Because meditation can focus and calm the mind, meditation therapy and addiction treatment can go hand in hand as you walk the path toward recovery. During rehab and treatment for substance abuse, a patient experiences many emotions that can be a challenge to manage. Additionally, the triggering memories and a bleak outlook on the future may distract from the goal of overcoming addiction. This is why meditation and addiction recovery are natural dance partners because meditation can be an effective tool to help you manage your emotions during and after treatment. Reach out to A Better State online, or you call us at 781.412.1488 today to learn how our meditation therapy program can help you heal and live a happier, healthier life.
The Different Types of Meditation
Several different meditation techniques have beneficial properties for those going through rehab and recovery from addiction. These meditation types and techniques include:
- Mindfulness meditation
- Zen meditation
- Guided meditation
- Transcendental meditation
All of these forms of meditation can improve mental health, physical wellbeing, and address substance use disorder issues.
How Does Meditation Help with Addiction
Meditation therapy and addiction treatment can help eliminate the urge to turn to alcohol and drugs. Additionally, research has found that meditation practices can reduce the risk of relapse. Practicing mindfulness meditation teaches healthy ways to avoid discomfort from pain and hurtful emotions. Meditation and addiction recovery can help you handle the effects of drug cravings and the negative effects of substance use.
Meditation has positive benefits that support a lifetime of addiction recovery because it can help you feel calm, develop methods for coping with triggers, and avoid relapse. Here are three reasons why meditation helps with addiction.
Improved Your Self-Control
Over time, meditation will increase your focus and awareness. Achieving this will give you better self-control, keep your impulsiveness under wraps, and make wise, healthy decisions in everyday life.
Through meditation, the qualities you will develop may also increase your ability to cope with harmful emotional and environmental triggers. This is because meditation therapy and addiction treatment will make you feel more confident by being in control; knowing how to calm yourself will improve your emotional stability and think more clearly. In turn, you will find it easier to respond to situations effectively.
Improved Mental Health
Meditation alters a person’s brainwaves to improve their psychological functions and reduce the stress hormone cortisol. As you ask the question, how does meditation help with addiction, one of the answers lies in the improvements meditation and addiction recovery can make to your overall wellbeing and mental health. This is possible by calming your mind and body and helping to halt the fight or flight response that may have been developed due to trauma suffered in the past. Meditation can help you develop a higher threshold for stress as you progress through your addiction treatment and recovery.
Mindfulness meditation specifically can enhance the function of the frontal cortex. This prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that regulates thinking and planning, meaning there is a clear link between meditation and mental health. Meditation can also help in insomnia cases, providing better nights of sleep, from which so much of a person’s wellbeing begins.
Reduced Risk of Relapse
Meditation allows patients to develop healthy coping mechanisms for handling stress and stressful situations in their daily lives. Because relapse often occurs when a person in recovery is faced with excessive stress that can seem impossible, meditation is a key tool in achieving and maintaining long-term sobriety.
Additionally, meditation therapy and addiction treatment can reduce post-acute withdrawal symptoms, making it easier for you to manage and make it through the withdrawal phase of detox and rehab.
Learn More at A Better State
Discover how meditation therapy and addiction treatment can play an essential part in your ongoing recovery from a substance use disorder. Contact us using our secure online form or call us at 781.412.1488 today.
