Mindfulness means being fully present while calmly accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations as people turn to drugs and alcohol as a temporary escape from the problem. It helps to limits the impact of negative feelings through focus and acceptance. The mindfulness practices recovery emphasizes responsibility and personal responsibility.

Creating Mindfulness Practices That Support Your Recovery:

  • First you can choose a quiet location free from distractions.
  • Experts recommend starting with a 5-10 minute session and meditating longer as you feel more comfortable with the practice.
  • Notice how your body feels. You can sit or kneel in whatever position you are comfortable. 
  • Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath to pay attention to how you inhale and exhale.
  • Notice when your mind starts to wander. It is normal for the mind to be distracted. Don’t judge your thoughts; focus your attention back on your breath.

How Can Mindfulness Practices Help You Reach Your Recovery Goals?

Improve flexibility: Mindfulness increases confidence in your ability to deal with difficult thoughts and feelings. This added flexibility will make it easier to track your treatment goals.

Reduce Stress: Mindfulness practice calms brain regions that stimulate the stress response. This is useful for people in rehabilitation because stress is a known risk factor for relapse.

Less depression: Struggling with depression is common for people in rehabilitation. But being mindful has been shown to relieve symptoms naturally. Practising mindfulness regularly can help you learn to identify and accept your emotions instead of fighting them. 

Sleep well: Mindfulness practice has been shown to promote more restful sleep. It stimulates a deeper state of relaxation by calming the central nervous system. This can help a person in rehabilitation deal with normal sleep problems as the body adjusts to functioning without substance abuse.

Effective pain management: Chronic pain is a serious problem for people in rehabilitation, especially those with opioid use disorder. Mindfulness reduces the body’s perception of pain.