Benefits of Meditation in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder
When you hear meditation you may think of a monk in the Himalayas wearing orange and sitting in silence all day, or of your local western Yogi doing yoga and meditation in a studio or in a garden. What you may not know is that there are many different forms of meditation and that it is widely practiced throughout many different cultures. For persons in recovery, many studies have shown that meditation can bring about actual physiological changes that promote recovery for those battling substance use disorder.
On our Journey to Wholeness: Return to Be programs page, we scratch the surface regarding meditation. Here we want to elaborate on the actual effects that meditation can have on the brain in general, and specifically on those in recovery. Research continues to show that the act of meditation by those recovering from substance use disorder can reduce stress, reduce cravings, and promote acceptance and emotional well-being.
Stress
Stress is widely known as a prominent contributing factor to substance use disorder, specifically, use and relapse. Offering our clients different ways to cope with stress and anxiety promotes recovery and greatly reduces the risk of relapse. Those suffering from substance use disorder require coping skills to deal with hurdles that life throws at us. Every individual is unique, but daily matters such as financial stress, family obligations, and pressure at work or school can lead to stress buildup.
This is where meditation can help. The act of meditation brings one into a relaxation response, effectively altering immune function, energy metabolism, insulin secretion, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, and brain activity. All of these factors are directly related to stress, anxiety, and potentially a number of diseases. It has even been shown in an 8-week study “that long-term practice of the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with the body’s response to stress.” (Reference)
Reduced Cravings
There is also a fair measure of evidence that in some cases, practicing mindfulness meditation can not only reduce substance use but reduce the actual cravings experienced by those with substance use disorder. There is current evidence to suggest that Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can actually be more effective at reducing cravings, and use, of alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, cigarettes, and opiates than other types of non-specific support groups. (Reference)
Acceptance and Emotional Well-being
Mindfulness meditation can help promote acceptance, a well-known foundation of 12-step recovery programs, as well as emotional well-being. Sarah Bowen, Ph.D., published an article in 2009 called “Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) for Substance Use Disorders: A Pilot Efficacy Trial” which offered some of the first randomized-controlled trial data on the effects of mindfulness meditation on those suffering from substance use disorder:
“Feasibility of MBRP was demonstrated by consistent homework compliance, attendance, and participant satisfaction. Initial efficacy was supported by significantly lower rates of substance use in those who received MBRP as compared to those in TAU over the 4-month post-intervention period. Additionally, MBRP participants demonstrated greater decreases in craving, and increases in acceptance and acting with awareness as compared to TAU.” (Reference)
Awareness and acceptance of emotions and sensations can lead to those in recovery to learning to cope with such experiences rather than to act out immediately with substance use. Substance abuse disorder sufferers historically act on the mental obsession for use without pause, and adopting a practice such as meditation can offer different tools to deal with thoughts and emotions as they arise.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mindfulness meditation, other forms of meditation, and various other coping skills for those in recovery. Heartland House is available for any questions, and we are happy to direct you where we can most helpful. Please visit our Journey to Wholeness: Return to Be page for more information on programs where we are implementing meditation.
Please fill out our Contact Us form for any inquiries.
Here is a brief and simple argument that ‘meditative states’ actually represent the overlap of two distinct neuro-physiological states: somatic and neurologic rest. A more expansive explanation of my position, written for a lay and academic audience, is linked below, and is based in large measure on the work of the distinguished affective neuroscientist Kent Berridge of the University of Michigan, who was kind to review and endorse the extended argument.
A Note on Resting States, Resting Brains, and Meditative States
A resting state, or ‘somatic rest’, would seem to correspond with a brain at rest or ‘neurologic’ rest, but by definition, somatic and neurologic rest are entirely different things. A resting ‘state’ or somatic rest represents the inactivity of the striatal musculature that results from the application of resting protocols (continual avoidance of perseverative thought represented by rumination, worry, and distraction.). Resting states also are affective states, as they elicit opioid activity in the brain. Resting states in turn may occur in tandem with all levels of non-perseverative thought that are passive or active, from just passively ‘being in the moment’ or being mindful, to actively engaging in complex and meaningful cognitive behavior. The latter cognitive behavior is also additionally affective in nature due to its elicitation of dopaminergic activity, and resulting opioid-dopamine interaction results in a perceived state of ‘bliss’ or ‘flow’. On the other hand, a resting ‘brain’, neurologic rest, or the so-called ‘default mode network’ is a specific type of neural processing that occurs when the mind is in a ‘passive’ state, or in other words, is presented with no or very limited cognitive demands. This results in ‘mind wandering’ that can entail non-perseverative (creative thought) or perseverative thought (rumination, worry). As such a resting brain may or may not correlate with somatic rest, and is correlated with a level of demand, not a kind of demand, as in somatic rest.
Like the broad color palate that emerges from the intermix of three primary colors, it may be argued that meditative states are simply emergent properties of two very distinctive neuro-physiological resting states that have separate and easily definable causes. It is remarkable that in the literature of meditation, the neuro-physiology of rest both in body and mind is not defined, with a similar neglect to explaining how neuro-muscular activity is actively shaped by experience or learning. The importance of meditation is very real, and the meditative community is understandably averse to equating it with rest since it makes meditation less ‘special’ or less marketable. But that is my argument nonetheless, which in the end provides a better advocacy of meditation by denying that meditation elicits a unique physiological process or state, which like the concept of ‘phlogiston’, or the imaginary element that enabled fire, impedes rather than furthers scientific inquiry
From:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/284056765/The-Book-of-Rest-The-Odd-Psychology-of-Doing-Nothing