Why I’m doing this…

Sometimes I do things without really realizing what I’m getting myself into, and so it was with the NADA (The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) training. The NADA training is a two-week hands-on program to teach healthcare practitioners how to assist recovering addicts using acupuncture.

My main motivation for doing to the NADA training was to get hands-on needle experience with people and the experience of interacting with people using acupuncture as a treatment tool in a legal way. I will also get a certificate that will allow me to use these skills under the supervision of a licensed  acupuncturist (which I imagine could open up some opportunities for me). The fact that NADA training is all about helping drug and alcohol addicts get clean and stay clean was a side-note, a much bigger side-not than I realized (I should also mention that I was inspired by Lisa Rohleder’s book Acupuncture is Like Noodles).

So what it’s like…

Humored by my naivete, I stand humbled, and incredibly grateful that I made the decision to devote two weeks of my spring break to do this training. This experience is definitely bigger than the expectations I had set up for it and I’m gaining so much more than I knew I would.

Beyond my personal “addiction” to coffee and tea and chocolate, I have little direct experience of the disease. And it is, as I’m learning and growing to understand (I’ll be the first to admit that my understanding is still very limited), a terrible and powerful disease. Addiction can stem from emptiness: a lack of self-worth, a lack of meaning in life, or not feeling loved. And not knowing how to feel loved, find meaning, or feel valuable; not knowing how to fill the void. That void, and not knowing how to fill it, according to my understanding, stem from society and culture and upbringing. People seek to fill the void and turn to alcohol or other drugs. Addiction is also about numbing a pain (perhaps it’s the pain of not being loved, not feeling meaning, etc). Life can be stressful and can be hard, and we usually only know how to cope up to a certain threshold. Without family, friends, community, or God and other healthy outlets for our painful challenging emotions and experiences, we can’t cope. Unless we have an environment where we feel comfortable expressing what we experience, and unless we are aware of the root of why we feel the way to do, we’re going to need something to escape. We’re going to want to numb the pain, calm our nerves, and relax. And that’s where things get messy, while initially people start using as just a way to “get away from it all,” over time the drugs alter the way the brain functions, creating a dependency that is an incredible challenge to overcome.

How Acupuncture helps…

One of the beautiful things about the acupuncture as a treatment for addiction is that it’s relatively passive and it’s non-verbal, so it’s incredibly accessible even to people who aren’t quite ready to be dealing with things on deeper levels. It calms the mind and spirit in such a way that helps people realize their own inner strength. It shows the individual what it feels like to move from a state of anxiety, distress, and pain to a state of calm and relaxation. Even if they’re not doing on their own yet, they can see that it’s possible, and they can see that it’s possible without a substance. Maybe they still need assistance from needles, but their bodies are doing it, it’s happening within them and they’re somewhat conscious of the process, they’re experiencing it as it happens. They come out of the treatment feeling relaxed and calmer and more able to cope with the world in a healthy way. I think that’s one of the ways that acupuncture is power and helpful for treating addiction.

Wrapping up…

I’ve spent this past week in my heart. Deeply moved by the people working at the Recovery center, big people with big hearts and small egos, who stand tall in a way that radiates their awareness of the strength of human spirit and its weaknesses. I’ve been equally moved by the people who are working hard to recover from their addictions, as they work through their challenges in an effort to become more healthy individuals. I’ve bonded with a group of sweet people going through the training with me and I’ve been inspired and lit up with excitement about the potential for this simple yet powerful medicine to help people.

All this while I pack up my room, meet with potential new roommates, and trying to get enough sleep…