How To Use Meditation To Better Manage Addiction And Speed Along Recovery

admin  —  September 5, 2017 — Leave a comment

How To Use Meditation To Better Manage Addiction And Speed Along Recovery

 

A return to alternative medicine is becoming more commonplace today. A great majority of these alternatives come to the Western cultures from the East. Addiction is a disease and is treatable using techniques designed by Western medicine as well as a number of holistic practices and spirituality found in the Eastern philosophies.

 

Anyone who is struggling with addiction and battling the cravings that come along with it can consider using some of the Eastern methods of treating this disease. Meditation has been used for thousands of years and is well proven to help reduce levels of stress.  Many who practice meditation find that they become more aware of their body and mind and how those can connect in a useful way to help prevent relapses.

 How To Use Meditation To Better Manage Addiction And Speed Along Recovery

What Are The Benefits Of Meditation?

 

According to DrugRehab.us, meditation is a tool that can be used to help addicts overcome their cravings. The practice of meditation has been done for thousands of years and even modern medicine has begun to recognize its usefulness and validity because of modern research done on the topic. Those in the East who practiced meditation did so in the beginning as a spiritual and mystical pursuit. In the West, in modern times, the average person practices meditation to help them quiet their mind and to reduce stress.

 

When someone meditates they will bring their attention to the present moment. This is commonly done by paying attention to your breathing or by focusing on an image. During most of your waking hours you likely have some thoughts running through your mind almost constantly but during meditation, those thoughts slow down and as you practice more you will be able to achieve a quiet mind and you will be able to fully relax.

 

How Does Meditation Benefit A Recovering Addict?

 

The typical addict is trying to avoid their feelings while the practitioner of meditation is able to accept their feelings and during meditation remove themselves from those feelings. As such, they are able to relax, reach a state of calmness, and achieve a feeling of well-being. The more a person practices, the more they begin to notice that the process of meditation affects their life even beyond the time spent meditating.

 

What Are The Physical Benefits?

 

According to a Palm Beach detox center some of the newest medical research done on meditation has demonstrated that it can help in managing and reducing many of today’s chronic illnesses. Some of these diseases it has shown to be an effective treatment for include asthma, high blood pressure, mental and emotional stress reduction, insomnia, heart disease, and even some types of pain. Along with being an effective part of treating and managing the above illnesses, it has also been shown to be highly effective in increasing the practitioners overall sense of well-being.

 

When someone encounters tough situations they can learn to have a better response to those situations through the process of meditation. When an addict experiences intense cravings they can learn to stop and take a moment to meditate to help relieve those cravings. Through the process of meditation, the practitioner will learn to have a greater sense of self.

 

The self-awareness and mindfulness that comes through this process is part of how meditation helps an addict heal. Once you become more aware of your body and mind and what they are trying to tell you, you can be more in control so when the cravings come you have an alternative to falling back on old behavior. Very often this self-awareness will lead you to discovering the triggers that lead to these cravings. An example of this might be stress at work or at home with your spouse or something else.

 

Stress is among the biggest triggers for an addict that relapses. Discovering the tools available with meditation can help most anyone who puts some effort into learning how to manage that stress better. Meditation not only helps reduce stress but it also reduces and often eliminates negative emotions and significantly improves positive feelings.

 

Anyone that wants the benefits of meditation can begin to do so relatively easy and often without any equipment or special instructions. That said, many do benefit from working with someone who has substantial experience with meditation. This practice can be done by sitting in a comfortable chair that is located in a quiet area of your home or office and then simply focus your mind on your breathing.

 

It should be noted that meditation is not a cure for anything and that includes addiction. It is, however, a useful tool in managing stress and the triggers that cause cravings. Any addict knows that they need all the tools they can get in their recovery process. Cravings are often very intense and yet meditation is a powerful enough tool to help fight those intense cravings. Don’t think about it, just give it a try and see for yourself how much better you feel afterward.

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