How Mindfulness Helps Addiction Recovery
published January 9, 2023
Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash
by Mia Barnes
It is normal for humans to try to avoid pain and discomfort. People are often unaware of this tendency, but substance abuse is an example of an automatic human drive to escape from negative feelings. Around 21.2 million Americans report struggling with substance abuse and mental health.
Traditional addiction treatments focus on controlling triggers to the cravings or negative emotions that lead to substance use. This approach has been shown to work, but there can be high rates of relapse.
Mindfulness-based relapse prevention helps people gently notice the craving or feeling while tolerating it. The key to this treatment is observing the feelings, relating to them differently and letting them pass. Understanding their typical reactions can help people let go of things that may have provoked them in the past and led them to relapse into addiction.
Mindfulness Skills for Recovery
A few mindfulness skills are especially important to take on during treatment. They include:
Observation: Focusing on what is going around you
Description: Describing your feelings or events that happened
Involvement: Participating without being self-conscious
Avoiding judgment: Learning to be less judgmental and accepting things as they are
Effectiveness: Thinking about what will work more effectively now and in the future
Benefits of Mindfulness-Based Treatment
Mindfulness does a lot to help enhance the recovery process. A mindfulness-based approach can be particularly helpful for people who tend to act without thinking or who have a judgmental attitude toward others and themselves.
They also develop other skills that can help them cope both with the addiction recovery process and in everyday life.
Mindfulness helps us slow down and become more aware of our bodies and minds. Many people find that this can reduce chronic stress and induce a relaxation response without the need for substances.
Becoming more mindful can help people learn to address triggers head-on and think about their reactions before responding. After a pattern of behavior is used repeatedly, it becomes easier to respond in the same way in the future.
Self-compassion is one of the most essential tools during recovery. Humans tend to be hard on ourselves when things do not work immediately or if there is a setback. It can be challenging for people struggling with addiction to find a support system since they may feel ashamed or isolated. A compassionate attitude toward themselves allows them to see the situation more clearly and become less protective of their self-image.
Aid Recovery by Being Mindful
When using mindfulness as a part of addiction treatment, patients can come to new realizations about the things that trigger them to engage in self-destructive activities. Using mindfulness with treatment for addiction recovery can change the experience. Patients get more than just recovery — there’s also a mindset shift to help them deal with everyday life.
About the Author
Mia Barnes is a writer specializing in mental health and wellness. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Body+Mind Magazine and has also written about gaining clarity through mindfulness and meditation for The Mindful Word. She has previously written for Mindful Teachers on the Benefits of Mindfulness in Schools and on How Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga Can Help First Responders.
Related Posts
There are many more resources here at MindfulTeachers.org on the benefits of mindfulness and many resources for practicing and teaching mindfulness, including the following posts:
Personal Triggers: Recognizing the Causes of Problematic Behavior (from Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents)