forever in order to remain sober. This limits the idea of personal empowerment and internal strength that holistic methods offer.

Also, the concepts of Alcoholics Anonymous are based on Christianity. For some people, this is certainly a strong point, but for others it is a stumbling block. Although the Big Book of AA (AA's guiding text) includes a chapter called "We Agnostics" and attempts to embrace all belief systems, it can be argued that the program's basic structure is fundamentally religious. Steps one through three encourage the idea of powerlessness of the self over alcohol, and the need for redemption by God or a higher power. Steps four and five are based on the Christian ideas of focusing on one's "sins," or character defects, and the concept of confessing one's sins to another human being. The remaining steps include the principles of dying to oneself and being reborn a new person, and the ecclesiastic idea of spreading the "gospel." I'm not saying this religious structure is bad thing; I am just saying that it doesn't work for everyone.

There is a difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of doctrines, rules, and guidelines within which one worships. Spirituality is a relationship with one's higher self or guiding principles. Spirituality can include a deity outside oneself, but it doesn't have to.

Spirituality is a main component of recovery for many people. This is primarily because, through addictions and co-occurring disorders, it is common for people to lose their sense of self and to develop an identity based on shame. In many cases, people's sense of shame is their core issue. This means that they are drinking, taking drugs, or participating in self-destructive behaviors in order to mask the shame that they feel.

Sometimes, shame is a result of religious abuse in people's lives. If someone has participated in and been taught a religion that is fear-based at its core, they often feel resentful and angry towards religion in general. If this is the case, opening up to the idea of the Twelve Steps may be difficult or even impossible, at least in the beginning. Finding their individual...