Healing House stories: Amanda

We are back to running a modified Healing House program and want to share some of the stories of guests who are inspiring us.  We are going to start with one of our current guests, Amanda.

Amanda came to us recently for help with alcoholism.  In preparation for coming she had doubled her alcohol intake and was so anxious about not drinking that she was noticeably shaking.  During her naturopathic intake exam, it was obvious that she has a splendidly healthy body, which helps everything.  However on the emotional level, she was profoundly frightened.  A previous attempt at stopping alcohol had landed her in the hospital due to withdrawal symptoms.

So we decided to do something unconventional: include organic beer in her treatment program!  For lunch and dinner she was encouraged to drink one or two beers, for a total of four a day maximum, along with a nourishing diet, strengthening supplements, weekly massages, yoga classes, counselling and work in the garden.  By day four Amanda was sober without symptoms.  Three weeks later she is down to two beers a day and is ecstatically happy, experiencing parts of herself that she never has before.  Her profession is as a cook and she cooked for Kaia’s NaturYoga retreat, receiving great feedback from everyone.

Having Amanda here has been a wonderful experience for us.  We have all come to love her and plan to offer ongoing support after she leaves.  Treating alcoholism is a new thing for us and we have learned much from this delightful young woman!  We realize this is only a step in a long-term process, but are very satisfied with the results.  In the next newsletter we’ll share part two of her story and hope she will add some in her own words.

It is wonderful to be able to continue the HH program, as it can do so much when the match is right between guest and home.  We are looking forward to continuing the training for Healing House Hosts together with Algonquin College in 2012.