Addiction and the Power of Meditation
The mind of someone in active drug and alcohol addiction has been badly damaged. Those areas of the brain responsible for judgment are largely blocked.
That’s why withdrawal by itself is not the answer. In fact, it can be deadly.
In withdrawal, a person is without drugs and alcohol. Their mind races uncontrollably. The compulsion and craving for more of the substance grows exponentially. The suffering addict will do anything to get more, including stealing or worse.
By Charles Robinson, Executive Life Coach & Lead Therapist
Detox is critical but not easy
Consuming more is just a temporary fix for addicts. Each time they use, they require more. Worse behavior ensues. And unless this pattern is interrupted, the final result includes jails, institutions and ultimately death.
Individuals in this state require detox to get the substances out of their bodies, but this can be extremely difficult. Although the substances are gone, the addictive thought patterns remain largely intact. This is why starting effective therapy immediately after detox is critical. The mind needs to be completely reprogrammed. Effective addiction treatment is designed to do just that.
Slowing down the mind
In order to effectively receive treatment, the suffering addict’s mind must begin to slow down. Meditation is an excellent tool to help with this. Its focus is to develop the mind and improve mental skills.
The mind of the recently detoxed addict is largely scrambled and still racing uncontrollably. It is underdeveloped and often maldeveloped (not developed normally). This is where meditation helps. Initially it serves to calm the mind and then helps develop it into something capable of receiving and understanding lifesaving information.
Practice love and kindness
Through meditation, thought patterns are established that enable the person to create and feel an awareness of kindness and love. This awareness helps the brain heal and absorb new skills and techniques for coping with and enjoying life.
The recovering addict often has great anger and resentment issues. Practicing love and kindness is the exact opposite of this. Gradually the mind reprograms itself to view anger and resentments as being bad. The mind then begins to move away from negative thoughts and towards more positive and wholesome ones.
Eventually, with ongoing practice, this healthy way of thinking becomes the new way of thinking.
Meditation combined with other effective treatment techniques tend to have a synergistic affect, meaning the more the person meditates, the more effective the other techniques become and vice versa.