Meditation for Relapse Prevention

How To Use Meditation For Relapse Prevention

Meditation for relapse prevention has proven to be very effective for many people. It’s one more tool in the recovery process that helps the individual take control of his or her life and move forward in sobriety.

Meditation For Relapse Prevention

Part of the recovery process revolves around knowing who you are and meditation helps with the discovery process. Meditation hones the skills required for a successful recovery. Stress levels are reduced when a person meditates regularly. As stress levels are reduced, people can concentrate and focus better on the things they are doing. People are not as easily distracted from the tasks at hand. Other benefits of meditation for relapse prevention include an increase in self-respect and personal acceptance, encouragement of a healthy lifestyle, and improved cardiovascular health. Each of these benefits are necessary to prevent relapse.

Also Read: Tampa Drug Treatment Center

The skills developed in meditation also increase self-awareness. In his book “Emotional Intelligence” psychologist Daniel Goleman defines self-awareness as “knowing one’s internal states, preference, resources and intuitions.” Psychologists S. Duval and R. Wicklund’s were the first to define and develop the theory of self-awareness in 1972 when they asserted their combined wisdom in the following statement, “When we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluators of ourselves.” During meditation for relapse prevention, the individual learns how to evaluate their behavior as compared to their values.

Mindfulness Meditation For Relapse Prevention

Recognizing that stress and challenges are normal components of everyday life and that substances are not needed to cope with them is taught with mindfulness meditation for relapse prevention. When used with other established and evidence-based treatments, it’s believe that mindfulness meditation can be extremely helpful in the prevention of addiction relapse. Mindfulness meditation teaches the realities of life. Problems, stress, and other unpleasant circumstances are real and are experienced by everyone.

Learning to accept and deal with life’s challenges without turning to substance abuse is the goal of those teaching mindfulness meditation for relapse prevention. Every individual must face the difficulties in their lives, and not try to hide from them in the false euphoria of substance abuse. Learning good coping skills is one of the methods to deal with problems and reduce life’s stresses. Mindful meditation teaches people how to live with unpleasant circumstances and still be happy.

Life, the good and bad, is missed when a person is high on drugs. He or she is unaware of a fun family birthday party because they chose to get high instead of attending. Holidays, family reunions, new babies, weddings, and even funerals are bypassed in favor of drugs.

Relapse Prevention Strategies

In addition to meditation, there are a number of other excellent relapse prevention strategies. The Four D’s are a classic technique.

1. Delay – Cravings come and go. Determine to always wait for 20 minutes before making any decision that can lead to relapse. Most cravings are gone in that time.
2. Distract – Do something to distract yourself from the craving. Take a walk, jog around the block, read a book, or meditate.
3. Deep Breathing – Practicing deep breathing reduces stress, brings a sense of calmness, and clears your thinking. Do some deep breathing while waiting for the craving to pass.
4. De-Catasrophize – A craving is not the end of the world, but giving in to it can be the end of your life. Negative thoughts that begin with “I can’t” or “I am never” should be flushed out of the brain immediately.

WhiteSands Addiction Treatment Centers have facilities in both Tampa and Fort Myers Florida. In addition to traditional treatment methods, they provide alternative therapies, which include biofeedback, meditation, and yoga. Call WhiteSands to learn how they can help you or a loved one beat substance abuse.

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.