Mindfulness Will Heal Addiction
Modern life is not always conducive to staying in the present moment, but as we are learning in the addiction field, the practice of mindfulness can bring greater joy into daily life and also help recovering addicts guard against relapse. The key to success is mindfulness training.
It is not about apathy or suppression of feelings, but rather the freedom to experience the full range of feelings and strategically choose how to respond. Addiction is an automatic behavior used to escape difficult feelings or situations, whereas mindfulness involves a conscious and deliberate focus on difficult emotions as a way to disarm them and interrupt habitual patterns like drug or alcohol use.
Addiction is the pursuit of what seems to be lacking but has really been there all along. Mindfulness is one way to connect with one’s inner resources and see the abundance in life while recognizing that reliance on drugs and alcohol is no longer a helpful coping mechanism.
The researchers conducted the study on a group of 63 adults who were dependent on stimulants and received behavioral treatment for their addiction for 12 weeks. After completion of four weeks of the treatment, the group was divided into two sections — one received mindfulness training designed for addiction treatment and the other group received only health education.
After one month of the treatment, 100 percent of depressed people who received mindfulness training ceased taking stimulants completely. As for the control group who had only received health education, only 50 percent stopped using stimulants. The findings were similar for anxiety disorder patients. The researchers found that mindfulness training not only helped curb stimulant use but also managed to contain psychological symptoms to remain off the drugs.
If a loved one is addicted to any drug or abusive substance and you are looking for any Residential or Outpatient Drug Rehabilitation Center, you may contact The Kiloby Center. Our consultants are available 24/7 helpline number 1-866-KILOBY-5.
