Yoga for carers of addicted patients: a carer’s self-report

Abstract

Caring for those addicted to drugs and/or alcohol can adversely affect carers and this can manifest as stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, substance misuse and a range of physical health problems. In most health care settings, be it primary care or secondary care, more often than not carers’ needs go undetected and hence untreated. In the case report below we illustrate how weekly yoga classes helped a carer (of an addict) cope better. In light of the numerous benefits of yoga to carers of addicts (as described below) we call on drug and alcohol services to incorporate this simple and inexpensive intervention into their treatment programmes.

KEY WORDS: Yoga; Carers; Drug addiction