Meditative Therapy

Substance use disorders are all-encompassing, affecting many aspects of your life simultaneously. Therefore, addiction therapy programs must consider all dimensions of a client’s health and well-being, including detoxification, physical fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness training.

At Gulf Breeze Recovery, we will teach you how meditative therapies can be used to support your transformation and offer you the clarity and focus to maintain sobriety. Call us at 833.551.2304 to learn more about the role of meditative therapy within our holistic approach to ongoing treatment.

What Is Meditation Therapy?

If you are struggling with a substance use disorder, there are likely some unresolved issues in your past, perhaps stemming back to childhood. To make it through the day, you may have habitually come to suppress these thoughts and feelings, relegating them to your subconscious. However, even if you are not consciously aware of these mental patterns, they continue to shape your decisions, actions, and impulses, including your cravings for controlled substances.

Meditative therapy offers a free tool that you can bring with you wherever you go and better awareness of the true reasons behind the decision to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Although not a replacement for other forms of cognitive therapy, many clients report meditation as one of the most effective tools for preventing relapse.

Other benefits of meditative therapy include:

• Increased emotional stability and improved moods
• Stress reduction
• Reduced anxiety and panic, as well as symptoms of many associated concurrent disorders such as ADHD or PTSD
• Enhanced ability to cope with stressors
• Improved sleep and overall cardiac health
• Achievement and maintenance of a healthy weight
• Drug-free pain management

In addition, meditation therapies allow individuals in recovery to become more aware of when, where, and how their cravings for alcohol and drugs are triggered. They also permit individuals to be more open to new thought patterns, which equate to new habits and choices.

What Can I Expect When Trying Meditative Therapy?

Contrary to popular belief, meditative therapies are not innately spiritual or religious. Although they originated with Eastern practices intended to promote enlightenment, nowadays, they are practiced around the globe in both religious and secular contexts.

Meditation includes a series of structured tools that allow you to truly tune in to your current emotional, psychological, and physical state. This is accomplished by resting the body and retraining the brain to acknowledge and release all thoughts and feelings as they arise, whether positive or negative.

Meditation is not about clearing your mind or about screening out undesirable thoughts. It is an opportunity to stand back and watch your thoughts from an outside perspective. For many, it is often easier to spot problematic behaviors in friends and loved ones than in oneself. Meditative therapies permit us the tool to have this sort of objective wisdom regarding our own lives.

The length of time a person spends meditating can vary tremendously, though it will generally include the following components:

• Physical relaxation exercises, such as yoga
• Regulated breathing to calm your nervous system
• Verbal or internal chanting of a mantra

There are many different forms of meditation, including guided meditation, transcendental meditation (known as TM), and zen meditation. In meditation classes, you will be walked through various methods and be offered the opportunity to craft your approach.

Discover More About Meditation Therapy at Gulf Breeze Recovery

Help is available today. Our tranquil, waterfront setting is ideal for helping you re-connect with your inner self and strengthen your daily resolution towards permanent healing. Call our team at 833.551.2304 to learn more about the role of meditative therapy and how it can provide you with a critical tool for successful aftercare.