How Meditation Benefits Recovery
Almost all affordable treatment centers offer meditation as one of the tools of recovery. In general terms, meditation is very useful in times of stress, or as a regular practice to approach enlightenment or reduce the time spent being overwhelmed by stressful thoughts and feelings. This applies to addiction, as well, but there are some specific reasons why meditation is so beneficial to people who are trying to recover from addiction.
Change Focus
Anyone who has ever tried to recover from addiction can tell you the value of learning how to take your focus off of the tool of addiction and put it on something else—almost anything else. This is an effective way to use meditation, especially when the addict is in a situation that doesn’t allow for a lengthy meditation session. Think in terms of a few minutes of meditation to combat the urge that strikes you at work when your boss just won’t get off your back, and you would rather be anywhere else than where you are, but can’t. Meditation directs the attention of the mind somewhere else.
Ride the Wave
In other instances, such as when a lengthy session is possible, meditation in the form of focusing on the craving can be helpful. One of the most popular methods is to visualize the craving as a wave in the ocean or sea. You see it coming, getting closer, and eventually you ride the wave until it crests. Once the wave breaks, it’s possible to let go of the craving. This doesn’t just help in that instance, either, but assists the addict as they try to take back some control over their lives.
Some of the other helpful methods of meditation include visualizations, mantras that can go a long way toward convincing yourself of a powerful message, and even Mandala visualizations that specifically aim to make the mind feel so overloaded that it simply gives up and detaches, taking the cravings with it.
If you would like to learn more about meditation, other coping skills for addiction, or more about how meditation can be a helpful tool to treat addiction, contact one of the rehabs in Orange County for more information.
