Addiction-Free Naturally: Free Yourself from Opioids, Pharmaceuticals, Alcohol, Tobacco, Caffeine, Sugar, and More

by Brigitte Mars A.H.G.

Overview

A guide to designing a personal program to break your addictions safely, gently, and naturally

• Shares herbs, supplements, natural remedies, and alternative practices that can help liberate you from habitual substance use, ease the withdrawal period, cleanse the body of toxins, and combat depression, anxiety, fatigue, and stress

• Offers specific advice and remedies for individual addictive substances and behaviors, including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, opioids, tobacco, and tranquilizers

• Explores the potential of psychedelic therapy for overcoming addiction and addresses how cannabis can be of benefit for recovery, without being misused

Addiction affects more people than any other disease. Breaking a habit can be ­daunting--it’s hard to know where to begin beyond quitting “cold turkey.” But just as habits can be acquired, they can be broken. Others have done it, and so can you!

In this holistic guide to beating addiction, Brigitte Mars details how to replace negative habits and behaviors with positive healthy ones and safely support your body, mind, and spirit for a successful recovery. The author shares specific herbs, supplements, homeopathic remedies, flower essences, behavioral therapy, and alternative practices, such as meditation and yoga, that can help liberate you from habitual substance use and ease the withdrawal period as well as methods for cleansing the body of toxins and healthy ways to combat depression, anxiety, fatigue, and stress. She looks in depth at individual addictive substances and behaviors, including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, opioids, tobacco, and tranquilizers, offering specific advice and remedies for each. She shows how each technique can be used in conjunction with conventional therapies, such as psychotherapy, methadone, or Alcoholics Anonymous. Drawing on recent research, she also explores the enormous potential of psychedelic therapy for overcoming addiction and, with the spreading legalization of cannabis, she addresses how this plant can be of benefit for recovery, without being misused.

Offering advice on designing a personal program to break your addictions, the author also shows how to use natural remedies to maintain your new energy and vitality as you walk the road to recovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644111123
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Brigitte Mars, AHG, is an herbalist and nutritional consultant with almost fifty years of experience. She teaches herbal medicine at Naropa University and the School of Health Mastery in Iceland and has also taught at Omega Institute, Esalen, Kripalu, and the Mayo Clinic. A founding member of the American Herbalist Guild, she is the author of many books and DVDs including The Natural First Aid Handbook, The Sexual Herbal, Healing Herbal Teas, and Rawsome! She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Brigitte Mars, AHG, is an herbalist and nutritional expert for more than fifty years, is a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild and teaches herbal medicine at Naropa University. An international lecturer, she is the author of several books, including Addiction-Free Naturally, and the creator of the app iPlant. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Read an Excerpt

From Chapter 9. Jitterbug Blues: Making It through the Withdrawal Period

If you’ve made the decision to kick your addiction, congratulations! A happier, healthier world is awaiting you. First, though, you have to get through the withdrawal period. Many people have multiple addictions, and you may find it easier to tackle the most serious of them first--alcohol before tobacco and tobacco before chocolate, for example--but following the program for one addiction may well put you on the road to recovery for others as well. If you are eating a healthier diet and supporting your body with herbs and supplements, you may find that by the time you have dealt with the more serious addictions, the others have almost resolved themselves.

For some people, withdrawal symptoms don’t amount to much, while for others they pose a serious challenge. And withdrawal is more than simply enduring cravings for a particular substance; you may feel jittery, irritable, or depressed, and you may have physical symptoms ranging from headaches to tremors.

It can take a year or more before you feel completely healed physically and stable emotionally. But it’s well worth it! The road to recovery brings you revitalized energy,health, and happiness. You’ll feel better, look better, and live better. All you have to do is make the decision--and stick with it!

Detoxification

Addictive substances disrupt the body’s normal processes and the mind’s normal thought patterns. To kick an addiction, you must detoxify both body and mind, first by cleansing, and then by rebuilding.

• Cleansing means avoiding the substance of your addiction, drinking teas and eating foods that help cleanse the body of toxic wastes and drug residue, and giving up the psychological dependency.

• Rebuilding involves supporting and nurturing those bodily organs and systems that have been weakened or damaged by the addiction, learning new, healthier habits that can replace the unhealthy behavior of addiction, and building networks of emotional support to help you through the withdrawal period.

Physiological effects from substance abuse are almost always reversible. But when you make the decision to free yourself from an addiction, your body does not return to its natural state overnight. Have patience.

Be Open with Family and Friends

Beating an addiction is hard work, and you’re most likely to be successful if you have the help of those who love you.

Nutritional Therapy

It’s imperative to keep your blood sugar levels stable during the detoxification process. Unstable blood sugar levels drain you of energy and can contribute to cravings. To stabilize blood sugar levels, eat four or five small meals a day. Have a healthy snack before bed and then eat again early in the morning.

Green leafy vegetables provide ample amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Their high nutrient content nourishes the body and promotes regeneration of damaged systems, their chlorophyll helps the body better utilize oxygen, and their fiber content aids in the elimination of toxins.

High-sulfur vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower also aid in detoxification. They are full of antioxidants, which help protect the body against free radicals.

To add more calming calcium to your diet, eat yogurt or drink goat’s milk.
Protein is also important during withdrawal, because it can reduce cravings. Good protein sources include legumes, tofu, tempeh, poultry, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Fish is an excellent source of protein and is rich in the raw material the body needs to make its needed neurotransmitters. Do not eat sugar--as a superrefined carbohydrate without much nutritional value, it will keep your body in an addictive mode, as I discussed in chapter 3. Reduce your intake of refined foods. Choose organic foods whenever possible.

Those who experience digestive distress during the withdrawal process may fare well with easy-to-digest foods such as high-protein baby food, blended soups, and pureed vegetables.

To minimize shaking and tremors during withdrawal, eat adequate protein and plenty of whole grains such as oatmeal, millet, and brown rice. Be sure to drink plenty of pure water so that wastes may be more effectively carried away. Have a drink of water whenever a craving arises. The addition of a bit of lemon juice to the water you consume can be even more effective: its sour flavor stimulates liver cleansing. Diluted unsweetened cranberry juice is also cleansing to the liver and kidneys. If you experience diarrhea or vomiting, be sure to drink electrolyterich beverages to help rehydrate and replace lost trace minerals.

Skin Brushing

Skin is often referred to as the third lung, and dry-brushing the skin can aid in the detoxification of the body by boosting circulation and improving lymphatic flow. As a side benefit, after regular practice you’ll end up with soft, glowing, healthy skin.

Skin brushing should be done with a soft vegetable-fiber brush just before you bathe. Disrobe and, starting with your feet, gently brush the skin in a circular motion.Work your way up the legs, then the hands and arms, and finally the torso, both front and back. The entire procedure should take two to three minutes. Be especially gentle over the breasts and avoid the genitals. Then shower or bathe. End with cool water to give yourself a forced circulatory massage.

Hydrotherapy

Soaking in a tepid bath to which three pounds of Epsom salts have been added is not only relaxing but also helps detoxify your system and draw out old drug and chemical residues. Neutral-temperature baths (between 92 and 98 degrees) soothe the nervous system and promote detoxification.

Sauna baths, sweat lodges, and steam baths also speed the release of toxic substances through sweating. They can have profoundly healing and spiritually opening effects if you enter them with the intention of releasing and purifying. They should, however, be enjoyed with a buddy, because the intense heat can lead to lightheadedness and dizziness.

After a detox bath or sweat therapy, rinse off, get covered up, and enjoy some bedrest. Those with high blood pressure should consult their doctor before using any bath or sweat therapies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION
Where We Stand Today

PART ONE
Natural and Herbal Approaches to Treating Addiction

1 Facing the Facts Coming to Terms with Addiction
2 On Your Own Terms Overcoming Addictions with Natural Therapies

PART TWO
Healing Begins
3 Like a Kid in a Candy Store Sugar Addictions
4 The Java Jones Giving Up Caffeine
5 Wake and Bake Woes Cannabis Use and Abuse
6 You Can’t Eat Your Way to Happiness Overcoming Food Addictions
7 Up in Smoke Deleting the Nicotine Fix
8 Getting Sober Dealing with Alcoholism
9 Prescription for Success Banishing Addictions to Stimulants, Sedatives, and Opioids
10 Getting Busy Other Addictions and Habits--From Sex to Work

PART THREE
When You’ve Finally Decided to Quit
11 Jitterbug Blues Making It through the Withdrawal Period
12 Addiction-Free for Life Making It through Tough Times

APPENDIX 1
Herbal Basics

APPENDIX 2
Overdose First Aid

APPENDIX 3
Resources
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Brigitte Mars’s life-changing book Addiction-Free Naturally shares empowering information to support readers to take charge of their health and recover from their addictions—naturally! Brigitte’s wellspring of knowledge goes deep. She shares history, science, therapies, insights, and more and dispels myths by reinforcing truths about the harmful impact of addiction on individuals, their families, and society. Bless you, Brigitte, for sharing your wisdom and giving us the necessary tools of healing to help emancipate ourselves from our addictions.

Anthony J.W. Benson

Addiction-Free Naturally is a must-have resource for anyone dealing with any kind of addiction. For some it could very well be life-saving. The material is extensively researched and clearly presented in accessible language. Most importantly, the book is a wide-ranging, generous compendium of solidly reliable and applicable information and guidance.

author of LSD and the Mind of the Universe Christopher M. Bache

She suggests habits you could acquire that may facilitate your healing, like journaling, positive affirmation, prayer, and therapies with light, color gems and crystals, and your choices of food. What you eat on a daily basis can make a difference. In short, there is probably nothing you’ve heard of that cannot be applied to addiction for positive results...This materia medica—list of herbs in alphabetical order—is an impressive range of herbs from Alfalfa to Yerba Santa. These herbs have a particular affinity for stages of withdrawing from an addiction.

Herbology East and west

Sugar. Nicotine. Food. Prescription medications. Sex. Alcohol. And so many more. If you’re snared by addiction—and you’re ready to change—this is the go-to guide. In it, world-renowned herbalist Brigitte Mars presents natural means for shifting from the disease state of addiction to a life of true health. Full of cross-cultural reflections, she presents more than 22 natural methods for transforming your relationship with yourself and your addictive focus. Readers can make use of herbs, nutrition, supplements, color therapy, essences, and more—to embrace purity and fly free.

Cyndi Dale

Brigitte Mars, A.H.G., is a highly respected registered herbalist recognized by the American Herbalists Guild. I have been honored to have her as a guest on my radio shows numerous times over several decades. As an author, Brigitte offers well-researched, comprehensive information and protocols involving natural therapies, such as lifestyle and botanicals that are steeped in long-term tradition as well as supported by modern scientific inquiries. Brigitte includes easy-to-use formulas that even a newcomer can safely try—to assist in their quest for wellness and, in this particular

Ellen Kamhi

In these stressful times, addiction is increasing throughout the world at a high rate. Addiction-Free Naturally is a very practical and thoroughly researched work from experienced herbalist, practitioner, and educator Brigitte Mars. Brigitte brings her many years of research and hands-on practice, making this book a must for anyone wanting to begin using more earthfriendly natural remedies and healthy practices to prevent and heal a wide range of addictions right away.

Christopher Hobbs

Brigitte Mars is an herbalist from a tradition that combines the ancient healing-plant wisdom from the East and the West. Due to her long, rich personal experience with plants and herbal medicines, and having lived consciously close to the earth all her life, her books are abundant fountains of information. As we live in a time of global overconsumption on many levels, Brigitte Mars’s book Addiction-Free Naturally is a timely addition to her large collection of herbal handbooks. Presented in a clear and easily assimilated format, this book is a must in every well-rounded natural remedy household library.

contemporary visionary artist Martina Hoffmann

Mars’s compassionate, well-researched book takes the reader by the hand to select the best natural remedies that help break addiction to heal mind and body. She artfully uses simple language to explain how the brain is impacted and provides enough information to design a healing protocol that is based on each type of addiction.

director of the American Herb Association Kathi Keville