Meditation Therapy for Substance Abuse

Call Now To Get On The Road To Recovery.

*As required by law, all communications with Resurgence Behavioral Health are HIPAA Compliant and 100% Confidential

What is Meditation for Substance Abuse?

While it may sound like a strange idea, meditation for substance abuse treatment is in fact becoming a popular option.

Meditation is a simple way to relax that shows big benefits in reducing anxiety and stress and improves overall wellness.

The goal of meditation for substance abuse treatment is to help people in recovery feel more connected to themselves.

It also helps clients be better able to complete treatment, with or without meditation.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health, we know that some clients are looking for a more holistic addiction treatment option. Meditation makes a wonderful addition to traditional drug rehab and therapy in helping people ways to overcome their addiction.

Understanding Meditation for Substance Abuse

As with any type of substance abuse treatment, there is a right way to practice meditation. Your Resurgence therapist will help guide you in the proper form and techniques of meditation.

Meditation is best done while sitting cross-legged, also called the lotus pose.

Once comfortable, your therapist will lead you in a deep, slowed breathing technique. Meditation can help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, as well as reduce emotional triggers.

There are several different methods of meditation, all of which have slightly different benefits.

These include:

• Mindfulness Meditation – One of the most popular methods of meditation, mindfulness meditation works to increase your ability to focus, concentrate, and be aware of yourself.
• Zen Meditation – This method of medication is about being calm and not reacting to triggers. It also works to encourage clients to focus on their lives now instead of their difficult past.
• Guided Meditation – A great option for those in rehab, this form of meditation is led by a therapist. They encourage clients to visualize peaceful mental images to develop techniques for overcoming stressful situations.
• Transcendental Meditation – This method of meditation focuses on the use of a mantra, or a special phrase that has meaning for the client.

Your therapist will teach you techniques for chanting or affirming this mantra to help you reduce stress.

The Effects of Meditation for Substance Abuse

With so many different benefits, meditation is becoming a popular holistic addiction treatment option. It has been shown to help relieve cravings for substances, improve mood, and help clients deal with triggers for substance use.

Meditation therapy helps to change the way that your brain works in positive ways. It helps to fix the brain chemicals that substance abuse has changed.

This helps to improve your brain function, by enhancing the area of the brain that controls planning and thinking, as well as quieting the area that controls fear. Other benefits of meditation include:

• Reduced depression, anxiety, and stress
• Lowered blood pressure and pain symptoms
• Fewer post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms
• Lower chances of relapsing
• Increased concentration, attention span, focus, and creativity
• Improved mood
• Emotional stability
• Better performance at work or school
• Decreased insomnia

One of the biggest benefits of meditation for substance abuse is that it reduces your risk of relapse. Many studies have found that 40 to 60 percent of people who successfully complete rehab will relapse at least once.

For those who did not go to rehab, the chance of relapse is 90 percent. Adding meditation therapy to your addiction treatment plan will help give you yet another tool in preventing relapse.

Meditation and Mental Illness

Meditation therapy for substance abuse works to explore your inner world. It helps you find negative thoughts that can hold back your recovery process. For those with mental health issues, their minds can often be full of “internal noise” that comes along with many of these conditions. Resurgence offers dual diagnosis treatment that focuses on addressing both mental health and substance abuse issues.

Some mental health conditions even cause you to hear voices that are not there. Often, these mental health issues are the biggest hurdle for clients to overcome. These issues often result in many negative feelings or thoughts, which can hold back your recovery.

When used with traditional therapy, meditation can help clients with mental health issues learn how to better quiet their negative internal thoughts. It also gives clients the ability to better manage their stress and to deal with the recovery process.

Meditation is a tool that a client can use anywhere, anytime. This makes it a great way to help you to continue to make positive changes in your life after rehab.

Meditation for Substance Abuse Withdrawal

Along with reducing stress and anxiety, meditation can also help clients deal with another aspect of addiction treatment, withdrawal symptoms.

Depending on which substance you were abusing, your withdrawal symptoms can include: insomnia, anxiety, depression, muscle spasms, body aches, and more.

Meditation can help clients deal with these symptoms by calming their brains and nervous systems. This calming of the brain is also what helps clients improve their control over impulsive behaviors, which is a big part of what causes their substance abuse issues.

Why Does Meditation Work?

Meditation for substance abuse has been used to help people in drug detox and addiction treatment programs for many years. It is practiced in many rehab programs because it is a holistic treatment option that clients can learn to use outside of rehab.

It helps clients to be mindful about their thoughts, feelings, and actions, and find ways to minimize negative ideas within their minds.

Meditation also helps clients better understand what triggers their substance use. Once they understand their triggers, meditation can help give them the ability to learn how to cope with them.

Research has shown that using meditation along with other, more traditional addiction therapies makes client’s experiences more positive. It is also more effective at helping them stay clean and avoid relapse.

What Does Meditation Treatment Look Like?

In rehab, meditation for substance abuse is used to help clients clear their minds and experience positive feelings. Meditation is something that takes practice to feel easy and natural. The type of meditation therapy that is most often used in rehab is guided meditation. This helps people who are new to meditation to learn the best way to do it.

Your therapist will guide you by using imagery, positive phrases, or storytelling. The idea is to get your mind away from any distractions, from drug cravings to negative emotions. From there, your therapist will encourage you to explore the imagined scene they have set up. This helps your mind practice thinking about things other than drugs or withdrawal effects.

Paying for Treatment

The first step in your journey to overcoming your addiction is simple: contact us. Every member of the Resurgence Behavioral Health team prides itself on building an affordable, personalized recovery plan for each client – without sacrificing quality. Our free insurance verification allows us to help you figure out exactly what your insurance will pay for.

We accept most PPO insurance as well as private forms of payment for treatment. We will also communicate with your insurance provider to ensure that you receive every benefit that you are entitled to. You can complete a simple form right from our website or call us directly.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health, we believe that the environment is just as important as treatment. That is why our locations are in safe and secure neighborhoods, with plenty of open space for peace and quiet.

Our warm, sunny weather and proximity to beaches and parks mean that, when you have downtime, you can enjoy being outside.

Our specially prepared nutritious meals help support your total physical recovery.

Facing detox and rehab alone can be a scary and difficult process. Let us help give you the treatment that you deserve, including holistic addiction treatment options.

We will arm you with all the tools and resources that you need to be successful in overcoming your addiction. Call us today to get started on your road to a substance abuse-free life.