Understanding the Root Causes of Addiction, an Ayurvedic View

Their life is difficult and unhappy, their relationships may be painful and unfulfilling, they may be dissatisfied and stressed at work, and they simply don’t know how to deal with the situation. So they escape from the reality of their circumstances into drugs or alcohol. Whether the addictive substance is tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, or something else, it soon goes beyond being a psychological escape and becomes a chemical dependency. Then, unless a certain level of the addictive substance is present in the blood, the person’s brain doesn’t function properly.

Treatment depends on how serious and long-standing the addiction is. For milder addictions, such as a recent smoking habit, the person may simply be able to stop. But if a chronic alcoholic suddenly stops drinking, it creates alcohol withdrawal syndrome that is difficult to deal with. To effectively handle the problem of addiction, it is important to do panchakarma, CLEANSING an effective Ayurvedic cleansing and detox program.

See chapter 4 for a description of panchakarma treatments you can receive at an Ayurvedic clinic, and a home panchakarma program you can do for yourself. Along with this cleansing program, slowly decrease the dose of the addictive DOSE REDUCTION substance. According to Ayurveda, unless some strong medications are available to deal with withdrawal, it is not good to completely stop using the addictive substance all at once, or a stressful withdrawal syndrome will probably occur. • With nicotine toxicity (which affects the lungs and cardiovascular system) and alcohol toxicity (which affects the liver) we have to strengthen the affected organs.

For alcohol toxicity, use this formula: chitrak 3 parts kutki 3 parts Take ½ teaspoon of these herbs, with 2 tablespoons of aloe vera juice, 3 times a day. • Ayurveda suggests a bitter wine made of aloe vera juice. (It is called kumari asava.) In place of hard liquor or other alcoholic drinks, the person who is addicted to alcohol can take small amounts of this light, dry wine. Try 4 teaspoons diluted with an equal amount of water.

Then gradually reduce the amount of herbal wine in the dose, while at the same time using the above herbal formula to strengthen the damaged liver. • The same applies to tobacco. For a person who is addicted to nicotine, remove one-third to one-half of the tobacco from each cigarette (at the end you light), and fill the paper with a mixture of rose petals, brahmi, and jatamamsi (equal proportions). Smoke it until the tobacco starts burning.