Celebrities boast about how they’ve discovered mindfulness and how it has positively impacted their life. Can mindfulness meditation work for addiction? There is no doubt that mindfulness, in and of itself works. When you’re standing in front of the refrigerator and the yummy chocolate cake is inside, stop when your hand is on the handle and think about the diet you’re on, the promises you made to yourself, and the weight that you don’t need to gain – it is now easier to turn away and leave the cake alone. Mindfulness works the same way. Adults use it every day when we’re weighing the consequences of our actions. However, can mindfulness meditation work for addiction? The data is in and the answer is yes!

This Ancient Ritual Is Working

Mindfulness meditation therapy is the purposeful thought of your present state of being. Can mindfulness meditation work for addiction? Addictions and bad behaviors stem from coping with unpleasant thoughts. Purposely engage your thoughts on what’s going on at the present time. Don’t think about what may have occurred to trigger your craving to use. You can successfully abstain from using at that moment.

It is not easy to still your mind. Mindfulness-based intervention or MBI’s are being utilized by the drug rehabilitative community more often. MBI’s are used because they work. It’s not as simple as “think about it – don’t do it”. MBI’s are being expounded upon all over the world to help individuals cope with daily life. In the case of drug addiction, it is a rather resourceful and useful tool.

Is Mindfulness Meditation The Same As Yoga?

Can mindfulness meditation work for addiction is akin to asking if yoga can work for addiction? Mindfulness meditation and yoga incorporate many of the same tactics. A concentration on breathing and body scanning – which is being purposely thoughtful about a particular area of your body such as your foot – helps your brain stop wandering. A wandering brain leads to bad behaviors. However, consciously think about exactly what’s going on at the moment. This is the core of mindfulness meditation. Address the present and not the past. Yoga and mindfulness meditation have the same goal – that is to have you connect with your body and your thoughts in a more meaningful way.

What Is Going On In The Mindfulness Meditation Sphere?

Currently, mindfulness meditation is being used in the drug rehabilitation treatment space voraciously. The National Institutes of Health has online data available. The extensive findings support the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation to combat substance abuse. One exercise involves a piece of chocolate. The candy is a substitute for an individual’s drug of choice. The piece of chocolate is close to the nostrils and to the individual’s mouth. However, they cannot eat the chocolate, rather they are mindfully experiencing the thoughts of craving the chocolate.

Mindfulness Meditation Began in 1500BC

The exercise is followed by a talk session where the cravings of the chocolate are compared to the cravings for illicit substances. In this way, participants are able to fully experience their cravings purposely without indulging in them. This practice aids in abstinence.

Though you may be tempted by drugs in certain situations you now have the practice of fully craving something and not indulging in it. Practice makes perfect.

Addiction destroys neural pathways in the brain. Mindfulness meditation restores these pathways as you learn how to purposely think about; an issue, a body part, your breath, the ticking of a clock, or any other construct. This exercise restores and rebuilds those pathways. The field is growing, and it has great implications in the drug rehabilitative space.

You’ve Set Your Mind To Help Mode…Take The Next Step

At Bayview Recovery Center, you will find mindfulness meditation techniques employed throughout our treatment programming. You will also find:

• Benzo addiction rehab
• Medication-assisted treatment program
• Dual-diagnosis treatment center
• Extended care program
• Medication therapy management program
• Cocaine addiction rehab center
• Drug addiction rehab center

Set your mind to give Bayview Recovery Center a call at 855.478.3650. Mindfulness meditation is a concept that we are well versed in. Call today and ask a treatment staffer can mindfulness meditation work for addiction?