Treating Alcoholism With Ayurveda

Ken de Kok was losing control. He had been drinking for nearly thirty years, and the alcohol that used to help him relax was causing more and more problems. Ken says, "mentally, I wasn’t well. I was having trouble at work. I wasn’t managing well at home with my children, with my wife." Ken managed to conceal his drinking from co-workers and friends until a breakdown motivated him to get medical help.
"I didn’t really want to discuss my personal problems with my family physician so I asked to be sent to another doctor." The doctor Ken visited listened carefully to his story, and referred him to Dr. Raju Hajela, a medical doctor who specializes in treating addiction through Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a 5,000 year-old system of knowledge integrating diagnosis, detoxification, diet, and meditation.

Dr. Hajela considers it to be part of behavioural medicine. An Ayurvedic practitioner uses information about all aspects of a patient’s life and history. In his first meeting with Ken, Dr. Hajela paid special attention to Ken’s metabolic type, or dosha. Dr Hajela explains, "whenever an Ayurvedic assessment is done on someone, the natural vatha, pitha, or kapha constitution is taken into account.

Then illnesses are dysfunctions that arise within that context." Dr. Hajela identified Ken as having a pitha constitution, and designed a treatment reflecting his constitution. Ken’s treatment included both Ayurvedic and Western medications. One of the medications was ReVia, a commonly prescribed medication that lessens alcohol cravings. At first Ken was reluctant to take the medication. He says, "I didn’t want to quit at that time and I thought, well, this is going to make me quit. I don’t want to quit. I don’t need to quit. "Eventually, Ken took the medication, and quit drinking. He began doing transcendental meditation in order to relax and take care of himself. On the outside, Ken looks the same. But on the inside, he is a new man. He explains, "I’m more optimistic. I think I’m a better person. I’m a happier person . . . I’m clearer about things." After thirty years, Ken has finally managed to take control of his life.

"Mentally, I wasn’t well. I was having trouble at work. I wasn’t managing well at home with my children, with my wife."
-- Ken de Kok