Dear Soul Arcanum:
Can energy healing help someone heal from an alcohol addiction? My boyfriend is in a 12-step program, but he keeps slipping – in fact, he seems to be getting worse.
– Michele
Dear Michele:
Addictions are a form of OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder. They are born of a desire to comfort ourselves when we feel emotionally overwhelmed. Some people drink, gamble, do drugs, overeat, etc. when they feel stressed out. Others can’t relax enough to have a “good time” unless they’re engaged in their addiction. All such behavior is learned via experience. Addicts simply try to feel better in the moment by relying on a method that worked in the past. After a habit has been established, of course, it takes on a life of its own. It can then be painful both physically and psychologically to break it.
Energy healing/intuitive counseling can not only help, but may prove one of the only ways to truly heal an addiction. This is because these methods will go to the root of what is causing the addiction instead of focusing on the behavior itself. If we try to change our habits without changing our beliefs, we’re in for a very difficult, uphill battle, with nothing but our willpower behind us. If we change our beliefs, then it is natural for our behavior to change accordingly, especially if we’re consciously evaluating our habits.
For example, if someone believes that they can’t handle social situations unless they’ve loosened up with drugs or alcohol, they will continue to be drawn toward substance abuse again and again until they change that belief. If they come to believe that it is truly NEVER worth it to drink in order to assuage anxiety because this produces more problems than it solves, then it will be far easier for them to change their habits to align with this personal truth.
Deep down, addicts believe they can’t deal with life without their addiction; once they start to believe they can both manage and be happy in life without whatever they’re addicted to, they can change. Positive change doesn’t usually happen without some effort, of course – we have to consciously choose what we want in our lives, and put our hearts and souls into manifesting that.
While conventional therapy may recognize that an unhealthy subconscious pattern is at work, it’s up to the addict to figure out why and what to do about it. If the addict was able to figure any of that out, they wouldn’t need help in the first place. Instead of just asking the right questions, as a therapist may do, an intuitive healer can deliver the right answers.
A good psychic can access memories and issues that have been pushed below conscious awareness. These may be from one’s past in this life, or from past lives. A medium can also discern if there is an astral entity attached to the individual that is driving the addictive behavior. Even if such an entity didn’t initiate the addiction, by simply engaging in addictive behavior, we become magnets for such entities, which try to “live through us” in order to feed their own addictive desires. These entities will try to thwart any attempts we make to heal from addiction, which of course makes it harder to quit.
A medium/energy healer can not only discern what is happening at this astral level, but can clear away such entities, and thus greatly facilitate positive change. Further, a healer can reconnect us with our best selves, and by raising our vibration, empower us to create whatever we want in our lives.
It’s also essential to view whatever we want to create in our lives with the law of attraction in mind. Whatever we focus upon expands, so if we focus on “healing from addiction,” we actually send a lot of energy to the idea that we are addicted and need healing. This may be why your boyfriend seems to be getting worse. Going to regular meetings and saying, “Hi, my name is Bob, and I’m an alcoholic” is not a good idea. Further, listening to everyone at these meetings endlessly talk about drinking and alcoholism sends a LOT of energy to the manifestation of more “alcoholism” in one’s experience.
It is often more effective to ignore an addiction and focus on creating what is wanted instead. That may mean we focus on becoming “health nuts” who only eat this and that, drink this and that, and work out so many days a week, etc. Instead of trying to NOT do something, we then have something positive to do. This has the added benefit of making us stronger and saner. One reason substance abuse is so challenging to overcome is because we’re not really in our “right minds” when we’re using. This makes it hard to think straight and make wise decisions.
Following are some of the metaphysical roots of various addictions. When these are driving compulsive behavior, it’s unlikely that traditional methods will prove successful for the long haul. Please note that attached entities can be behind any of these forms of addiction, and self-deception (the desire to avoid the truth about one’s self) is an element in ALL addictions.
Alcoholism: This common problem often stems from past lives that involved a lot of drinking. For example, in centuries past, when the water supply was unsafe, people often lived on beer and wine. They drank it “like water,” so it became normal to them. This can create a preference for such beverages. “Dying of thirst” in a past life can also cause “drinking problems.”
Compulsive Overeating: This may stem from a past life in which we starved to death, or were often very hungry. If you think about world history, this had to happen a lot. It also stems from dieting to be too thin in order to meet social ideals, and from the poor nutritional quality of much of the food we eat these days. (Our bodies will drive us to keep eating until we get the nutrients we need.)
Drug Addictions: This is often rooted in a deep feeling of not being at home here on Earth. When we feel out of sync with life, when the world just seems “wrong” because we vaguely remember other spiritual planes and long to “go home,” we may try to escape from reality via psychoactive drugs.
Gambling: Addictions to gambling are often caused by disempowerment. People who gamble compulsively don’t own their personal power to create what they want in their lives. Instead, they see their “good fortune” as coming randomly from outside of themselves. They are bored with life because they aren’t taking risks to pursue their true dreams, so they crave the excitement of gambling.
Sex: Sex addiction is often caused by a lack of creative outlets. When we have all this creative energy and we don’t know what to do with it, we may seek release through sex. It can also be caused by a lack of self-love, which we try to assuage through the affection of another. Since what we really need is self-love, however, no amount of affection from someone else will satisfy us. We might view this ultimately as a sign of spiritual longing – instead of consciously pursuing ecstatic experiences through spiritual practices, we chase after the fleeting substitute of orgasm.
All addictions are coping mechanisms; addicts are just trying to avoid experiences they fear will be “too painful.” While only they can truly create positive change in their lives, psychics and healers can help people who sincerely want to heal from addiction to gain deeper insights into their behavior, reclaim their personal power, release issues and entities driving compulsive habits, and reach for a new sense of self that is stronger, happier and healthier.
– Soul Arcanum