It involves sitting comfortably in a quiet setting, focusing your attention and allowing thoughts and distractions to pass without assessing them. And not every addiction treatment center offers its clients the opportunity to practice meditating as a form of therapy. As individuals practice mindful meditation, they are taught to focus on the current moment without dwelling on the past or future.

By taking deep breaths, chanting a mantra (or another focused word), and focusing on the breath, the result is increased awareness and connection. Drug and alcohol addiction can make it difficult for people to cope with everyday stressors without relapsing. Stress, anxiety, poor sleep, pain, depression and drug cravings are common complaints as people adjust to life without substances. Multiple studies have found mindful meditation can reduce these symptoms. People who meditate may also feel more aware of their thoughts, less bothered by unpleasant experiences and better able to control their emotions.

What Is Meditation Therapy for Substance Use Disorder?

An environment considered unclean for a person with OCD can trigger a panic attack. To reduce their anxiety, they perform compulsive behaviors such as excessive hand-washing. Symptoms of anxiety often start during childhood or adolescence and continue throughout adulthood. Common symptoms of an anxiety disorder include a relentless sense of impending danger or doom, panic attacks, increased heart rate, trembling, hyperventilating, and gastrointestinal problems. People with an anxiety disorder also may have difficulty with their concentration, their memory, or may easily become irritable. Connect with a licensed therapist for porn addiction and mental health counseling.

Less-hazardous reasons that people may feel anxious include having to make an important presentation or take a final exam. This type of anxiety, which helps us stay alert and aware, differs from having a clinical anxiety disorder. All meditation involves being mindful (or present in the moment), but mindfulness meditation emphasizes this. In mindfulness meditation, the person works to build his or her awareness of the current situation.

The Connection between Mindfulness Exercises and Recovery

Regardless of the type you use, meditation can help treat addiction and its many side effects. You don’t need a master’s degree to use meditation for addiction recovery. Even so, speaking with a professional and taking some guided meditation sessions can significantly enhance the benefits you receive from this mindfulness practice. Coming full circle, MBIs are some of the newest additions to the armamentarium of addictions treatment.

This improves cognitive function, attention, and sensory processing. This means being aware of how you feel and think without passing judgment. While mindfulness is beneficial in daily life, it is a great tool for addiction recovery. Another benefit of meditation in addiction treatment is the dopamine release it provides. Because drugs and alcohol cause a rush of dopamine to be released, it causes the brain to gradually stop creating dopamine naturally. We also specialize in mindfulness-based intervention, such as mindfulness meditation, to help get to the root of the addiction.

Life-Focused, Holistic Recovery

Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness relieves the symptoms of anxiety and depression and improves the symptoms of pain. Practicing mindfulness reduces meditation for addiction recovery stress, which is crucial to addiction recovery. Stress can build gradually without your awareness until suddenly you find yourself irritable, angry, and tense.

• Addiction is often rooted in deep-seated emotional pain or trauma, and meditation can help individuals confront and process these underlying issues.
• Though mechanistic research on MBIs has begun to amass, there are few psychophysiological and neuroimaging studies of MBIs as a treatment for addiction.
• Contrary to popular belief, practicing it does not require props or preparation, so there is no need for candles or essential oils (unless you enjoy those).
• By aiding in the rebuilding of positive neural connections in the brain’s reward center, meditation can be a very effective secondary therapy in treating and alleviating the symptoms of substance abuse and withdrawal.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation on a regular basis makes it more likely to happen automatically during stressful situations. The continued focus on the present and how your mind and body feel will lower stress caused by worries about the past or future. Techniques such as deep breathing exercises and focusing on the present moment can help counter negative behavioral urges in people recovering from a substance abuse disorder.

This type of meditation helps you to achieve clarity and stillness as it calms the mind, reduces stress, and provides a deeper relaxation. It is important to find a mantra that you are comfortable with and that allows you to focus. Even in cases of prolonged substance abuse and addiction, the brain has a powerful ability to adapt and repair the damage it causes. Through a process called neuroplasticity, the brain builds new neuron cells and creates neural pathways, allowing it to grow, modify and restructure itself. This activity is enhanced in recovering addicts who practice regular meditation.

Sean has experience working in various diverse settings, including an outpatient clinic, inpatient detox and rehab, psychiatric emergency, and dual diagnosis programs. His specialty areas https://ecosoberhouse.com/ include substance abuse, depression, anxiety, mood disorders, PTSD, ADHD, and OCD. Many people struggling with a substance use disorder also suffer from anxiety or depression disorders.

Over time, this can help to reduce strain on your arteries and heart as well as helping prevent the occurrence of heart disease. Studies have found that meditation promotes emotional health and reduces anxiety. Helping to promote a positive outlook and improve your self-image, meditation can help give you the best possible foundation from which to start a new sober life.

• Our treatment facility is accredited by the Joint Commission and LegitScript Certified.
• Researchers and clinicians have begun to explore mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for intervening in SUDs and relapse prevention.
• As the person continues to self-medicate, they develop tolerance to the substance.
• The University of Minnesota answered the question of “How Does Mindfulness Work?

Meditation therapy is becoming increasingly available at treatment centers and therapists’ offices. What’s more, this therapy can be done by most people and is often considered to be fun. If someone is interested in exploring this treatment, they should begin by getting in touch with their healthcare provider. That provider can then refer the individual to a facility that offers meditation or yoga services. Many treatment centers now offer this as part of a holistic plan of addiction treatment as well. As stated in the above article on NCCIH’s website, clinical studies have shown that these meditative therapies help individuals cope with stress, depression, anxiety, and even physical pain.

Below, we discuss general clinical principles for using MBIs to intervene in SUD and prevent relapse. Meditation can play a significant role in addiction recovery by helping you develop greater self-awareness, manage stress and anxiety, and cultivate a greater sense of inner peace and well-being. Addiction is often rooted in deep-seated emotional pain or trauma, and meditation can help individuals confront and process these underlying issues. Through regular practice, meditation can help you develop greater mindfulness – the ability to be fully present and aware of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment.

It’s a gentle way of opening your mind to greater awareness; to a truer, deeper understanding of yourself and your world. For example, meditating can be the act of clearing all thoughts and focusing on keeping the mind that way. It can also look like conjuring up peaceful imagery, like a peaceful beach. At our San Diego rehab center, we focus on both treatment and education to help you on your path to sobriety. Here are some of the best meditation apps that could help you during your addiction recovery. One of the struggles that people in recovery deal with is feeling like they don’t have control over their actions.

Mindfulness, when practiced successfully, encourages many healthy changes to the brain and body systems. The University of Minnesota answered the question of “How Does Mindfulness Work? Mindfulness is the ability to be aware and present in the moment from a non-judgmental state. Therapies that focus on mindfulness and meditation give patients the tools to increase their ability to accept and tolerate the events, situations, and feelings of the present.