Welcome back! If you’re just joining us, we are in the middle of a series that is answering the question of what is a naturopathic perspective on healing and maintaining health and thriving during early substance abuse recovery? As we work on the next layer of answering this question, we first begin exploring maintaining health in early recovery and what is needed to help a client heal. We will also discuss many modalities that help a client begin to thrive. I think this is worth repeating:
One could think of Naturopathic view of healing like the rings in the cross section of a tree. A series of concentric circles spreading from a person’s spiritual center or internal force through their structure and organs, onward out to encompass their energy, relationships, and life. One must support the inner most vital workings of the body and move outward with support to encourage, stimulate, and revitalize a person so that their soul or vitality may regain its luminescence, and an individual can find their path forward.
As with healing in nature, lasting sustainable change takes time. Changes made, modality added or supplements recommended may bring immediate effect and relief so that discomfort is eased, but lasting healing is created through the ownership that the client takes to initiate change to live a life that promotes wellbeing. It happens in layers, takes work, energy, integration, and time. It is a rewarding journey to learn to live well, and be well. A Naturopath comes along side this individual to teach, encourage, and recommend healthy steps that help an individual find their way.
Maintaining health is a Holistic process and requires the participation and willingness of the client. Helping someone nurture their vitality in early recovery can appropriately take a combination effort in the treatment setting and outside it. With detox facilities, medical personal, therapists, and other modalities all are encompassed in the scope of Traditional Naturopathy. Naturopaths try to identify the cause of problems, eliminate toxins, recommend substances to deal with deficiencies, and stimulate the body’s own natural healing abilities.”[i]
Ultimately, to maintain health in early recovery, it is required to give the body resources so that it can repair and rebuild what is broken down by the way a person has been living. The lack of sustenance or nutrition taken in is only a part of that constellation.
Likewise, understanding that “every symptom crisis is produced by either mechanical, chemical, or emotional stress that is either too strong or continues too long for the body to be able to adequately compensate. Any stimulus that threatens homeostasis has disease producing potential.”[ii]
Naturopaths often describe the healing of the body using “Hering’s Law that states a “cure proceeds from above downward, from within outward, from the most important organs to least important organs, and in reverse order of appearance of symptoms.” [iii]
Like the concentric rings, one must start in the center with supplying the necessary resources in the body at the cellular level. This aids in restoring equilibrium. Supplying the appropriate nutrients through food and supplementation, allows the body the opportunity and resources to heal and cultivate vitality and regain a sense of wellbeing. Maintaining health in early recovery is based on these principles. From a Naturopathic perspective it is the body that cures, but the role of the client to supply the appropriate nutrition to give the body the resources for healing.
For more on maintaining heath in early recovery, you can find the previous blogs here Part I, Part II, Part III
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References
[i]. Thiel, Robert J. Combining old and new: Naturopathy for the 21st Century. Witman Publications. Indiana. 2011.
[ii]. Loomis, Howard F. Enzymes the key to health volume 1. The Fundamentals. 21st Century Nutrition Publishing. Wyomming. 2012.
[iii]. Thiel, Robert J. Combining old and new: Naturopathy for the 21st Century. Witman Publications. Indiana. 2011.
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Addictions
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One could think of Naturopathic view of healing like the rings in the cross section of a tree. A series of concentric circles spreading from a person’s spiritual center or internal force through their structure and organs, onward out to encompass their energy, relationships, and life. One must support the inner most vital workings of the body and move outward with support to encourage, stimulate, and revitalize a person so that their soul or vitality may regain its luminescence, and an individual can find their path forward. 
