A holistic form of addiction therapy in its own right, mindfulness is also something you can practice on your own in recovery. As you face the temptations of addiction triggers and old habits, using mindfulness in recovery can bring you back into the present. Learning to face your thoughts and emotions without judgment can keep you from making rash decisions that lead to regretful consequences, too. As you embrace mindfulness techniques as a regular practice, you develop hardy resilience, greater self-awareness, and better connections with others.
The Importance of Mindfulness in Recovery
Mindfulness in addiction recovery is about more than just feeling good or relaxing. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines mindfulness as the awareness of your internal state and surroundings. By practicing mindfulness in recovery, you can essentially retrain your mind to respond in a healthier way to triggering circumstances, feelings, or stress. Some of the resulting benefits you can experience include:
- Improved emotional regulation: Adopting mindfulness techniques helps you manage emotions without immediate reactions, cutting back on addictive impulsivity.
- Intentional decision-making: By learning mindfulness in recovery, it’s easier to make decisions in the moment rooted in your values and sobriety goals.
- Trauma healing facilitation: When you face challenging feelings, mindfulness helps you stay present, aiding in the long-term trauma healing process.
- Increased mind-body connection: Mindfulness revives your physical and mental connection, leading to healthier general wellness.
- Enhanced self-awareness: When triggering thoughts and cravings come your way, mindfulness helps you recognize them in the moment and respond accordingly.
- Better relapse prevention: Mindfulness helps interrupt well-worn addictive thoughts and behaviors, allowing you to make better choices to avoid relapse and stay the course.
How to Practice Mindfulness Along Your Sobriety Journey
When you’re navigating your daily rhythms of regular life, how does mindfulness fit in with everything else? Thankfully, you don’t have to set aside hours every day to meditate. Practicing mindfulness in recovery can become a brief discipline done consistently each day. Here are some mindfulness techniques you can utilize on a regular basis:
Everyday Mindfulness Techniques
- Mindful Journaling: Write down any triggers, feelings, or thoughts in a journal, but do so with compassion. Not only can you process your emotions better, but you can also recognize patterns more easily.
- Meditation: At the first of the day or over a break, sit still in a quiet place and observe your thoughts non-judgmentally for a few minutes, which helps you focus and build resilience.
- Breathwork: Engage in breathwork (focusing on your breathing) for a set period of time to center you when your mind wanders and restore your sense of calm.
- Mindful eating: Rather than eat mindlessly, take a moment to savor the smells, textures, and tastes of the food you’re eating at meal time.
- Body scanning: Notice the physical sensations you’re experiencing in your body. As you identify any relaxation or tension, your mind-body connection grows stronger. As a result, you’re more adept at identifying addiction triggers or negative feelings as they happen.
- Mindful daily tasks: As you’re doing chores every day, from walking the dog to folding laundry, take the opportunity to focus on the present and practice mindfulness.
- Neutral observation: When thoughts, emotions, or urges arise, observe them without judgment. As you avoid putting labels on them, you reduce any potential shame. This helps you respond in a more thoughtful, less reactive way.
Responding to Challenges Along the Way
Though practicing mindfulness in recovery may seem simple on paper, there are often obstacles and challenges that can hinder your efforts. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s difficult for many people to sit still, quiet their mind, and focus without distracting themselves (just count the number of phones next time you’re waiting in line). If you find yourself dealing with these challenges, too, it’s important to take things slow. You won’t excel at mindfulness overnight.
When your mind wanders, pull your attention back to your body or your breathing to refocus. If you get frustrated, remember to practice self-compassion. And when you do practice mindfulness successfully, celebrate that small win. Your improvements will change subtly over time.
Holistic Recovery in New England
Mindfulness in recovery is one of many holistic practices that can empower you to achieve lasting sobriety. At Sana at Stowe in Stowe, Vermont, we utilize holistic addiction treatment and wellness practices to both heal your struggles and equip you to stay healthy long-term. If you’re ready to overcome drug or alcohol addiction and restore your life, we can help. Call us today to get started.
