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Meditation and its Relevance to Addiction Treatment

Meditation has many benefits and has been recognized as a very healthy practice by healthcare experts as well as psychologists all over the world. It is very easy to practice and can yield excellent results when it comes to healing the body and the mind holistically. From increasing concentration power to improving body balance, meditation has been considered as a very useful technique by psychologists as well as health experts across the world.

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When it comes to rehabilitation and recovery treatments for addiction, meditation has been considered as an indispensable technique. Though it does not replace various therapy treatments that the addicts are given, it highly boosts the results of the various treatments that are suggested for addiction recovery.

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Why meditate?

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Some may be of the opinion that meditation is a form of spiritual practice wherein an individual concentrates on various religious thoughts or the worship of the Almighty. But in reality, meditation is far more than that. It is not just spiritual, but psychological as well which is why it is highly relevant to addiction treatment. Meditation is essential to sober living and not using drugs or alcohol.

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It has been unanimously accepted that an important part of addiction recovery involves self-control, self-confidence, improved self-esteem and perseverance and all these can be achieved and enhanced with meditation.

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Meditation involves contemplation, introspection and finding back one’s true self. Thus, when recovery patients practice meditation regularly, they gradually find their way back to their former self and the impact of this on their recovery is tremendous. Many find that after going through something like an intervention in California, meditation is what keeps them calm and happy.

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Benefits of meditation for addiction patients

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  • Offers relaxation – When you meditate, both the mind and the body gradually relaxes. As an individual finds his/her inner peace, the turmoil raging within an addict ceases gradually and the individual can easily focus on treatment therapies.

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  • Relieves depression – Depression not only leads to addiction, but it becomes a part and parcel of the life of an addict. Practicing meditation regularly the right way can alleviate depression and gradually reduce the need for drugs or alcohol to escape reality.

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  • Improves mental condition – Calming the mind has excellent advantages as well. Most addicts find that their IQ, focus, brain power, memory power, etc. are hampered due to prolonged drug or alcohol intake. Mediation helps improve the cognitive prowess of an individual.

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  • Reduces cravings – When combined with other therapeutic exercises, meditation can significantly curb the cravings for drugs, alcohol or other addictive substances and help prevent relapse in recovering patient.

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  • Improves self-control – Meditation gives an individual more control over his/her own brain and this greatly enhances the self-control. Not only does the patient adapt to the new lifestyle and surroundings more easily, but they can also keep themselves away from provocative situations.

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  • Creates better understanding – It is believed that meditation can help an individual rewire the various critical pathways that exist in the brain. By doing so, not only does meditation increase the cognitive capabilities of the patient, but also helps him become much more self-aware and process day-to-day incidents much better than before. This improves the overall understanding and comprehending capabilities of the person, thus helping make better decisions.

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