NUTRAddiction
From Eating Disorders, Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Why?
Since I’m a child of the Sixties, I’ve watched many succumb to all types of addiction. I myself had a lifelong struggle with eating disorders. As an actress, I could never get thin enough. Fortunately, I was able to recover and later help others do the same in my private practice. One of my long-time friends, however, is still drinking even though a rampant run of cocaine free-basing many years ago almost took her life . And many other friends are addicts of one type or another.
So I’m so glad that my best buddy, Scott, came back to me. I often kid Scott that he couldn’t settle for some inconsequential recreational drug . . . he had to go for the worst stuff. After years of progressive addiction, he was "slamming" (street language for injecting) heroin when his friends finally intervened and got him into rehab.
We proudly gave him his birthday cake for his second year of sobriety. And in his speech that evening, he said that the statistic for being clean two years after using heroin was an abysmal 1.236 percent! And that statistics for “meth” and crack were “way worse”!
That comment really got me thinking. I had been working in one of the top inpatient rehabs in the country for awhile. And seen addicts recycle through numerous times. As well as the frequent overdoses, suicides and those whose bodies had finally succumbed from constant abuse. Not to mention celebrities, whose frequent treatment failures had often been front-page news.
So I did some research about how effective these 12-Step Programs really are. And found out, even though many of them proclaim 75% recovery, that their overall success rate is really 3 to 5%!
I was dumbstruck! 12-Step Programs have been our gold-standard recovery model in the United States since Bill W. and Dr. Bob began Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935. Seventy years later, there's an "Anonymous" for every addiction from enabling to gambling. And a rehab every three miles . . . they're more plentiful than McDonald's!
Then Joan Larson's Seven Weeks to Sobriety changed the way I thought about addiction treatment. We'd also come a long way in those 70 years with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and nutritional treatments for mood and addiction. Ms. Larson had lost a son to alcoholism in the worst way . . . through suicide. Her vision and research spawned an extremely successful program of biochemical repair from the ravages of alcoholism through diet and nutritional supplements. And she proclaimed a 74% success rate . . . which I actually believed!
After 25-plus years, she is the model for this type of treatment. But checking into her outpatient center is extremely pricy and therefore prohibitive for most of us. And the only other alternative is to self-diagnose and then follow the supplement and diet ideas in her book.
But I don't know many addicts, whose road to sobriety is often graveled with potholes and wrong-way signs, who have the fortitude to follow a self-help program. Many of my clients have complained that taking supplements seven or more times a day plus changing their whole diet while withdrawing from an addictive substance is just too hard to do on their own. Not only that, even though Larson's supplement formulas are extremely well thought-out and effective, the more complex they become the more confusing it is to successfully implement them.
Finally, trying to choose what supplements are right for you without expert help may also be downright dangerous. Study after study show that supplement information is so confusing that people just don't know what to take (over 70% in one study!). And research published just this week indicated that nutritional supplements were the most used over-the-counter medication in a certain study group. But that over 50% of that group misused them with over 20% experiencing possible drug, supplement or food interactions.
This type of reported misuse scares me in the addict population who may have compromised health. Prescribed medications may also sometimes badly interact with herbs and supplements. Larson's plan cautions against potential dangers. But you can also easily order any supplement on her website whether or not they might be right or even harmful for you. Or on any supplement website for that matter. I'm also concerned that, since addicts have a tendency to overdo that they might overdo these often confusing supplement formulas. In the same study that I cited above, 70% had duplicate nutrients in their supplements which could easily lead to overdosing.
So I was faced with a dilemma. I had worked with addicts effectively for a long time beyond the 12-Step model with advanced tools such as guided imagery, ritual and soulwork. And had clinically treated other problems successfully with diet and supplements in my many years of experience as a CAM practitioner. But now I wanted to put them together to keep addicts from recycling, failing and even dying. And the only viable program out there seemed not only unattainable for most but also potentially dangerous.
What?
So I did alot of research. About alot of different types of addiction. As well as working closely with the head of technical support of the supplement company, Metagenics. And came up with a supplement formula and dietary plan for every type of substance abuse. Including eating disorders. Larson's program specifically targets alcoholism. And although the core nutrition program is similar because substances biochemically abuse your body in similar ways, individual nutritional needs for each condition also need to be considered. For example, a zinc deficiency is well-documented as being partially responsible for perpetuating poor appetite, mental fog and preference for carbohydrates in anorexics. Therefore, my anorexic supplement formula includes additional zinc.
But nutrition is only part of the story. From years of working with addicts as well as finding the way out of the maze of my own addiction, it's my belief that addictions are really rituals. They're the way we try to structure our lives to cope with a world that is spinning out of control all around us. Addictions are either processes, like eating disorders. They start out as a coping mechanism. And end up as a way to dangerously manipulate our lives around eating. Or they're a physical dependence upon substances, like heroin. They too start out as a way to control. Recently, I talked to one of my rehab clients who explained in great detail her "slamming" ritual that she followed meticulously every time she used heroin. Unfortunately, substance rituals also end in physical dependence.
Our solutions for coping with our crazy world, which can start as innocently as dieting or having a little drink, can end up as biological compulsions that can ruin and even end our lives.
How?
So I put both these elements . . . mental and physical biochemical repair using diet and supplements and what I call ritual-reality . . . . changing the way you deal with your life by changing the rituals of your life . . . together. And came up with a plan to combat addiction that really works!
First of all, I make supplement-taking easy for you. My clients who have done Larson's program say that taking all those pills at so many different times during the day is difficult. And that the formulas that I tailor-make for you are much easier. I couldn't take supplements myself on a consistent basis until I found a way to make them a part of my life. And I don't expect you to either. So I give you lots of great ideas about how to get consistent with your supplement program.
Also, if your biochemical needs call for a more complex supplement formula, I give you an easy-to-follow regime that will work for your lifestyle. We can even add supplements one at a time and monitor their effects. So that you don't have to take any more than you need. Together we make it work!
People are very individual, too. So Larson's one-size-fits-all formulas aren't appropriate for everyone. Depending upon your health status and the medications that you're taking, you may not be able to take certain supplements at all. And sometimes substitutes have to be found. For example, one of my clients was allergic to the protein-rich whey that I use in my formulas to provide the vital essential amino acids that many addicts lack to modulate mood, memory and emotions. Since I have unlimited access to supplements from many, many companies, I was able to find and special-order a moderately-priced, excellent-quality free-form amino acid substitute that worked well for her.
Once we decide upon the unique formula for you, you can order and reorder right online at a discount at www.supplementsavvyRD.meta-ehealth.com and have everything shipped right to your door. I can also individualize your online store so that it displays only the supplements in your formula. Or you can make your order recurring and get an even deeper discount! All to make ordering even easier.
Not only that, most of my clients need individual attention to change their diets. Because study after study has shown that substance abuse and disordered eating co-exist in up to 50% of addicts. In other words, you may be as addicted to food as you are to drugs. But changing just a few things in your eating lifestyle may make you feel a whole lot better. And make giving up whatever you're addicted to easier.
Lastly, I've been using ritual, guided imagery and soulwork with all types of addicts with great therapeutic success for about 15 years. With the growing lack of meaning in our society, these techniques can redefine our quest for spirituality and purpose in today's terms. Through ritual and restructuring belief, clients experience a re-discovery of a threefold connection with their spirit and themselves: with their inner truth, with others and with the natural world around them. This integration makes the healing process easier.
12-Step meetings are really structured, repetitive group rituals. Like any ritual, change safely takes place within that structure on a very deep level. To the same end, creating personal rituals affects the same type of change. Personal rituals can be as simple as writing down what you eat to be more aware of it. Or as complex as building sobriety altars and creating your own affirmations. Together we discover what healthy practices work well for you to replace your rituals of addiction.
Soulwork entails meeting and tending to that wounded inner part of you that needs attention, nurturing and support. And may cause you to use. Guided imagery is a powerful tool that can heal your relationship with that wounded inner part sometimes more quickly than other forms of self-help. Maybe it's because your body doesn't know whether the images you experience in your mind from the fantasy trip I take you on are real or not. As guided imagery pioneer Belleruth Naparstek says, "images in the mind are real events to the body." Together, ritual, soulwork and guided imagery are potent instruments for change.
Of course, if you're faithfully attending 12-Step meetings and doing well with them, by all means continue! Many are, including my friend, Scott. But doing the diet and supplement program along with 12-Step work can only make recovery easier and long-term abstinence a greater possibility!
Larson cites a famous Swedish study where all participants reported continued anxiety, insomnia, shakiness, dizziness, depression and poor memory four to eight weeks after treatment. The study had about the same recovery rate as other alcoholism programs . . . a best-case scenario of 25% after one year. On the other hand, over 90% of Larson's clients in her own published study had none of these symptoms after treatment. And as a result, 75% were sober three-and-a-half years later. Larson used her diet and supplement program for biochemical repair coupled with psychotherapy in her study. The other used psychotherapy alone. Therefore, Larson rightfully attributed the huge difference in recovery rates to be a direct result of her biochemical repair program.
So whether you're 12-Stepping, working with a therapist or rewriting your life rituals with me, isn't NUTRAddiction worth a try? It may mean the difference between recovery and relapse.
I like to work weekly with you at the beginning of your journey. Even if you're just doing the diet and supplement program. We can do this in person if you're in Los Angeles, on the phone or even by e-mail. Buying counseling time beforehand in fifteen-minute increments directly on the www.supplementsavvyRD.meta-ehealth.com website is an easy way to be consistent with your recovery.
NUTRAddiction gives you biochemical and life-changing tools to break the bonds of addiction and live your life addiction-free. For Your Health's Sake!
These are the services that I provide:
• FREE wellness evaluation
• In-person or phone consultation
• Ongoing daily or to be arranged e-mail support
• FREE supplement selection
• Easy one-stop ordering at www.supplementsavvyRD.meta-ehealth.com
• Supplement Capsules eZine
• MULTIPLES BY MAIL monthly
supplement service
For more information you can e-mail me at jill@supplementsavvyrd.com or call (888) 237-6875.