Mindfulness, a technique used for health and well-being for hundreds of years, is now being applied in the field of addiction treatment and is showing positive outcomes in a variety of ways. The use of cognitive behavioral approaches in addiction treatments opened the door for the application of mindfulness practices such as meditation, movement, and cognitive skills. Mindfulness helps people cope with certain feelings, stresses and urges and also allows the patient to understand how thoughts and feelings can affect health. It also keeps the pain at the forefront, instead of suppressing it, so that those feelings can be treated from the outset. It also trains the mind to see urges not as commands but as choices to be made after careful thought. In addition, mindfulness teaches people to remain calm when stresses are present.

There are many techniques that can be used while practicing mindfulness including awareness, non-judgmental or present-moment thinking and having an open mind. These help the patients to become aware of their thoughts and change the way they think and make decisions. There are also several methods of exercise used, such as mindful breathing or meditation. Another technique is beginner’s mind, in which a person tries to experience an event without judgment or preconceived notions, but as a child would or as one would as if it was the first time. While relaxation may occur, mindfulness is not a relaxation technique, it is not a religious or trance experience and it should not be used as the only method of treatment. It is also important to note that this treatment is not for everyone.

Some studies have found that mindfulness-based treatments have helped to reduce chronic pain when other treatments have failed. Mindfulness treatments have shown a high drop in the percentage of relapses in chronic depression patients and it decreases cravings in people with substance abuse disorders. Mindfulness treatments have also been shown to positively affect certain parts of the brain, such as the amygdala, to allow new trains of thought and better emotional control, as well as creating new neural networks for positive changes of a person’s well-being.

There are several specialized types of mindfulness treatments. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can help patients with chronic pain, cancer, psychological problems, and more. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is focused on people who are repeat sufferers of depression, and it combines cognitive therapy with meditative techniques. Mindfulness in the treatment of substance abuse disorders enhance cognitive-based therapies in relation to affective regulation, which sometimes co-occurs with addiction problems. It is also used in relapse prevention and is combined with cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention.

Mindfulness is a centuries old technique finding new applications, and its uses in the field of addiction treatment can make positive enhancements to the treatment of patients.

To learn more about this topic and to see the source for this information, please visit: http://www.attcnetwork.org/find/news/attcnews/epubs/addmsg/october2011article.asp

Comments

Add New Search RSS

Cindy Cirlincione  - Drug Treatment Specialist   |71.105.30.xxx |2012-05-21 15:01:11 I was teaching meditation and kundalini yoga and meditation in the federal prison system for 14 years, the results were miraculous. Budget cuts don't allow me to teach it now, so instead of 5 days a week we were doing it, now they only get it once a week from my friends who are volunteers. Reply 0   0

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."