Addiction Recovery

A Chiropractic & Nervous-System–Centered Path Home

Addiction is not just about substances, behaviors, or willpower. It is about a nervous system that learned—brilliantly—to survive pain, disconnection, and overwhelm with the tools it had available.

At Organic Living Chiropractic, addiction recovery is approached through the lens of the nervous system. Our work focuses on restoring connection: connection to your body, to a sense of self you can live inside of, and to relationships that feel safe and nourishing.

This is not a program about fixing you from the outside. It is a process of helping your nervous system reorganize so healing, choice, and recovery can emerge from within.

Addiction as a State of the Nervous System

Addiction rarely begins with a substance. It begins with a state.

A state of overwhelm or numbness. A state of not wanting to feel what is happening in the body. A state of not trusting that support will be there when pain shows up.

In this state, the nervous system seeks relief—not morality, not long-term outcomes. Whether the strategy is alcohol, opioids, screens, food, work, gambling, or compulsive behaviors, the question the nervous system asks is simple: Did this reduce pain or create enough pleasure to feel survivable?

Over time, these strategies shape the brain’s reward pathways. Research describes this pattern as Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), where everyday experiences lose their ability to generate satisfaction and the nervous system becomes dependent on high-intensity stimuli to feel regulated.

In this context, “just stop” is not a treatment plan. It misunderstands how the nervous system is currently organized.

Tone, Trauma, and the Body

Addiction is deeply connected to nervous system tone.

  • When tone is too high, the body lives in anxiety, urgency, and restlessness.
  • When tone is too low, the body collapses into numbness, depression, and disconnection.

Trauma—especially chronic or developmental trauma—reshapes the nervous system. The body may feel unsafe even when life appears stable. Ordinary sensations like hunger, loneliness, or fatigue can be misinterpreted as threat. Compulsive behaviors then become a way to override or escape these signals.

Addiction, from this view, is not weakness. It is adaptation.

Reorganizational Healing: Addiction Recovery as Growth

At Organic Living Chiropractic, addiction recovery is supported through the framework of Reorganizational Healing. Rather than aiming to return you to who you were before addiction, this approach sees symptoms and breakdowns as opportunities to reorganize at a higher level of coherence, meaning, and resilience.

Recovery unfolds in seasons:

  1. Discover – Clearly seeing pain, patterns, and costs.
  2. Transform – Mobilizing energy, courage, and new strategies.
  3. Awaken – Experiencing deeper connection, gratitude, and meaning.
  4. Integrate – Weaving change into everyday life.

Recovery is not linear. Nervous-system–centered care supports you through each of these seasons.

How Chiropractic & NetworkSpinal Support Addiction Recovery

Gentle Adjustments, NetworkSpinal & Neural Coherence

Chiropractic care focuses on reducing mechanical and neurological interference in the nervous system. At Organic Living Chiropractic, this is delivered through NetworkSpinal, a gentle, non-forceful form of chiropractic that works with the spine as a primary organizing center for perception, regulation, and adaptation.

Through light, precise contacts, NetworkSpinal helps the body:

  • Release stored tension and defensive patterns
  • Develop new breathing and movement strategies through spinal waves
  • Shift from survival-based responses toward greater coherence and self-regulation

As the shape, position, tension, and tone of the spine change, the nervous system gains access to new options. For many people in recovery, this increased regulation makes it easier to notice cravings earlier, tolerate discomfort, and stay engaged in therapy, community, and relationships.

We do not treat addiction medically. We support the nervous system so recovery work becomes more sustainable and embodied.

Somatic Integration & Healing Intimacy

Intimacy as the Opposite of Addiction

One of the most powerful truths I’ve seen in my work is this: The opposite of addiction is not sobriety—it is intimacy.

Not just sexual or romantic intimacy—though those matter—but the simple, profound ability to:

  • Be in your own body and like who you are
  • Let another human being see you, hold you, and be with you—without needing to hide or perform

  • Feel your feelings in real time, instead of outsourcing them to substances or compulsions

Addiction is often a strategy to patch over a rupture in intimacy—with self, others, and life itself.

Somatic Integration at Organic Living Chirpractic is about rebuilding that felt sense of connection:

  • Learning to track sensations safely
  • Finding where your body says “yes” and “no”
  • Re-training the nervous system to associate connection with safety and pleasure

Your Path with Organic Living Chiropractic

Expert Support for Addiction Recovery

Addiction Recovery Therapy at Organic Living Chiropractic is provided by Dr. Tad Schexnailder, D.C., C.Ad., a chiropractor with specialized training in nervous-system-centered, somatic-based, and addiction-focused approaches.

Dr. Tad earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker University, along with bachelor’s degrees in Anatomy and Health & Wellness. He holds advanced certifications in NetworkSpinal™, and has completed post-doctoral training in Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders. His professional experience also includes massage therapy, exercise science, yoga instruction, and rehabilitation coaching—creating a holistic, integrative approach to recovery.

This comprehensive training enables Dr. Tad to provide personalized, compassionate care that addresses the physical, emotional, and neurological dimensions of addiction. His approach supports nervous system resilience, promotes self-regulation, and fosters sustainable long-term recovery.

The Collaborative Path to Recovery

We do not replace medical detox, medication-assisted treatment, or psychotherapy. Recovery is a team sport.

Our role is to help you:

  • Build a more regulated, responsive nervous system
  • Experience your body as an ally instead of an enemy
  • Access the energy and awareness you need to use your recovery tools effectively

When your system has more coherence, everything else works better.

Schedule a Discovery Call today and explore how at Organic Living Chiropractic we can support your nervous system, rebuild regulation, and strengthen your journey through addiction recovery.

Book Now

Epstein, D. M., Senzon, S. A., & Lemberger, D. (2009). Reorganizational Healing: A paradigm for the advancement of wellness, behavior change, holistic practice, and healing. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(5), 475–487. https://doi.org/10.1089/ acm.2009.0043 PubMed

Kuhfuß, M., Maldei, T., Hetmanek, A., & Baumann, N. (2021). Somatic Experiencing – Effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: A scoping literature review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929023. PMC

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking. (Discussed in multiple secondary sources.) PMC

Winblad, N. E., Changaris, M., & Stein, P. K. (2018). Effect of Somatic Experiencing resiliencybased trauma treatment training on quality of life and psychological health as potential markers of resilience in treating professionals. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 70. Frontiers