Complementary & Alternative Therapies

© Alexa Augeri

Marijuana is a valid medicine, and like many other medicines, it has a potential for abuse. However, with medical marijuana, you're usually left to decide how much and how often to use on your own. Here's a guide to making sure your medicine doesn't start causing more problems than it solves.

• Marijuana Harm Reduction: 6 Rules to Follow
• Marijuana Harm Reduction: 20 Tips for Cutting Down
• APA to Add Marijuana Withdrawal to DSM-V
• 70 Reasons to Quit a Heavy Marijuana Habit
• Smoke Pot? Your Habit vs. American Averages

© Eran Finkle

Used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine, nigella sativa is a safe and effective complementary medicine that treats everything from cancer, to arthritis - and possibly opiate withdrawal. Learn more about the benefits (and risks) of this affordable and natural home-remedy for opiate withdrawal.

• The Truth about Ibogaine Addiction Treatment
• How Heroin Changes Your Mind
• 15 Ways to Cope with Opioid Withdrawal Pains and Aches
• Coping with Restless Legs during Opiate Withdrawal
• Why CSAM Doesn’t Endorse Rapid Opioid Detox

© Paterjt

Learn more about this herbal medicine that’s research-proven to reduce the agitation, irritability, insomnia and anxiety of an opiate withdrawal.

• Pain Management during Vicodin Tapering
• Problems with Rapid Detox
• Prescription Opiate Detox
• Meds That Ease Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms
• Suboxone: How Long Does Treatment Take?

© Kanko*

How about a cup of tea? L-theanine may not replace your need for therapy or medication, but if you struggle with stress or anxiety, or even if you don’t, the soothing and cognition enhancing effects of this tea amino acid may be just what you need.

• Use Coping Cards to Control Anxiety and Pain
• Stop Worrying! Use a Worry Diary and Feel Better
• Panic Disorder
• Signs of an Anxiety Disorder
• Overcoming Panic: A Practical Case Study

© Brittney Bush

Mounting evidence suggests aromatherapy can help reduce anxiety. Most people can use this affordable therapy without experiencing negative side effects, so if you struggle with stress or anxiety, maybe you should add a little lavender or citrus to your daily routine! Read on to find out more.

• Self-Medicating? Consider Harm Reduction
• Trained Dogs Ease PTSD Symptoms
• How to Overcome Social Anxiety
• Managing Panic - 25 Tips and Tricks
• Hoarding Self Test

© Jkirkhart35

If you have alcoholic liver disease should you be taking milk thistle? The research evidence is inconclusive, but a number of studies show real benefits and no studies show significant harms. Read on to learn more about this potentially life-saving herbal medicine.

• 8 Ways To Heal Your Liver After You Quit Drinking
• An Alcoholism Progression Timeline
• Is Marijuana Maintenance a Good Idea?
• AA - Learn How It Keeps You Sober
• Understanding the 'Dry Drunk' & Steps to Permanent Change

© Paulaclemente

Can you be cured of a phobia, fear, anxiety or even PTSD in a few short sessions? New evidence indicates that it might be possible.

• Worrying About Earthquakes
• Helping Children Cope
• Coping with Post-Disaster Stress and Anxiety
• Anxiety Statistics
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

© clearwisdom.net

If you aren’t meditating already, here are 8 very good reasons for you to consider taking it up. Whether you’re still drinking or using and trying to control yourself, just starting off with treatment or long down that winding and difficult recovery journey, stopping yourself from taking that next drink or line or hit is always going to be a challenge. Fortunately, while you may never be able to erase temptation from your life, you can take some steps to build up your resilience against cravings as you also build up your overall levels of health and happiness.

• Adding Spiritual Practices to Our Recovery
• How to Let Go of Guilt and Shame
• Healing the Body, Mind and Spirit after Addiction
• Finding Spirituality - How to Get Started
• Using the 12 Steps of AA without God or Alcohol

© Olivander

Thinking about taking the natural supplement 5-HTP for depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia or any number of other serotonin linked conditions? Well, read on to find a summary of the clinical research on its effectiveness and a discussion on the risks and side effects of its use.

• Depression: 4 Supplements That Work
• SSRIs - FAQs
• St John's Wort for Depression
• Nutritional Remedies for Depression
• Antidepressants + Alcohol: SSRIs in Treatment?

© Lyne (Gracie's Mom)

Can an intense Amazonian hallucinogen help you to overcome drug or alcohol addiction? Read on to learn more about how Ayahuasca works and to find out where you can get treatment with this traditional shamanic medicine if you so desire.

• Alcoholics Anonymous for Atheists
• Improve Yourself in 4 Areas to Overcome Addiction
• "Powerlessness"? Why It's Your 1st Step to Freedom
• Sauna Treatment = Scientology
• Biofeedback in Addiction Treatment

© Cayusa

Learn more about using herbal Kava as a mild but effective treatment for anxiety. A brief summary of some studies on its effectiveness and a discussion about the potential liver damage risks of consumption.

• Stress Management
• Physical Signs of Chronic Stress
• Acute Stress Disorder
• Specific Phobia
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Children

© Rubyblossom

Can sitting quietly and focusing on mindfulness of breath really help you to manage cravings and overcome relapse as well as other forms of addiction treatment? Read descriptions of a few clinical research studies which show just how well the ancient practice of meditation seems to work as a complementary treatment for substance abuse and addiction.

• Overcoming Depression: Feeling Good Again with Mindfulness
• Beat Binge Eating with Mindfulness
• Beat Stress with the Relaxation Response
• How to Stay Sober when Scared, Mad or Sad
• Benefits of Meditation

© Dancing Lemur

Put 5000 years of Ayurvedic treatment experience behind your goal of overcoming addiction. Learn more about Ayurvedic medicine, how it works and if it might work for you.

• Effective Older Adult Addiction Treatment
• Does Your Lifestyle Match Your Values?
• Affordable Addiction Treatment Options
• Using the Web for Recovery Support
• Choosing a Drug Rehab: 5 Questions You Need to Ask

© Seasidebear

A study on electrical acupuncture demonstrates its possibilities as a form of opiate addiction treatment.

• Methadone Side Effects
• What is Methadone?
• Acupuncture
• Opioid Use Self Test: 15 Signs of Misuse
• The 8 Commandments of Opioid Safety

© Alice Popkorn

A growing mountain of evidence points to meditation’s effectiveness in controlling and reversing conditions as varied as anxiety and depression to high blood pressure and diabetes, but new research out of Massachusetts General Hospital shows that just 8 weeks of meditation training and practice actually results in physical grey matter changes in the hippocampus.

• Understanding Addiction - What You Need to Know
• Alcoholism: A Timeline for Cognitive Recovery
• Use + Impulsivity + Compulsivity = Addiction
• Stress Damages Memory – How to Improve It
• The Neural Model for Food Addiction

© Leo.Prie.to

Researchers at Boston University Medical School show that sustained yoga practice results in increased levels of one the body’s natural antidepressant neurochemicals, GABA, in the brain.

• Is Your Teen Depressed?
• Depression in Men
• Depression Statistics
• Geriatric Depression Scale
• Depression in Seniors

© Megan Mallen

Researchers at University of Louisville School of Medicine ran an experiment on acupuncture as treatment for PTSD and they found that it worked as well as the more conventional treatment of cognitive behavioral therapy.

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Online Counseling for Bulimia Nervosa
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression
• Therapy in Rehab: What You Need to Learn
• PTSD and Drug or Alcohol Abuse

© Ed-Meister

Tai Chi is known to yield physical health benefits like improved muscle strength and balance, but can it also alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduce stress and improve mood and self esteem? Read on to find out what clinical researchers say about Tai Chi as a treatment for psychological well-being.

• Anxious or Depressed? Get a Medical Checkup
• Use Gut Bacteria to Fight Anxiety and Depression
• Co-Occurring Disorders – A Treatment Matching Guide
• Disasters and the Mentally Ill
• Meds for Moderate Mental Heath Problems?