Overcome addiction with Reiki Healing

Overcome addiction with Reiki Healing
Addiction is very common in our society yet there is limited understanding of its causes let alone awareness. It’s true that a lot of ground has been covered lately in terms of addressing addictions such as alcoholism, bulimia/anorexia, and the obvious various drugs: however you can truly be addicted to anything, ranging from tea and coffee to shopping, sex, relationships, work.
I remember when a client called Judy first came to see me, she looked totally drained and was affected by a number of physical problems which she was addressing with acupuncture. The cure had been successful to a point and progress slow due to her heavy mental state so the acupuncturist had suggested she tried one of my ‘cocktails’ of Reiki/Aromatherapy/Reflexology.
As soon as I placed my hands on Judy to assess her energy levels and any imbalances, unsurprisingly several patterns came up and I could sense ‘energetic holes’ in her body in several places. In my experience in cases like that, if the client is experiencing a stressful situation, she will need to remove herself from the situation to kick-start healing. It became in fact apparent that Judy, although in the middle of a divorce, was still living with her abusive ex-partner, who was obviously pulling all the emotional stops as he was angry!
When she managed to get independent accommodation, the healing started and a few months later, not only she was much healthier, she looked even younger!
As a complementary therapist, over the years I have come across many touching stories, bursting with humanity and compassion. Judy recounted her story with addiction as follows:
“My addiction of choice was food initially. It started off when I was in my teens; I would eat enormous quantities of food, out of pure nerves, and then throw up. My teeth became so weak due to the stomach acids and I still have problems with them at present.
I had a very difficult upbringing, where I suffered sexual and emotional abuse from my mother and stepfather and I guess food was my way of coping with it.
It sort of got out of hand at some point so I switched to cigarettes. I never got into drugs or anything as I had seen many destroy themselves in my neighbourhood through heroine and I always thought that once you do drugs that’s the end of the line: drugs will end up controlling you, they are too strong.
Food and cigarettes control you as well, but they are not so hard to get out, and not so destructive, I reasoned: so I went on smoking for about ten years, when one winter I stopped breathing. I guess smoking isn’t great for an asthmatic. It was January and I nearly died. That was the turning point and I decided I had to ditch addiction, full stop.
My career as an addict continued, though: unconsciously I shifted into bad relationships, with the odd food binge. Why? Because, I think, the drama dysfunctional men provided gave me that high, that respite from feelings I didn’t want to have: loneliness, sadness, fear, I suppose. I had many tears I hadn’t been able to shed over the years and they were eating me away. So feeling anxious because of the abuse I was receiving from a partner, gave me an excuse to channel those feelings, or cover them up, conveniently. It was always somebody’s else’s fault and I could avoid taking responsibility for the fact that I had to address the damage and the reality of my life. It was true that what happened to me as a child was unfair, but it’s also true that as an adult your happiness is your responsibility.
The men I dated were all abusive on some level, and damaged: they mirrored in fact the people who unfortunately had such a huge influence in my upbringing.
Mind you, I came from a ‘nice’ middle class family, with lots of friends and parties to go to. I didn’t even realise I was addicted to bad relationships, because when you think of addiction, you think of druggies, alcoholics and anorexics. I thought I had faced my addictions and conquered them. So why was I so unhappy, and why didn’t I seem to be able to have the life I wanted?
Again, things got really bad. This particular partner was very possessive and isolated me, in any sense. I had a dramatic loss of self-esteem and one day I literally woke up thinking that this was not the life I wanted.
I took action and I’m on the road to recovery but it’s been very hard. When you want to get rid of addiction, you have to face up to facts and feelings you don’t want to see: yet it’s the only way forward.
I am a different person today.
I think if you are brave enough to face your demons, then magic happens in your life. I am not healed completely yet, and the memory of the abuse I suffered will always be with me, but I can use my knowledge to help others and to gain understanding.
I am a better person as a result of what happened to me.”
In my healing work I have come to discover that the above is a much wider problem than expected, and the saddest thing is that many are not aware of actually carrying it.
Addressing addiction at an energetic level with Reiki and complementary therapies works because it allows the therapist to have access to the memory of the trauma that is the cause in the first place. All memory is recorded in our bodies: contrary to belief, it’s not only brain cells that hold memory. St John, who discovered the principles at the basis of the Metamorphic Technique, noticed that consistently, when certain parts of the foot were stimulated, the patient would experience memories in relation to the mother or the father, often long lost memories. The release of such forgotten memories would trigger in turn change on an energetic and mental level, as the patient gained awareness.
It’s interesting and unchartered territory: yet I know as Reiki Healer, that Reiki Healing is so effective mainly because it has access to mental and emotional forms we create and carry within our aura therefore our being: most of the time this is a completely subconscious process, especially when repressing memories.
A colleague, who is a sports massage therapist, recounted the following story to me: “Something very strange is happening to me. When I treat a client, I occasionally see puffs of coloured energy evaporate from their body. I am trained in Craniosacral, but apart from that I don’t really work with subtle energies. It’s the most peculiar thing, really.”
I personally don’t ‘see’ the release, however as I am a ‘magnetic healer’, I tend to tune into the client’s aura and I can so sense in my own body where they have an excess or lack of energy and where, and I pick up on emotional and mental states.
I have been able to tell people where exactly they have pain, as the aura feels very warm when there is inflammation. It’s fascinating.
I certainly can’t tell them about their future, but I can certainly tell them about their past and their present.
I would strongly recommend anyone who is trying to overcome addiction to get some support in terms of therapies such as Reiki/Reflexology/Aromatherapy, and preferably a mix of these three. It’s important to sooth the body as there are always withdrawal symptoms and if you want to hang on in there you need to be able to face uncomfortable feelings and the fact that your body will crave the addictive substance.
An ex-smoker myself, I remember the first few months of been off cigarettes were torture purely because I could smell cigarettes everywhere!
A good therapist will also give you all the moral support you need and be your cheerleader through the ordeal of finding a new balance. Addiction is unhealthy because in lieu of a natural relationship, the person chooses an object for support. Family and friends, a spiritual higher power, nurturing the self, connection to community should naturally provide guidance, love spiritual and emotional growth: the addictive personality seeks to create an illusion and replaces natural relationships with the addictive relationship, in an attempt to block out unpleasant feelings.
Being and addict means that there is something out of sync on a spiritual level, but in a way, if you are reading this article and you have a problem with addiction, remember that it’s a blessing.
If you know you have a problem, then you can do something about it.