Have you ever noticed how time and space blur together in those moments of pure concentration and bliss? When minutes become hours because you are utterly and completely absorbed in whatever it is you’re doing? Usually, this flow state occurs when we’re doing something creative: making music, writing, coloring, or even cuddling our pets.

When it comes to addiction, research shows that those who struggle with substance abuse often suffer from alexithymia, a condition where people find it hard to understand or describe their feelings and emotions and often turn to drugs or alcohol to calm and quiet their minds. Because many creative outlets do not require the use or even acknowledgement of words and speech, they can be powerful tools to utilize in addiction treatment. While not exclusive or exhaustive, the following list illustrates several different experiential modes of treatment that employ creativity as the main source for healing.

Yoga

Encourages Mindfulness, Reduces Stress Hormones

Like dance and movement, yoga requires a certain level of presence and awareness in both the mind and body. With roots drawing back to India nearly 5,000 years ago, yoga has long been practiced as a way to improve overall life quality through a strong mind-body connection. Through various components like breathwork, poses or postures , meditation, and more, yoga requires and cultivates mindfulness and when practiced regularly has the potential to influence and improve our bodies’ response to external stimuli like stress.

All substance addictions, in one way or another, impact the way the brain functions. Overall discomfort, anxiety, and stress are just a handful of the psychological side effects that often prohibit people from seeking addiction treatment. As such, yoga can be a powerful tool in combatting those negative feelings. “Yoga is an alternative[;] a positive way to generate a change in consciousness that, instead of providing an escape, empowers people with the ability to access a peaceful, restorative inner state that integrates the mind, body, and spirit.”

Dance

Benefits Of Creative Movement Therapy

Unlike a typical dance class with pink tights, slicked buns, and floor to ceiling mirrors, dance therapy takes a simplified, more wholesome understanding of what it means to move, to dance. In its rawest and most basic form, dance therapy places a strong emphasis on the body and the knowledge it holds, forcing the individual to re-inhabit their bodies and all the “stuff” — good and bad — that comes with it. “At the start of a dance therapy session, it is important to establish physical connection as a pathway to recovery that enables the restoration of self-awareness, a skill that is hindered through the use of drugs and alcohol.”

Because substance abuse of all forms disconnects the self from the body, dance therapy can be very powerful in helping the client reconnect and reunite with themselves. By observing patients moving freely, therapists can identify patterns and gestures and assist when they notice anything problematic or potentially harmful, such as movements that restrict free flowing breath or those that are spatially unaware.

“Dance therapy provides natural opportunities to identify a range of feelings and sources of pain, creatively move through themes of escape and ambivalence, and confront, tolerate, or manage discomfort. Patterned movement and gestures that arise in group can be interpreted as efforts to deny, desensitize, or displace unwanted experiences.”

Music

Alternative Pathways For Dopamine Production

We tend to oversimplify or take for granted that which makes us feel the most alive inside. The feeling you get when you hear a new favorite song or when you finally master that challenging hand position required to produce a guitar chord. Music — both in the listening and creating — has been shown to elicit the “dopaminergic pathways in a similar manner as many illicit substances” which can, in turn, boost mood and lower cravings, according to the American Music Therapy Association, Inc. Additionally, listening to music can lower anxiety and promote relaxation by soothing the parasympathetic nervous system, which governs such responses as “fight or flight” when our senses are heightened.

By working with clients to get a whole picture of their listening habits, likes, and dislikes, the music therapist can create a plan that not only supports the client’s existing relationship with music, but also avoids any existing contraindications or triggers that might remind them of previous experiences that induce cravings. The assessment process before initial treatment begins differs based on clientele, therapist, and facility, but at a minimum “should assess the effects of substance misuse on the following domains of health: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.”

Is Creative Treatment Right For Me?

If you or someone you love is struggling under the weight of an addiction and you’ve tried more traditional methods of treatment or are simply curious about creative modalities and what might work best for you, contact a treatment provider. Treatment plans need to reflect the individuality and uniqueness of the person suffering from addiction; reach out to us today to learn more and jumpstart your recovery journey, creatively, today.

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol addiction, call the toll-free number of NuLifeLineCare Rehab in Dehradun at +91 8958305058.

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