Mindfulness is one of the most important supporting practices possible for lasting success in substance use disorder recovery. Mindfulness entails consciously returning one’s awareness to the present moment when thoughts stray to past or future subject matter. This is helpful in addiction recovery because it helps reduce anxious future projections and depressive past rumination. If you or a loved one is living with a substance use disorder and could use treatment in the northwest Florida area, contact Gulf Breeze Recovery today. Reach our caring, well-informed staff at 833.551.2304. We look forward to telling you more about the benefits of meditation therapy and our other offerings.
What Are the Five Key Benefits of Meditation Therapy for Drug Addiction?
There are many good reasons to engage with mindfulness practices like meditation therapy during substance use disorder treatment. Here are a few top benefits meditation offers people committed to substance use disorder recovery:
- If you have a dual diagnosis or a substance use disorder with an underlying mental illness, mediation can help restore neurological balance. Studies show that it increases natural serotonin levels and decreases cortisol, for instance. Given that much mental illness features imbalances at the chemical level, meditation’s regulating effect can be quite powerful.
- Meditators also tend to get better sleep, which is a game-changer in drug dependence recovery. Substance abuse can compromise the GI tract, cardiovascular system, and other key body areas, and much healing happens during sleep. Thus, getting adequate rest during rehab is essential.
- Meditation increases cognitive capacity over time. The act of clearing the mind, ironically, makes it more able to process tasks later on. Thus, meditators can better absorb the lessons of rehab, retain useful memories, and develop helpful self-reflection habits.
- Meditators can better cope with trauma processing which is often part of addiction recovery. Mindfulness increases tolerance of thoughts and feelings, making it possible to view them as neutral and temporary. The benefits when coping with trauma symptoms like flashbacks are enormous.
- Physical forms of meditation, such as yoga or tai chi, increase health and longevity. Again, considering drug abuse’s physical outcomes, increasing health through movement is a great way to bolster the healing journey overall.
Whatever format meditation therapy takes, be it seated meditation, guided visualization, or another form, the mental health benefits are massive. Clients benefit substantially from its inclusion in a qualified treatment program.
How Does Meditation Therapy Fit into Other Components of a Drug Treatment Plan?
A comprehensive substance use disorder treatment protocol includes a variety of offerings. Talk therapy tends to feature prominently with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches prevailing in many treatment centers. CBT emphasizes identifying and reframing negative self-talk as a major strategy for building agency and reducing negative symptoms. Within CBT, many practitioners incorporate elements of mindfulness since this can also help with the moment when a self-defeating thought arises. Mindful techniques like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation can interrupt negative thought cascades before they take hold.
Group therapy, another common component of rehab, also benefits from meditation training. During facilitated group therapy sessions, participants may share sensitive information related to trauma and other vulnerable experiences with one another. The calm mind, emotional resilience, and patience that meditation supports can be game-changers in these scenarios. Clients who have learned to meditate can better interact with one another in group therapy settings with respect and compassion.
Finally, treatment offerings such as somatic or exercise therapies also pair well with meditation therapy. Many forms of exercise, such as swimming and jogging, feature repetitive movement, which can be meditative in and of itself. Thus, these forms of therapy can feel like a natural extension of more static meditative forms like seated meditation. It can also be said that exercise is for the body, while meditation is for the mind. Both activities promote balance, focus, and self-regulation.
Invest in Your Lasting Well-Being Through Meditation Therapy for Addiction Recovery at Gulf Breeze Today
Why wait to start comprehensive addiction treatment featuring meditation therapy? At Gulf Breeze Recovery near sunny Pensacola, Florida, we offer a range of effective full-scale programs. In the meantime, our knowledgeable staff will happily answer your questions. Call us at 833.551.2304 or send a message via our online contact form to get started. We look forward to serving you with programs ranging from detox and residential treatment to intensive outpatient and aftercare.
