Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation for Addiction Recovery

With everything happening worldwide, it became pretty hard to stay in the moment. You worry about the future; you might be ashamed of some things in the past. Little by little, this is a way to lose yourself completely. Taking a deep breath and focusing on feeling the world around you is essential. It’s imperative if you’re going through a rough time in your life. There are a lot of benefits of mindfulness meditation for addiction recovery, and we’re talking about them today.

It’s a good mental exercise

Mindfulness Meditation is a mental exercise that helps you control your racing thoughts, let go of the past, and relax your body and mind. Mindfulness is part of the meditative process. It entails bringing your attention to the present moment without judging your thoughts, emotions, or sensations. This technique may take many forms. But it always entails bringing your attention to your breathing and internal experience. Neither special equipment nor advanced planning is needed to engage in mindfulness meditation. (Of course, you can always keep your favorite crystals by your side, but you don’t have to).  All you need is a quiet area to relax, three to five minutes of your time, and an open mind to get started.

A man, breathing
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Proven results

Mindfulness meditation has been proven in a few trials to reduce the likelihood of relapsing into substance abuse. Only 8% of those who utilized mindfulness meditation as part of their treatment relapsed after a year, compared to 20% of those who employed more conventional methods of preventing relapse. Recovering patients need to see a mindfulness professional for optimal therapy. Cognitive control of important processes is aided by mindfulness-based therapies (MBIs).

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Mindfulness essentially dismantles the connection between stress and addiction, allowing recovering addicts to make more rational decisions when faced with temptation. The practice of mindfulness has also been shown to assist in “uncoupling drug-use cues from conditioned appetitive responses.”

Mindfulness is an essential part of therapy

People in recovery may benefit from combining mindfulness and cognitive therapy. Studies have shown that those who regularly practice mindfulness have a higher rate of success with their decision-making. The practice of mindfulness helps us become more in tune with our inner world. Spending even just a few seconds being present and practicing mindfulness may help:

  • interrupt cravings
  • decrease stress
  • promote better decision-making.

This is most important when recovering addict has a choice that might put them at risk of relapse.

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DBT treatment

Dialectal Behavioral Therapy is a newly-found course of treatment. It was first used to treat suicidal women and borderline disorders. Today, it has found its place in addiction therapy. According to addiction treatment professionals, this therapy has many benefits and long-term effects. Mindfulness is one of the major parts of this treatment.

It helps you stop and think

Essentially, practicing mindfulness helps prompt recovering addicts to stop and think before reacting when they find themselves in situations to go back to their previous behaviors. Also, stress is another major contributor to relapse, although practicing mindfulness may help alleviate it. A lot of addicts forget how it is to feel hopeful and happy. In this manner, meditation and mindfulness can help them find their way back to internal happiness and joy.

A happy woman.
Photo by Gabriela Cheloni from Pexels

Manage stress

Stress often leads to drug abuse as a coping mechanism. Experts found that practicing mindfulness meditation may help individuals manage their stress and calm themselves down in stressful situations. Also, mindfulness can significantly lower stress levels by lowering heart rate and blood pressure.

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You will feel more at ease and less inclined to resort to current or former addictions as a way of escape during times of stress if you are able to concentrate on the “now” rather than on potential negative outcomes.

Rewire your brain circuits

The base of addictive behavior is a reward circuit in a person’s brain. Drugs or alcohol stimulate the addict’s reward circuit, leading them to engage in risky behavior. Mindfulness training that encourages the participant to “savor” positive aspects of everyday life may be a viable alternative to drug misuse.

Mindfulness is the antithesis of the habitual actions that often lead to drug misuse or relapse. By pausing before reacting negatively, the person might get insight into their thoughts and feelings and make a more constructive decision.

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Mindfulness meditation for addiction recovery can help you gain insight into your soul

Insight into your own addictive behaviors and the factors that contribute to their development can improve with regular meditation practice. In recovery, this is a crucial ability as you face each day afresh and strive to break free from destructive thinking and behavior patterns.

Free clarity

With the clarity and peace of mind gained by meditation, you’ll be better able to avoid falling back into destructive patterns and instead make wise choices that will serve you in the long term. Also, as a cost-free practice that you can do anywhere, at any time, meditation is a fantastic resource for rehab patients. Having a material thing, such as a meditational bracelet, can help you stay physically and mentally in the moment. This can come in handy whenever you feel like you’re too overwhelmed with reality and can’t achieve the focus required to practice mindful meditation.

 A meditational bracelet.
Photo by Mikey Wu from Pexels

Final thoughts

We all face the darkness every once in a while. It’s inevitable. Sometimes, we fail to resist that darkness. In return, it’s harder to get up and collect the pieces. It is complicated when your condition is chemically bound to certain substances. That’s okay. With the right help and tools, you’ll be ready to face all that life puts ahead. One of the tools you might use is practicing mindfulness meditation for addiction recovery. Once you feel all the benefits of it, you’ll surely want to continue with it for life and enjoy your days happily. Finally, you can now feel relaxed like a boss.

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