Drug addiction has been one of the most difficult problems to address in professional health and social services.
When it comes to recovery from addiction, the core requirement is motivation to become drug free. While motivation itself isn't sufficient, without it most health and social services professionals view treatment for a given drug addict to be hopeless. Only after the motivation arises, can treatment really have any hope of achieving a long lasting effect.
But how does one become motivated to become drug free? If one lacks motivation, are they a hopeless case?
Can Agnihotra help create the motivation in a drug addict to become drug free?
A publication in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (July 1987) featured just this, a 25 year old male officer who had been addicted to heroin for 2 years. After attempts at forced abstinence and hospitalization for psychiatric treatment, all efforts failed to decrease his dependency and urge for heroin, or increase in his motivation to get off of heroin. He repeatedly relapsed and showed no signs of hope.
The authors of paper introduced him to Homa Therapy (Agnihotra). Though the officer had no motivation to start Agnihotra, he agreed to be present in the room where Agnihotra was performed for a morning and evening. After 3 days he developed an inclination for Agnihotra and voluntarily joined a group performing Agnihotra. And on the 7th day he began performing Agnihotra himself.
The graphs below chart his progress for four weeks. The graphs show that within the 4 week period, his daily intake for heroin decreased, his urge for the drug decreased, and his motivation to become de-addicted increased.
He continued the practice for 2 months, and authors of the paper observed the officer after 15 months. Despite not continuing the practice after the first 2 month period, the patient remained drug free.
Can this study be repeated for a larger sample size? Was Agnihotra the cause for the decreased urge in heroin and the increased motivation to become drug free? If so, what exactly was the mechanism to cause this? Can Agnihotra be used as a form of drug treatment and drug therapy?
See here for a link to the publication: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51651481_Agnihotra_-_a_useful_adjunct_in_recovery_of_a_resistant_demotivated_smack_addict