Exploring the Advantages of Acupuncture for Addiction Treatment

March 7, 2021

Harmony Place Team

When it comes to addiction recovery it’s all about healing. Healing the mind. Healing the body. While the concept of traditional therapy methods does a great job of healing the mind, caring for and healing the body is equally important.

Integrated therapies, such as acupuncture therapy, are a great way to spend time focusing on the body and mind in a natural way, without the use of any sort of medication or mind-altering substance. It can be a great way to get in tune with both the mind and the body and help it heal and recover from addiction. You might find it helpful to take a deeper look at acupuncture for addiction treatment and how it can help with the overall recovery process.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is considered a form of alternative medicine. It originated as part of Chinese Medicine and the ideology of acupuncture centers around the concept that we, as humans, have lines of energy running through our bodies. These lines are called meridians. When the discomfort of disease is present in the body, those who believe in acupuncture believe that these pains or diseases are the results of a blockage in the movement along the meridians.

Acupuncture is performed through the use of fine needles. These needles are used to hit certain pressure points as well as meridian lines in order to facilitate the free flow of energy throughout the body. When the right meridian line is stimulated, it relieves tension in the corresponding organ or muscle in the body. Each acupuncture point is mapped out on the body by name and serves a specific function. An acupuncturist knows which points to stimulate to get the desired effect.

For example, for those using acupuncture for addiction, the ears are a major point of focus on the body. The ears are used to not only help treat addiction but also help alleviate some of the pain and discomfort associated with early recovery symptoms. That is to say that, in the acupuncture world, the ears are attached to the lungs, kidneys, and liver. By stimulating the ears through the use of acupuncture, it can improve overall lung function, help with the removal of toxic buildup in the liver, and even help repair vital organs throughout the body.

What Are Some of the Biggest Benefits of Acupuncture?

As you can see above, acupuncture can be a great way to relieve pain, help cure disease, and even help with addiction recovery. Those aren’t the only benefits when it comes to acupuncture though. Some of the biggest benefits of acupuncture for addiction include:

Reduce pain
Improve sleep
Reduce anxiety
Reduce cravings
Ease withdrawal
Modulate emotions

While it is clear that acupuncture has many great benefits when it comes to addiction treatment, it only works if you put in the time and commitment. Like many other forms of integrated treatment, the effectiveness of acupuncture is based on the person’s commitment to it. If you take it seriously and commit yourself to the practice, then you will achieve your desired results.

Which Acupuncture Points Help With What Areas of the Body?

As we mentioned above, the concept of acupuncture revolves around the idea that each pressure point and meridian line controls certain muscles and organs throughout the body. Many lines and points even control multiple organs and muscles at the same time. So, what points and lines control which parts of the body? Well, there are five specific target areas when it comes to acupuncture for addiction. Those target areas are:

- Lung Point – The lung point helps improve the overall function of the lung. It also helps alleviate the feeling of grief.
- Kidney Point – The kidney point helps with the repair of vital organs. It can also help relieve the feeling of fear.

Autonomic Point – Also known as the sympathetic point, the autonomic point promotes relaxation in addition to helping soothe the nervous system.

Liver Point – The liver point helps remove toxic buildup in the liver and blood. It can also help curb feelings of aggression.

Shen Men – Also known as the “spirit gate”, the shen men helps decrease the feeling of anxiety.

About Acupuncture for Addiction Treatment

Due to how it works on the body when it comes to relieving pain in addition to changing a person’s mood, acupuncture can be vital to the recovery process from the first day of detox all the way through the recovery process and even during aftercare. Integrated therapies are designed to treat a person both physically and mentally. It addresses a person from a physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual perspective.

During the detox process, the body experiences a lot of uncomfortable feelings and emotions as a result of all the harmful substances leaving the body. A great way to help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with the detox process without the use of medication is through integrated treatment such as acupuncture.

Even during the rehab process, acupuncture can be a great way to complement the more traditional treatment methods such as one-on-one and group therapy, whether you are doing inpatient or outpatient treatment.

When your body becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, the entire body becomes imbalanced. Addiction not only affects your mental balance and stability, but it affects you physically too.

Acupuncture helps address these issues by naturally producing dopamine. Dopamine is what makes your brain and body feel good when it is on drugs or alcohol, especially when it comes to opioids. By releasing these chemicals naturally through the body, it can help you with the management of physical and emotional pain and distress associated with the detox and withdrawal of drugs and alcohol. In addition, it’s a natural and non-medication way to increase the amount of dopamine in the body going forward, even after treatment has been completed.

About the Acupuncture Process

Before you can begin with the acupuncture process, the first step is to evaluate your current situation. This includes your medical history, the length of your addiction, the psychological aspects of it, and any physical health problems that may contribute to it.

Once that is complete, your acupuncture therapist will examine you and look out for any particular areas that need more attention than others. They will take a look at your tongue, check your pulse, and feel around to get a better idea of what needs to be worked on.

This is an important step in the process because, during this step, it is likely that your therapist will discover underlying health issues that you might not have even been aware of. Some of these undiscovered issues might have even helped in the creation of your addiction. This is especially true for those who developed an addiction to a prescribed medicine from a doctor such as a pain killer.

After you have undergone a full medical evaluation, the actual acupuncture treatment can begin. Along with the needle component of the acupuncture treatment, there also might be some massage and ointment components as well.

During the acupuncture treatment, the needles are slowly inserted into the body. The needles are typically kept in the skin for anywhere from five to 30 minutes. In some cases, the needles might be twirled, heated, or manipulated in other ways in order to increase their effectiveness. Once the treatment has been completed, the needles will be carefully removed and additional massage therapy may be performed. Some oil might also be applied to the body in the areas where the needles were.

Learn More About Treatment Options at Harmony Place

Acupuncture can be a great, natural way to alleviate some of the pain and discomfort associated with addiction as well as promote healing of the mind and body. As a result, acupuncture, as well as other forms of integrated treatment are being used more and more in conjunction with more traditional therapy to help treat addiction.

At Harmony Place, we are proud to offer integrated therapy at our treatment center, including acupuncture. If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction and can benefit from integrated therapies, such as acupuncture, call us today.

It is our goal to get every person that walks into our facility the help they need so they can go and live a happy, healthy, and sober life! Learn more about our treatment services today. We can’t wait to walk with you during this new chapter in your life!

Chris P

I've been to 12 rehabs over the last 20 years and NO other place has touch like Harmony Place! From the owner right down to the cleaning lady, everyone here is kinda and warm. God has blessed this place and I feel privileged to have come through here. I recommend anyone who is going through their struggle with mental health or substance abuse to pick up the phone and come! You won't regret it!

Joseph S

This place is incredible, kind, loving, patient, rigorous, educative, caring and the best place for recovery. Ill be part of the alumni crew

Monica G

I had very good experience at Harmony Place From first day I came, staff was very kind and make me feel welcome and safe. Everyone was friendly and always try to help me. The therapists are very good and caring. They listen to me and help me understand my problems better. I learn many things from them and feel stronger because of their support. The nurses also very nice and professional. They always check on me and make sure I am okay. Food was good and facilities were clean and comfortable. It help me feel more relaxed and focus on my recovery. Management also doing very good job. Everything was organized and you can see they really care about patients. I am very thankful for this place and all the people who work here. I recommend this center to anyone who needs help.

Denton

Awesome place great people u want to check this place out most definitely 😜

Tyler

A treatment center where the owners truly care about your recovery and after care.. cannot recommend enough

Jodana S

If you want to detox painlessly this is the place! The staff is A1. They truly care about us. The groups are awesome . Residential is crazy awesome! You live in a mansion. With a private chef who makes the best food. Community meeting that gets results fast, they care about your opinions. Pool and Jacuzzi are beautiful. If your struggling with addiction this is the house you should come to. I LOVE HARMONY PLACE!!!!! Thank you to all the staff they go above and beyond to make this experience comfortable therapeutic. Don't spend another day in your addiction come to Harmony Place right now!

Cass

I’ve been to 4 treatment centers before Harmony Place, and I can tell you without a single doubt that this is the absolute best by FAR. The past ones were luxury Residential Treatment centers that just treated every single client the same not tailoring to each individual, and were basically just in it for the money, dropping the ball each time. I can also tell you that I’ve never met the CEOs, but here, David comes to the facility almost every single day, and makes sure he get to know every individual here. He is incredibly kind, and was even willing to transfer me to another facility with a higher level of trauma therapy due to me having a lifetime of trauma and PTSD that just is going to take a long time to tackle. He truly cares about all of the clients having all of the tools that we need before getting released to the real world. No more of other CEO would ever be willing to miss an opportunity at making more money and even paired with my IMPECCABLE case manager to find a different facility that was more trauma based. My case manager, Sam, goes absolutely above and beyond in every single aspect. She makes sure you have a smooth transition into aftercare, provides out of this world advice when it comes to sobriety, and takes the time out of her day to make sure that FMLA and short-term disability are completely taken care of during your stay. I’ve never met a case manager that could ever compare to Sam. Ever. I feel lucky to have met her, genuinely. Marissa, my therapist, is SO SWEET, actually listens to you, and provides advice and therapy tailored to each individual’s experience. She’s handled every mood I’ve been in, never judged me, and allowed me to feel safe enough to tell her things I’ve never told any person or therapist in my 29 years of life. I’ve been going to therapy for the past 15 years, and none of those therapists even come close to how amazing she is. I’ve been to 4 other treatment centers in my life and none even come close to Harmony Place. The facility is clean, organized, and high-end. I would recommend Harmony place to my family, friends, and anyone seeking treatment. I feel SO BLESSED to have landed in their hands. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN THE CLINICAL STAFF BEYOND WORDS. I love you guys ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. I feel more confident than ever in my Recovery.

Gabe H

Where to begin.. Harmony is a place that will forever be a part of my story as the first step in my recovery journey. I’m so grateful for this program. The staff is very friendly, and many of them understand what addiction is like, for they themselves have recovery stories of their own. They have an awesome team of therapists, group facilitators, nurses, RA technicians, medical and health professionals, a wonderful case manager for aftercare that cares deeply for your next steps; making sure you are set up for success. They have a wonderful admissions team (shoutout to Marielle who was so kind and understanding of my messed up situation). Everyone is very relatable and friendly. They invest heavily in the importance of diet and nutrition too - there’s a full time professional chef. I gained all the weight I lost and wanted back in the first two weeks lol. On top of the intensive programming they do throughout the day, they take us out to experience various kinds of outside groups to get a taste of the real world, and also take us on social outings during the weekend. If you’re serious about getting better this place will meet you where you’re at and prepare you to launch with a renewed mind and heart.

Monica P

I can't begin to explain just how amazing Harmony Place is. In fact, when we sit down with the owner, Jeff, and clinical director, David, on Monday mornings to have a house meeting, they ask us what they could be doing better. A bigger blender for smoothies is the ONLY thing we could come up with. Let me begin by addressing some negative reviews. If you notice many of them are from people, or are referring to people who have been asked to leave. It is because of harmony places protection of their clients that provide ideal conditions for healing and progress. There is a screening process that it is implemented where they make sure the clients they admit are ready to start a life of sobriety. Some people slip through the cracks. Some people find out a few days or weeks in that they've changed their minds. Some are inappropriate and break rules. It happens. When Harmony Place ask people to leave, It's because they are protecting the people who are here that want treatment. In effect, they're providing exactly what I needed for a genuine start to recovery. When I began my search for a treatment center, my requirements were that the facility's provide an environment in which its residents all want to be there and that it is ethically ran. I got that and so much more at Harmony Place. As well as a structured routine, they also provide a confidential and nurturing environment where one feels safe and where profound healing can begin. Their program offers a sound foundation where further progress in sober living is almost guaranteed. In group meetings, we enjoy getting to know ourselves again and with deeper understanding about why we are the way we are. We are provided with skills to handle real life. Its here that I've come to understand that its not addiction that has driven me to make a mess of my life. It is the trauma that I endured and not processing it correctly that lead to poor thinking patterns that opened the door to addiction resulting in poor life management. So we start at the bottom. Trauma. They help us understand that trauma has led to our own toxicity, what that trauma looks like and how to get out of our own way. Process groups help us learn how to take accountability and foster healthier relationships. I learned here that changing the way I think is absolutely possible and imperative to the healing process. Harmony Place offered me hope when I previously felt I was unfixable and a support team that truly loves me. Even after I leave here, I have contacts that almost demand I keep in touch and an alumni meeting where I can return to the facility on Thursday nights. I wasn't a 12 stepper when I came here but my first experience with it was not one where I was ready to stop using. I understand now that the steps will work for me. It's certainly is not the only modality that they teach. In one group, we are provided an opportunity to sit with a recently retired medical doctor to just ask questions. Another is with a nutritionist. There are a handful of people IN recovery that come to lead groups that are all accredited highly specialized where I felt understood and not judged. The knowledge I have gained here is life changing. It is also versatile and relatable for all types of people. my favorite group was dialectical behavioral therapy. There are breathing classes and sound bath groups and I started doing yoga in the morning. There's a dharma meeting they take you offsite that focuses on Buddhist values. A fantastic onsight chef provides three meals and you can have special requests. We facilitated our own Movie nights during free time. I cant forget to mention you get your own one on one meetings with your assigned primary therapist and there is comprehensive medical support complete with 24/7 nurses and a doctor that shows up throughout the week. If this is what you need to recover and you have mediCAL, cancel your mediCAL and get insurance Harmony Place accepts if you can. There are people to help you with that as well. Just call. Many, many thanks to the staff. ✔️Another life changed.🙏

Cody B

This is such an amazing place truly changed my life. I would recommend this place to anybody if they’re looking for a strong recovery house that truly cares about your recovery and not about just money So if you’re ready to change your life, don’t miss out on the greatness of harmony because this place is where it’s at