Meditation to Stop Drinking: Alcohol Addiction Meditation New Guide

Research suggests that meditation also helps people with alcoholism and drug addiction when it’s incorporated into a practice that includes physical exercise. For instance, yoga sessions that include meditation have been shown to be an effective part of addiction recovery [3]. In another study, recently-abstinent cocaine addicts who learned qigong, a Chinese practice that incorporates meditative techniques, reported fewer cravings and other addiction-related addiction meditation symptoms than those who received a placebo treatment [4]. This is the first study to assess meditation as an adjunctive treatment for relapse prevention among alcohol dependent adults and, thus, also the first using behavioral outcomes and biologic markers. The methods used in the current study were demonstrated to be feasible and appropriate for use in that type of a larger trial. Meditation is a valuable part of these services for interested clients.

Mindfulness practice may also ameliorate hedonic dysregulation and thereby reduce risk for relapse. By practicing mindfulness to savor everyday pleasant activities, an individual in recovery from a SUD can self-generate feelings of contentment, relaxation, and joy. Consider an individual with cocaine use disorder in full remission who practices mindful savoring when his grandchildren visit on the weekend. By using mindfulness to focus on the positive emotions and the sense of meaningfulness that emerge from spending time with his grandchildren, this individual may feel more satisfied and contented than he ever did when using substances. Consistent with the reward restructuring hypothesis, by practicing mindful savoring over time, the experience of natural reward may outweigh the drive to use drugs to obtain a sense of well-being – fortifying the individual against relapse.

Anxiety in Children and Teens

More than any other technique for quitting drinking, meditation puts you in control. Also, research shows that meditation increases control of the posterior cingulate cortex. This is the part of the brain that is activated by cravings and stress. This means you will have more control over your cravings for alcohol. During the following week, the group that had been taught mindfulness drank on average 9.3 units of alcohol less than they had done the week before. And this after just one single eleven-minute lesson in mindfulness.

Since stress is one of the primary triggers for relapse, meditative techniques are particularly beneficial because they can be done whenever and wherever stress is felt. Meditation can be used to lower the body’s acute response to stress at home or in the workplace, so recovering addicts are less likely to feel the tension and strain tempt them to drink or use. Treatment for alcohol addiction often takes a holistic approach. In addition to addressing a person’s drinking habits, thoughts, and behaviors, professionals promote exercise, proper nutrition, and healthy relationships.

Consulting and Training

However, the art of meditation can also be learned at wellness centers or from religious groups. There are also meditation how-to guides available through books and websites. For those interested in learning the techniques through yoga, it’s crucial to find a place that incorporates meditative practices; some yoga classes, like those in fitness centers, may focus only on the physical movements.

• As mentioned in another article, Stress Management in Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation, the technique for eliciting the relaxation response – an essential element in stress management – is a simple, basic meditation technique.
• Make a table like the one below, weighing the costs and benefits of drinking to the costs and benefits of quitting.
• Building new skills does not happen quickly, so patience while learning and practicing this new coping technique is essential.
• Given that SUDs are chronically-relapsing conditions,50,58 any intervention for substance use should acknowledge the risk of relapse and take steps for prevention.

Be prepared to discuss any problems that alcohol may be causing. You may want to take a family member or friend along, if possible. Some meditative practices encourage students to conjure up imagined images and focus on these. For example, Tibetan Buddhism is well-known for mandala visualization, designed to overload the mind to the point that it collapses in exhaustion and gives in to the void of detachment. Other meditative practices, particularly the Vedic variety, call for reciting mantras until emptiness sets in.