Although overcoming some addictions requires medical supervision, alternative therapies can ease withdrawal. More importantly, certain alternative therapies provide the tools a person needs for permanently changing behavior patterns that fostered the addiction.

• Acupuncture


• Hypnosis and Visualization


• Meditation and Yoga

No one knows how it works but there is considerable anecdotal evidence that this ancient Chinese procedure helps people overcome drug addictions. Typically, the acupuncturist inserts sterile steel needles in the cartilage of the outer ear, twirling them and leaving them in place for half an hour. With repeated treatments, many persons have been able to stop smoking and others have even been able to overcome heroin addiction.

Cigarette smoking is especially amenable to these approaches perhaps because nicotine withdrawal does not require medical supervision. During hypnosis, a person is highly receptive to the power or suggestion. Some hypnotists instruct their clients to discard all cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays at a specific time. They may also plant the notion that smoking is unpleasant; for example that cigarette smoke has a disgusting odor. Hypnotists often teach visualization or self-hypnosis as additional tools in resisting the urge to smoke.

Many people turn to cigarettes, alcohol or other addictive substances as a means of dealing with stress. Meditation, yoga and other relaxation therapies provide an alternative that is not self-destructive and has other health benefits as well. Relaxation therapy often precedes the actual cessation of smoking; in treating alcoholism and drug addiction, it is usually added during the counseling or rehabilitation stages.