“Mindfulness” is a term that’s used a lot these days. It simply means being present in the moment and becoming aware of what you’re feeling in real time. The concept of mindfulness has been combined with psychological strategies to create a mindfulness based stress reduction program or MBSR. The idea is to increase a person’s mindfulness, or awareness, in order to help them combat negative emotions and reactions. This approach works well in the treatment of addiction and the prevention of relapse. Keep reading to learn more.
Good vs Bad Ways to Reduce Stress
When you have a bad day, what do you do? Do you call a friend and vent for a few minutes, after which you feel better? However, do you reach for a bottle of wine? Stressful events happen, but how we react to them can make a big difference. Specifically, good stress relief techniques promote good health, such as exercising. Sometimes, people find it hard to cope with stress and anxiety, so they drink too much or abuse drugs as an escape mechanism. These actions, however, lead to more problems. While they may believe using helps, it results in mental and physical health issues, including addiction. In rehab, you may begin practicing mindfulness based stress reduction to aid in your recovery.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Techniques
Addiction treatment involves lots of thinking about the past and future. Therefore, users often relive negative experiences and abuse drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. Likewise, they spend too much time worrying about the future: For example, when can I have my next drink? Where will I get my next fix? By practicing mindfulness based stress reduction, you learn to live in and focus exclusively on the present moment. In fact, this is key for people in recovery, as it helps them manage cravings. They stop and examine their emotions instead of looking for immediate ways of escaping them. What are some mindfulness based stress reduction practices? For example, they include:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Tai chi
- Walking
- Nature hikes
It takes practice to shift from old, bad habits into new ones, but the more you engage in mindfulness, the easier it becomes. These therapies are designed to keep patients physically preoccupied but mentally engaged. This allows them to think over their personal issues in a way that associates their issues with a relaxing activity. Discover for yourself the difference these holistic therapies can make.
About Our Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program
The mindfulness based stress reduction program is a combination of different techniques such as yoga, meditation, and body awareness to help you learn to incorporate mindfulness meditation into your life when needed. Those with addiction benefit from the program because it teaches them to handle your cravings and to better understand the emotions surrounding them. You’ll learn how to make purposeful decisions, rather than follow old habits or beliefs.
Through MBSR, you’ll discover ways to recognize your feelings and respond to them in healthy ways. Moreover, the awareness and coping skills you learn will help you feel more in charge of your decision making, your addiction, and your life. The goal is to control your emotions and not to let them control you. This prevents knee jerk reactions to situations and allows you to control and contemplate how you respond.
MBSR and Addiction
Our mindfulness based stress reduction program works well when used in conjunction with other addiction treatment approaches. It helps individuals to overcome initial resistance to recognizing and acknowledging their addiction exists. This opens them up to acceptance and a readiness to continue positively toward recovery.
MBSR can also help to teach positive coping methods and helpful daily living skills that can strengthen your foundation, helping you to better manage your addiction. It’s used with common psychotherapy techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy to further assist in recovery and rehabilitation.
How Crest View Can Help
Crest View Recovery Center offers addiction therapy services of all types, including mindfulness meditation, to assist clients in overcoming addiction. Our services encompass the full suite of standard addiction treatment therapies which includes mindfulness. We know the MBSR approach is just part of an overall comprehensive wellness program that can help our clients to lead healthy lives.
For example, highlights of our mindfulness based stress reduction program include:
- Reality therapy
- Rehab treatment
- On-site psychiatrist
- Intensive outpatient program
We also provide opportunities to participate in recreational therapy, yoga, meditation and nutritional counseling that complement mindfulness based stress reduction. CVRC’s commitment to comprehensive wellness means we strive to treat the whole person. No one here is just an addiction to our staff. Our programs can help you regardless of extenuating circumstances.
If you are struggling with substance abuse, Crest View’s expert and caring staff can help. There’s no need to try to overcome addiction on your own. Give our office a call at 866-327-2505 to discover how you can take the next step toward wellness.
