Meditation For Addiction Recovery
Be it cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, or even chocolates, addiction to any one thing is just a bad habit formed constantly over time. If you try to get rid of it by immersing yourself in activities to distract yourself or by making new resolutions and schedules every time, which begin with strong motivation and gusto on Monday and have already failed by Friday, assuming your self-control lasts that long, then, you always end up assuaging your conscience by saying to yourself, ‘This is the last one’.
There is one way to break out of this never ending vicious cycle without having to go to the doctor, and that is meditation. Meditation for addiction recovery is perhaps the most subtle, but effective form of quitting any bad habit you may have inculcated over time. Meditation for addiction recovery helps to beat your addiction at its very roots, which is the conditioning of your brain that you just can’t do without the thing you’re addicted to.
Meditation for addiction recovery is an out of the box approach differentfrom the usual routes taken to addiction recovery- group counselling and psychotherapy. It is called the complementary and alternative (CAM) technique. Meditation for addiction recovery consists of the basic meditation exercises such as breathing naturally, all the while focusing on inhalation and exhalation; progressive muscle relaxation that relaxes you from head to toe by bringing awareness to each part of your body; mantra based- to keep your mind from wandering by repeating a phrase or a word internally or out loud; physical activities like yoga, surfing, hiking, walking where you are conscious of each part of your body as it moves.
However, one important thing to keep in mind while trying meditation for addiction recovery, is to have an open mind when it comes to trying new methods of quitting, in order to curb cravings and prevent relapse. The benefits of meditation for addiction recovery are varied and help psychologically, mentally and physically.
They are decreased blood pressure for people with hypertension, relief from pain and anxiety, enhancement of one’s immune system, better sleep cycle, reduction in stress levels, curbing of restlessness that stems from quitting initially, like the constant, unconscious shaking of one’s leg, nail biting, shallow breathing among countless others, that are subjective to each person depending on the thing they’re addicted to.
Do not dismiss meditation for addiction recovery as a soft option with the opinion that if doctors, nicotine patches, soothing music, motivational videos, and even not taking the route where the thing you’re addicted to is sold in your vicinity did not help, meditation definitely and most certainly won’t. The therapeutic value of meditation for addiction recovery is priceless with the most enticing add on – it costs nothing.
Just find a quiet place and take out some time from your hectic day to practice some meditation for addiction recovery. Or better yet, instead of going for a cigarette break in office or drowning yourself in countless alcoholic drinks on Friday nights, try natural breathing, progressive muscle relaxation or going for a walk or any of the meditation exercises mentioned above. Meditation for addiction recovery will surely help you become a stronger willed, self-reliant and headstrong person.
