If you are in recovery from drug or alcohol abuse, meditation is one of the most powerful tools you have to prevent a relapse. More importantly, meditation can help you learn to appreciate your new lifestyle. Unfortunately, many people have a fundamental misunderstanding about what meditation is.
Exercise for Your Mind
Hollywood is probably to blame, but when many people think of meditation, they think of some monk on a mountaintop in a state of perfect stillness. Many people who attempt meditation actually give up after the first try because they were expecting a “zen” moment but actually found it difficult. What they haven’t been told is that the difficulty IS meditation.\
Meditation is exercise for your mind. As with physical exercise, it is sure to wear us out sometimes, but can also feel rewarding as well. Sure, sometimes we do have those moments of profound calm, but just because a person meditating looks calm doesn’t mean their mind isn’t a raging storm. The purpose of meditation is to train our mind to do what it can to calm that storm. When we meditate, we focus on our breath, a thought, a chant, or some other anchor. Thoughts will pop into our head, often wildly. Meditation is about learning to accept that you’ve had that thought, and then to move on from it. By doing this consciously, we can train our minds to do it automatically, even when we have intrusive thoughts in our sleep.
Meditation and Recovery
Meditation aids in clean living because it is a tool we can use to process the triggers and the urges we have to return to the habit. Mindfulness, one style of meditation, can be used to help us learn more about what our minds and bodies are craving. Once we are aware of this, we can address it in a healthier way.
Learn about how meditation can be an essential tool in long term rehab. If you’re in Florida call (833) 596-3502 to speak with us about your personalized recovery plan.
