Psychologists and addiction recovery specialists alike understand the importance of a well-rounded recovery from addiction. A well-rounded recovery addresses not only the physical struggles of overcoming addiction but also deep-seated mental, emotional, and spiritual struggles. Here is a look at four major aspects of health and well-being, and how they factor into addiction recovery.
Physical Recovery
A strong addiction recovery program will, of course, address the physical issues that so often accompany addiction. For those who run the risk exhibiting strong withdrawal symptoms, ambulatory or medical detox will help patients feel more comfortable during the withdrawal process and help eliminate some of the most serious complications.
Emotional Recovery
A comprehensive program will also address deep-seated psychological issues in patients. This means offering psychological evaluation, specialized testing, and medication services directed at discovering behavioral health conditions when they are present and treating them accordingly. An addiction recovery program that takes this dual-diagnosis approach is much more likely to give patients a well-rounded treatment that ensures long-lasting success.
Mental Recovery
Mental health is different from emotional health in that it deals with intellect and learning. Because intellectual pursuits can actually help prevent addiction and relapse, mental health is also central to a successful recovery. This is one reason why addiction recovery specialists so often urge recovering addicts to practice new skills and explore new pursuits during the early stages of recovery. Trying new things is intellectually stimulating, and this type of brain exercise is actually proven to build resilience in the brain against addiction.
Spiritual Recovery
Spiritual health doesn’t necessarily revolve around religion alone; it also includes core belief systems and ways of being. Spiritual aspects of health actually relate to the other three aspects of health. People use their core beliefs to interpret the raw data (mental aspects) that they collect with their physical senses, which will trigger emotional responses. So, even those who do not consider themselves particularly religious have spiritual needs that need to be addressed. This could be one reason as to why the 12-step approach to addiction recovery has proven so successful. A comprehensive addiction recovery program will help patients develop techniques such as meditation for exploring their relationship with the rest of the world.