Meditation | Addiction Treatment Strategies

A small but growing body of research is lending support to meditation’s effectiveness in treating addiction, either alone or in combination with other more conventional treatments.
Medical studies have shown meditation’s effectiveness at decreasing substance use and relapse in several settings. The changes in thought processes and brain function that accompanies meditation also have contributed to scientists understanding of the biological addiction process.
Why use Meditation to Treat Addiction?
Conventional treatment for drug addiction can take place through groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, on an outpatient…

Meditation may ease anxiety among people who suffer from anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). But a new study suggests meditation isn’t necessarily better than other types of relaxation techniques at treating anxiety disorders.
Researchers reviewed two studies comparing meditation to other relaxation techniques, such as biofeedback, and found both alternative therapies were equally effective in reducing anxiety.
No side effects were associated with meditation, but 33%-44% of the participants in the studies dropped out, which suggests that people with anxiety disorders may have a hard time sticking to a…

Mindfulness Meditation
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
Mindfulness is a type of meditation that essentially involves focusing on your mind on the present. To be mindful is to be aware of your thoughts and actions in the present, without judging yourself.
Research suggests that mindfulness meditation may improve mood, decrease stress, and boost immune function.
 
1. Find a quiet and comfortable place. Sit in a chair or on the floor with your head, neck and back straight but not stiff.
2. Try to put aside all thoughts of the past and the future and stay in the present.
3. Become aware of your breathing, focusing on the sensation…

Article By: Irene McGee
If you have never tried to quiet your mind with meditation then you are in for a surprise: your mind is a very noisy place. Brain waves are the electrical movements in our brain, and they always happen, even when we sleep. However, the frequency range of our brain waves fluctuates. Most of us during our waking moments have fast moving beta waves coursing through our brains. To slow down our thoughts, many western doctors are turning to the East and are encouraging the practice of meditation for their patients. Why? There have been various scientific studies that prove regularly practicing meditation has many…

There are billions of people on our planet, and yet, amazingly, each one of us has a completely different mind with exclusive thoughts, feelings, likes and dislikes. One may desire to be an astronaut and walk on the moon, another a caregiver helping the elderly, another gets lost in the world of delusion or depression.
This mind is able to grasp the most complicated technical theories or create beautiful works of art, yet it can just as easily be distracted by meaningless trivia or get painfully addicted to heroin. Have you ever wondered about your own mind? How it can move so quickly from feeling good to despair, from clarity to utter…

We all know that meditation helps relax people, but what exactly happens in the brain during meditation? A new study suggests that nondirective meditation yields more marked changes in electrical brain wave activity associated with wakeful, relaxed attention than just resting without any specific mental technique. … > read full article
Related articles
Mindfulness Meditation in the Treatment of Alcoholism (addictionts.com)
Meditation for Addiction (addictionts.com)
STALK US:MoreLike this:Like…

Recovering alcoholics may benefit in the battle over the bottle if they practice mindfulness meditation.
That’s according to a Wisconsin physician-researcher who is one of the few in the country testing the possible connection between
meditation and the prevention of relapse to drinking among those dependent on alcohol.
 
Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska, assistant professor of family medicine at theUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, was the lead researcher in a 16-week pilot clinical trial with 19 participants recruited from addiction treatment clinics. She says the results of her first study (published in 2008)…

Often, for people suffering with drug addiction meditation has never been a matter for contemplation.  As soon as they experience any feelings of restlessness, anxiety or depression, they usually turn to their drug of choice to alter their state. Although the truth is that for many people world wide suffering from drug addiction meditation has achieved a safe and natural cure for them. For people going into rehabilitation for drug addiction meditation provides an alternative method for recovering.
Going through drug rehabilitation is probably the hardest thing anyone could have to do in their life, and the physical discomfort, pain and…

There are many physical benefits to meditation, and most of the exercises are easier to implement than a gym membership