The body and mind want to heal and function properly. It is only when they revert to a state of dysfunction that there is cause for alarm. No matter how much we abuse our bodies with drugs and alcohol, they try to fight back and process everything normally. I learned first-hand of the body’s resiliency when I was in treatment for prescription opioid addiction. I didn’t realize the advantage of holistic drug rehab centers until I needed to get help for myself.
One thing you have to realize is that when you’re addicted to pain pills, EVERYTHING suffers, your mind, your body, your faith–everything…at least it did for me. I needed a treatment center that could help me get my overall health back.
I was always an active and health-conscious person; in fact the reason I wound up addicted to painkillers is because I hurt my back in a rock-climbing accident. I had to have surgery following a fall and the rest, as they say, is history. Painkillers provided the relief I needed to stay active and get back to work, and that was all I needed to hear. I thought that my body would tell me when I didn’t need them anymore, but I never got that message and just kept right on taking the pills. It wasn’t long before my physical and mental health started to decline and I became almost useless.
I’m lucky enough to never have experienced a truly undignified “rock-bottom” moment or anything like that, but every time I reached for a pill, I knew that I wasn’t in control of my own life and that my brain and body were on the slow verge of shutting down. In just five months, I went from a being to run four miles per day to not being able to breath even in the most relaxed of circumstances. To compound this nightmare, I became irritable and started to lash out at people for no reason. I became depressed and started questioning how life could fall apart so quickly.
Eventually I realized that I needed help, also my wife politely reminded me with an ultimatum. I came across a few holistic drug rehab centers that seemed to offer exactly what I needed. I received help for painkiller addiction, but also re-learned how to embrace a healthy lifestyle. I even entered spiritual therapy to help me reshape my faith in the world. If this experience came even a month later than it did, I don’t know if I would have responded to it so positively. My wife seemed to know exactly when I needed to get help.
You often hear about how rehab is a “life-changing experience”, but you can’t grasp its full power unless you leave yourself open to the process. I was fortunate enough to have a wife and friends that stuck by me and a team of doctors that would have gone to the ends of the earth to help me overcome addiction, and remind me that, no matter what, life can be good again.
