What Void Is Your Addiction Really Trying To Fill?

With the organic craze gathering steam over the last decade everyone seems to be looking for a more holistic way to deal with life challenges. These all-natural methods of tackling life’s problems are in response to the rising cost of healthcare and education and are also rooted in ancient teachings that extend back for civilizations.  This article is all about treating your addictions more holistically by understanding the basic principles of Psychology to engage in personal growth.

What does the word “holistic” mean?

Before we begin the first thing we need to look it is what the word holistic really means.  The concept of holism is all about treating the whole person rather than just the sum of its parts. This is in opposition to doctors who prescribe conventional medicines for a variety of symptoms when there may only be one underlying cause. This more recent practice in modern medicine is usually done for profit and results in rising healthcare costs, a greater need for insurance, and lastly the insurance subsidies that are provided through the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”.

The practice of holistic healing has its roots in the Easter Orient which believes in the mind-body connection, as opposed to the allopathic medicine which focuses more on knowledge and money and separates these two. Once a patient understands this connection between their mind and their body then modern medicines will no longer work; thus they will have to find the underlying issue and deal with it. Many who have been unable to afford the insurance to get their medicines were “forced” to make lifestyle changes which they discovered later worked better than the medicine.

A holistic way to treat addictions

Because of the mind-body connection, this means that even addictions can be treated more holistically. Addictions themselves are psychological, just like many physical illnesses, with the underlying issue that drives us to cave in to our addictions having a more psychological basis. Thus by giving ourselves to the study of Psychology we get a better understanding or what makes us tick and can further take steps toward greater self-development and personal growth.

A few examples of addictions and how to treat them holistically

In this section we will look at a few addictions and how to treat each one holistically:

·  The biggest addiction is sexual addiction. This is more common men as they are more physical but also found in some women too.  In and of itself sex is beautiful in the right context between two people who love each other. It gets corrupted if it is lust, or physical only because it leads to perversion. At its core sex is all about intimacy. All humans are sexual beings whether we are sexually active or not. A holistic way of dealing with sexual addictions is to form healthy and loving relationships with like-minded people that we can be intimate with; this does not necessarily mean have sex with though it can when we find that special someone we want to share our lives with. The greatest person we need to love before we can do such is ourselves though or we will be unable to love another human being.

·  There is also a group called Workaholics Anonymous. Yes work can be an addiction to. Like every other addiction we can use work to fill a void, either because we are afraid to run out of money or we are addicted to the power that our wealth gives us.  Of course our addiction doesn’t have to be grounded in anything as corrupt as greed or power; it could simply because we were created for a calling that is bigger than ourselves, therefore we throw ourselves into whatever our hands find to do in an effort to find it.

·  All other addictions related to food, drink, and drug use are usually signs of emotional problems that we haven’t learned to manage. In many cases when we cater to an addiction it is due to stress from work or a bad relationship. The addiction then becomes an escape from reality that we can run to for solace. As we learn to manage our emotions by practicing mindfulness or simply keeping life simple we have less of a need for an external substance to medicate our stress levels.

By understanding the basic principles of Psychology and the world of holistic healing we get a better understanding of the mind-body connection. This leads to greater personal growth which gives us the energy to move onto further self-development with all the energy that we freed up by not giving into addictive habits which more often than not will only leave us physically, mentally, and emotionally drained to the core.

- Erwin Wooten

The Daily E Blog

http://ebishopwooten.com