Humans are believed to have practiced meditation for as long as 5,000 years. People of all ethnicities, nationalities, and spiritual traditions practice meditation to improve mental and physical well-being and enhance intellectual and intuitive awareness. Because of its profound and wide-reaching positive effects, meditation therapy has been incorporated into many addiction therapy programs in recent decades.
At Apex Recovery Nashville, our meditation therapy for addiction treatment is a cornerstone of our program. Aligned with the mindfulness practices that inform many evidence-based modalities, such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), our meditation therapy in Nashville can help you recover and create positive habits that will continue to support your health and sobriety throughout life. Call 615.703.4639 or submit this online form to connect with one of our staff and learn more about our meditation therapy program in Nashville.
What Is Meditation Therapy?
Based on the principle that complete relaxation and an expansion of consciousness are possible by eliminating outside stimuli and focusing on breathing and a mantra or sound, meditation is practiced by millions of people worldwide.
Forms of Meditation Practice
Meditations can be guided or unguided, and some common forms include:
- Transcendental
- Body scan
- Loving-kindness
- Walking
- Zen
- Journeying
- Mantra-centered
There is a form of meditation to suit everyone.
Benefits of Meditation
Some of the many reported benefits of meditation include:
- Reduced anxiety, panic disorders, and depression
- Relief of pain
- Lowered blood pressure
- Improved sleep patterns
- Increased compassion
- Help with cravings
- Improved memory
Anyone can begin a regular meditation practice, and regularity is one of the critical elements of success. To meditate, all you need to do at first is find a quiet spot and comfortable posture, keep your mind open, and focus on your breathing. Practice always enhances the experience. As practiced in a rehab facility, meditation therapy for addiction treatment can help maximize your successful recovery.
Meditation Therapy for Addiction Treatment
Meditation therapy and the ongoing practice of meditation support recovery by increasing feelings of calm and helping you avoid relapse and deal with triggers. Meditation therapy is a significantly beneficial tool in a program that includes medical and psychiatric support.
Meditation therapy is used to develop skills and habits that protect you from relapse and help you cope with triggers and stress. For example:
- Mindfulness can help you hone your awareness and concentration, which is always helpful and assertive when facing stressful events or situations. You can become alert to the whole picture without succumbing to emotional reactivity.
- Certain practices, like guided meditation, will help you hone your visualization skills. When you become adept at visualizing entire scenes and placing yourself in them, you will learn to see your own hopeful future. It has been shown that creating strong mental images can affect thinking and turn negative beliefs into positive ones, which, in turn, can change how you interact in the world—including whether you drink or take drugs.
- Practices such as Zen help you create your inner calm. Practitioners report developing the ability to stay even-keeled in the most triggering situations to focus on the present moment, develop solutions, and let go of past behavior patterns that do not serve them.
The goals of meditation can be many and yet also very simple. Learning how to be peaceful within takes practice. It does not mean you are completely at peace every minute of the day, but when stressors arise, or you feel triggered by situations that might tempt you to relapse, you have the skills to counteract them.