Almost every addiction recovery program has a meditation or mindfulness component. Try these easy, quick practices to learn how to meditate and use mindfulness to build your resilience.
-
Understand the Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation
It’s simple: meditation can be mindfulness but there are many more ways to practice mindfulness than just meditation. The key is to experiment with a variety of methods until you find one that is right for you.
-
Use Your Body as a Tool for Guided Meditation
When addiction symptoms spike, they can show up in the body first, like an early-warning system. First, think of a recent situation that brought up an addiction response for you. Next, scan your body. How does it feel? Is there any spot in your body that feels tight or constricted? Now, take three long breaths in and out. On your exhale, imagine your breath flowing into that spot. When you’re done, scan your body again. How does it feel now? This mindfulness technique brings us back to the present moment where we can feel safer and become more resilient.
-
Interrupt Negative Thoughts with Sleep Meditation
Deep breathing calms our nervous system and makes it easier for our bodies to relax and get ready for sleep. This mindfulness technique couples deep breathing with positive, present-tense thoughts. First, think of three positive words that describe you in recovery. While breathing in and out, repeat each word in a sentence, starting with the words “I am ________.” For example, breathe in saying “I am,” then breathe out saying “strong.” You can cycle through these phrases as many times as you want until you feel your muscles begin to ease and your breath slow. This technique can feel awkward at first but, over time, we can retrain our brain to stop the negativity spiral. You might even notice these positive phrases beginning to pop up during your everyday activities.
-
Work with Difficult Emotions with a Visualization Meditation
Often, we assume that focusing on anger, depression, or feelings of hopelessness would just make those feelings worse. Actually, the opposite happens. To find out how, first pick one emotion and give it a place to live that represents that feeling – maybe beside a raging river, in a dark cave, or at the bottom of the ocean. Now, become an explorer. Get curious. What do you hear in this place? How does it smell? How does the air or water around you feel? Visualizing a complicated emotion as a place, then getting curious about its surroundings, can put distance between you and the intensity of the emotion – enough to find a slice of peace and feel calm again.
-
Find a Group or Class that Supports Meditation and Mindfulness
We don’t have to practice meditation or mindfulness alone. Whether in-person or in an online class, connecting with others can validate how we feel and help us understand that we are not the only ones taking recovery step by step.
Recovery is a lifelong practice and relapse is possible at any stage of recovery. By adding mindfulness and meditation to your tool box, you will always have options that you can do in just a few minutes to ease symptoms and grow your resilience. Happy meditating!
