Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery
Mindfulness and Addiction
There are many different approaches to recovery from alcohol addiction and many ways to do it well. The research will attest to several other modalities providing successful ways of practising sobriety. One treatment strategy is showing a lot of promise in the field of addiction treatment. One of the cornerstones of mindfulness is meditation for addiction, which is part of most rehab programs.
Mindfulness-based treatment can be a healthy way to go into living a life without alcohol. This means mindfulness seeks to allow us to focus our attention on the present moment. When your mind wanders to the future or past, or when powerful emotions such as cravings arise, mindfulness treatment refocuses your mind to the present moment.
What is Mindfulness?
A good definition of mindfulness is “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.” It is the ability to practice merely paying attention to what is going on, both within your mind and body and in the world around you. This is done from an objective and nonjudgmental perspective to eliminate the criticisms and faulty thinking that plague us all. Although we all have the capacity to have this perspective, it takes time and practice, as it’s just not something that we are taught typically. Mindfulness lets us let go of these desires little by little, increasing our awareness of these desires and compulsions.
Being mindful means being kind and compassionate to ourselves and understanding as well. We can see the connections we have to ourselves and others around us. In reality, we think a lot and see many things, but we don’t pay attention enough to what is going on, which is normal. We have full, busy lives. The kids have to get to school. Then Susan has choir after school, and John has tutoring. We go to work and have to stay late to finish that project. Dinner needs to be cooked.
At some point, there’s sleep when there’s time. That is busy. It’s no wonder we ignore ourselves in the present. There is always the next thing to do!
The History of Mindfulness and Addiction
Mindfulness in substance abuse treatment was first proposed by American psychologist Professor Alan Marlatt in the early 1980s. Professor Marlatt used an ancient form of mindfulness known as Vipassana to help heavy alcohol and drug users overcome their addictions.
Our brains naturally go to the next thing to focus on. They keep going and going because our minds need to do that. We need to train them to slow down and look around. Start taking time to see what that thought was that preceded us getting really mad at our daughter. What exactly makes us smile when we see dandelions? Do we really clench our teeth when we get furious? Essential facts and traits we all have get missed because we are living in the next moment, not the one we are in. We need to train ourselves to stop and examine what we are thinking and feeling and how all of that relates to what is going on in the world around us.
Meditation for Addiction
The other core tenet of mindfulness meditation is our attitude about ourselves and those around us. We are all very judgmental. This is not a bad thing. Humans survived as a species by making snap judgments and labelling things, good or bad, safe or dangerous. Learning those patterns is what helped us evolve to where we are today. Our brains kept that part of survival, and this is how it plays out today.
The issue is that it is often unhelpful in how it plays out in modern society. The judgments we have now tend not to be focused on our survival but on what should or should not be. Or things like what we don’t like or what reminds us of something from our pasts, whether they are related or not.
Not all judgments are terrible things. Some may say, “Red looks nice on her.” Others may not be benevolent, like, “Why am I so stupid?” Or, “he’s just a jerk. I don’t have to listen to him.” These judgments often happen so fast that we don’t even pay attention to them. They come and go and only leave a feeling in their wake. This is another reason why mindfulness for substance abuse will help people in recovery in the long term.
You can find free guided meditation for addiction in most rehab centres. If you prefer a home detox instead of staying in rehab, then there are online experts who can guide you through your addiction recovery using meditation for food, drug, alcohol and even sex addiction. Holistic therapy is central to rehab and recovery, and experts are convinced that we must treat the whole person in order for recovery to succeed.
Mindfulness and Addiction Recovery
Mindfulness meditation for addiction recovery is about learning to look at things objectively and from a nonjudgmental perspective. This is possible to do; it just takes time and practice, like most things. Riding a bike took a couple of tries, so learning to look at things differently will also take time. Being objective means that we see the judgments we have, acknowledge them so that they don’t hold power over us, and act the way we want to, not the way they are telling us.
Nonjudgmental means looking at the negative criticism and letting it go, acknowledging it, and then moving on as if it were just a useless bit of information. It eventually becomes as easy as noticing that, “Oh, I’m telling myself I’m stupid again,” and then moving on from that, not fighting it, but also not giving it any more attention.
Mindfulness and Meditation for Drug Addiction
Drug addiction and cravings are behaviours that harm your physical and mental health and are tied in with compulsion, where you feel as though you cannot stop. Buddhist teachings state that humans hold onto desires and objects that ultimately cause suffering.
Mindfulness and Buddist-derived mental health and addiction approaches include an attachment to objects, people, substances, behaviours, and abstract concepts such as identity. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention allows us to let go of these desires little by increasing our awareness of these desires, cravings and compulsions.
One other key piece of mindfulness that has been woven in here is kindness and compassion, both for our fellow humans and ourselves. Objectivity and attention are based on being compassionate.
We pay attention and notice what we are thinking and feeling, the good and the bad, and then we are kind to ourselves and let go of what is not helpful. We let go of what is actively hurting our lives. We no longer give credit to those negative thoughts that have plagued us.
Mindfulness for Alcoholism
Recovery and meditation models are generally based on mindfulness practices without even really knowing it. Twelve-step programs incorporate a lot of mindful tenets. By focusing on the present and learning to look at things without judgment and more objectively, you let go of a lot of the stress and strife that probably caused the drug or alcohol abuse to begin with.
This improved level of attention in your recovery helps the patient better understand their addiction triggers and cravings, including automatic behaviours that give life to addictive tendencies. Changing your perception and focus impacts your brain, making this a more permanent, healthy recovery. Mindfulness-based treatment is an excellent way to begin a clean and sober lifestyle free from addiction.
Above all, mindfulness-based sobriety empowers addicts through self-awareness of automatic thought patterns. Mindfulness also helps people to react to discomfort differently. When an uncomfortable feeling like a craving, withdrawal symptoms or anxiety arises, mindfulness teaches these patients to recognise these discomforts and observe them non-judgmentally instead of automatically engaging in addictive behaviours.
Addiction treatment
While this sounds easy, it takes work, which can be done at a drug detox facility. There, you can get the stability and then the skills you need to live mindfully. Tasks like just focusing on the body, the thoughts, and the feelings you are having at various points in the day are typical starting points. Addiction therapists and other support staff help patients through this and teach patients a mindful recovery. If you or someone you love are struggling with alcohol addiction and think mindfulness-based treatment could help you, please reach out for help immediately. You can live a clean, sober and healthy life again.
Contact us now for free, confidential advice and help at 02072052734.
