Everywhere we look—on the internet, in the nightly news, on global issues, in the pandemic, or in cultural changes—negativity seems nonstop, and our minds need rest from this onslaught. With so much overload and increased mental anxiety impacting our everyday lives, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
Our ever-increasingly chaotic world seems to be bubbling over with stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. It’s no wonder that we’re hearing so much about mindfulness and meditation these days.
The mindfulness and meditation movement has become popular because the idea is that it can be helpful to a person’s mental state to focus on something soothing for short periods of time. From mental health practices to medical research centres, the benefits of these practices on your physical and mental health are being studied in great detail.
While traditional therapy has a crucial role in recovery, a growing body of evidence suggests that incorporating meditation and mindfulness practices into treatment programs offers significant benefits. Let’s explore these two practices and how they can help manage your mental health and benefit your recovery.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness practice trains your mind to be fully present in the moment as you pay attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgment.
Mindfulness is not about adding more concepts to the mind. It is the opposite. It is about seeing the mind so it can release itself from ideas, beliefs, concepts, and the emotional energy tied to all of those things. As these things are seen, there is a clearing action that takes place. Your awareness will clear the illusions out of the mind. The mind becomes less heavy and clearer, and more freedom and peace are felt within your entire being. Mindfulness is a quality you can learn to embody every moment of your daily life.
The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as “the awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.”
Mindfulness is used in many clinics and treatment centres as an evidence-based therapeutic intervention, including mindfulness-based cognitive behaviour therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindfulness meditation.
What is mindfulness meditation?
Evidence shows that ancient people used meditation as part of their spiritual practices, including Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and, of course, Buddhism. According to new historical findings, archaeologists have found proof of meditation dating back to 5,000 BC and with ties to ancient Egypt, China, and India.
Today, we understand our ancient ancestors were on to something. They used meditation to train their attention and achieve a state of calm concentration and positive emotions.
Psychologists also recognize that mindfulness meditation is a research-proven tool that positively changes our brain and biology, reducing stress and improving mental and physical health. While similar to mindfulness practices, meditation is a formal, dedicated practice intentionally incorporated into your everyday life.
Understanding the challenges of addiction
Before we can examine how mindfulness and meditation can benefit addiction recovery, we need to understand the nature of addiction and recovery obstacles.
When we think of addiction, the images conjure up alcohol, drugs, smoking and gambling, but it’s possible to be addicted to nearly anything, including work, the internet, phones, shopping and sex. Any of these can leave our brain’s reward system sensitive to being hijacked, making it difficult to control impulses and cravings.
Addiction is ultimately characterized by acting compulsively despite harmful consequences Recovery is a process of “rewiring the brain,” learning new coping mechanisms and addressing the underlying emotional and psychological issues that contributed to addictive behaviours in the first place. The recovery process is an emotionally and mentally challenging process, often leading to high levels of stress, anxiety, and relapse.
What are the healing effects of mindfulness and meditation on recovery?
Research shows that incorporating mindfulness and meditation into our lives can significantly impact our mental and emotional health. Here are some of the most common benefits and healing effects of recovery:
Stress reduction and emotional regulation
Stress, anxiety and the inability to regulate emotional issues are common relapse triggers in recovery. Mindfulness techniques, such as mindfulness meditation and breathwork, reduce stress and anxiety levels while promoting emotional regulation.
In fact, the latest study shows that practising mindfulness techniques can strengthen the prefrontal cortex of the brain, increase attention span, improve working memory, and achieve a mindset shift. This shift makes it possible to activate your body into a relaxation response and counteract the adverse effects of chronic stress. The goal is to respond to our emotions in a controlled manner rather than an impulsive reaction, which can lead to a relapse.
Through mindfulness, you learn to observe your thoughts without judgment while cultivating a “be present right now” sense of inner calm. With practice and self-compassion, you can learn to better cope with challenging emotions, regulate your emotions, and develop resilience without resorting to substances or addictive behaviours.
Craving management
Cravings are powerful urges that often lead to relapse. Through the practice of mindfulness and meditation, those in recovery can develop a heightened awareness of their cravings without acting on them. This is because mindfulness improves your attention and cognitive ability. With regular practice, it’s possible to simply “observe” cravings as temporary (but distracting) sensations that arise and fade away rather than as commands that must be obeyed.
Mind-body connection
Addiction creates a disconnect between the mind and body, leaving you more vulnerable and at risk for relapse. With mindfulness and meditation, you become more focused, attuned to and aware of your body and sensations. This increased awareness can lead to better self-care and an improved ability to recognize early signs of stress or triggers.
Resilience and self-awareness
Recovery is a challenging journey filled with highs and lows. Mindfulness and meditation strengthen self-compassion and resilience by teaching you to be present in the moment and accept things as they are. This “let it be and let it go” mindset can help those in recovery navigate challenges and setbacks without becoming overwhelmed or discouraged.
Additionally, mindfulness and meditation encourage you to explore your thoughts, feelings, fears, and behaviours without judgment. This introspection teaches you to cultivate self-awareness for the present moment and allows you to “meet the real you” in your addiction recovery.
How to practice mindfulness and meditation
One of the best things about practicing mindfulness and meditation is that you can start anytime, anywhere—and it’s free!
If you’re a complete beginner, you might find it helpful to start with a guided meditation app or a video. There are countless free options to choose from that can help you get started. The key is to find something that works for you. Start small and build up.
That might mean doing a 5-minute morning meditation before you get up to start off in the right headspace for the day. Or, if you feel frustrated or anxious during your workday, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. As you regulate your breathing and slow your heart rate, you’ll immediately feel more relaxed and in control.
For some people, movement and meditation are necessary. How does that work? Simply by being fully aware of your state of mind no matter what is happening. Whether you’re taking a walk, gardening, eating, or even cleaning your house, being fully present at the moment is an act of mindfulness.
By introducing mindfulness and mindfulness meditation into your daily life, you can experience transformative shifts in your recovery, one breath at a time.
How CFHH can help
The benefits of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation in recovery are increasingly recognized by professionals and individuals alike. These practices—effective tools for managing stress, regulating emotions, and building resilience—all benefit your recovery.
At Centres for Health and Healing, our team of therapists works together to provide a holistic care plan to address the root causes of your addiction. Our Toronto centre offers a wide range of therapies, from traditional talk therapy to more experiential therapies like our mindfulness therapy program, which includes Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, call us today for a free, confidential consultation and to find out more about our individual, group, family and couples therapy treatment programs.
