A 20-Minute Therapy Session: Using Meditation to Overcome Addictive Behaviors
Sitting in a quiet, dimly lit room, you repeat the meditation mantra your yoga instructor taught you: "Om Namah Shivaya." The silent repetition diverts your mind from the replay of the day's events as you feel your heart rate slowing and your breathing becoming more consistent and deliberate. Just when you think you've got it, your mind starts to wander - did you remember to turn off the oven, is the front door locked, are the kids asleep? Is this meditation stuff working yet?
Meditation has been used for over 5,000 years in the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions, and has taken some form in most major world religions. Though originally used to make a spiritual connection, it has also become a popular secular practice designed for relaxation and stress relief.
As more research surfaces on the benefits of meditation, it is becoming clearer that the practice can reduce cholesterol levels, improve breathing for asthma sufferers, relieve insomnia, ease digestive problems, assist in the management of chronic pain, increase healing, and boost the immune system. Meditation is also effective for reducing stress and anxiety, relieving symptoms of depression, and reducing addicts' cravings for drugs, alcohol, and other substances.
Meditation's Silent Promise for Recovering Addicts
People suffering from addictions of all types, including drugs or alcohol, sex addiction, compulsive gambling, and food addiction, can benefit from the practice of meditation. Though it may be difficult at first to quiet the mind (after all, when you're running from your problems, who wants to stop and contemplate?), meditation can help unlock memories and emotions that need be healed in the recovery process.
Through guided meditation, addicts learn to divert their attention from the sometimes painful process of detoxification and regain control over their body's responses and urges. Transcending the physical experience of pain, addicts improve their distress tolerance skills and their ability to endure hardship without turning to drugs, alcohol, or other self-destructive behaviors.
The impact of meditation on substance abusers has been well-documented. Drs. Gelderloos, Walton, Orme-Johnson, and Alexander compiled a review of 24 studies, the results of which were published in The International Journal of Addictions, comparing transcendental meditation to standard psychotherapy, group therapy, 12-Step programs, pharmacological treatments, relaxation training, and other drug treatment and prevention programs. The researchers found that meditation was more effective than other treatments alone, and that incorporating meditation into an existing addiction treatment program substantially reduced participants' use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs over an 18- to 22-month period of study.
In addition, research by a team of neuroscientists, published in Psychosomatic Medicine, has shown that meditation actually shifts the individual's brain activity from the stress-prone right frontal cortex to the calmer left frontal cortex. This shift in brain waves reduces the negative effects of stress, depression, and anxiety, and decreases activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.
In study after study, psychological tests consistently show that meditators enjoy increased satisfaction, ability to adjust, and self-acceptance, as compared to non-meditating control groups (Murphy & Donovan, 1997).
Types of Meditation
There are thousands of meditation techniques and approaches, including transcendental meditation (repeating mantras, or sounds or phrases, to oneself), breath meditation (focusing on inhaling and exhaling), and others.
But in general, meditation can be divided into two overarching categories: concentrative and mindfulness. In concentrative meditation, the practitioner focuses his attention on his breath, an image, or a sound (mantra) in order to narrow the field of concentration and increase self-awareness. In mindfulness meditation, practitioners evaluate their perceptions using all five senses, without becoming absorbed in their thoughts, fears, or worries. With a broader, less reactive state of mind, the individual gains clarity in his experience of the world around him.
A Simple Meditation Technique for Beginners
Set aside 15 to 20 minutes each day to meditate, preferably first thing in the morning or in the evening. In a quiet, soothing environment, sit comfortably on the ground or a mat with your back straight and your eyes closed. Breathe deeply and slowly from your abdomen. Starting with your toes and working up to your head, concentrate on relaxing every muscle in your body.
For most people, especially beginners, it can be a challenge to stop your mind from wandering. As thoughts arise, concentrate on gently and patiently returning your attention to your breathing until the mental noise fades. Alternatively, you may want to visualize a serene place or recite a mantra or single word like "om," or count from 1 to 10, to help you re-focus. If you can't let the thoughts go, write them down and plan to return to them once your meditation is over.
Once you've succeeded in centering your mind, try to focus on clearing your mind entirely, eventually achieving complete mental silence. Then simply enjoy the rare opportunity to rest in a place of stillness and solitude.
Instead of relying on the artificial chemical high of drugs or alcohol, meditation offers a deeper, longer lasting sense of euphoria that is based on a larger sense of well-being and inner calm. Meditation offers the promise of a life in balance, a deeper connection with oneself, and a future free from drugs and alcohol.