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5 Ways You Can Use Meditation for Substance Abuse

Meditation has a wide array of health benefits that are applicable to everyone on the planet.

But one group of people who may not know about the benefits of meditation for their specific condition exists: recovering addicts.

Meditation for substance abuse is a growing industry. In this article, we’ll take a quick look at five concrete ways that meditation for addiction yields results.

1. Simulate a Natural High

One of the best things about meditation is that it simulates a natural high without the use of illicit, addictive substances. The very act of clearing your mind and introducing a state of mindfulness can add a natural high with effective dopamine release.

This, in turn, means that you will chase the artificial highs created by illicit substances less. Why would one turn to a destructive drug when they can achieve a similar, healthy effect from a highly beneficial mental practice?

2. Improve Delayed Gratification

One of the concepts that powers meditation is that of delayed gratification. Delayed gratification is all about waiting for pleasure. For instance, that could mean skipping a quick snack at work so that you can enjoy a more tasty dinner more fully that’s waiting for you at home.

Delayed gratification is key to dealing with addiction. By improving your mental fortitude, you can delay the urge to gratify yourself with the drug now by focusing on the benefit that being addiction-free will provide you in the long-term.

Meditation is an exercise in delayed gratification. Because it takes some time to clear your mind, you have to simply wait it out to get the pleasure that you seek. That thus builds the delayed gratification mental muscle.

3. Resist Urges

When you’re meditating, you’ll have all sorts of urges to think about other things or stop what you’re doing to do something that’s on your schedule. But achieving the benefits of meditation is all about resisting those urges and clearing your mind.

Experience in resisting those mental urges will help you to resist the sudden cravings that make you turn back to drugs.

4. Reduce Daily Stress

Meditation provides significant relief from stress. If you’ve been under a lot of pressure recently, then you may find yourself thinking about seeking solace from that stress in your substance of choice.

But by implementing a regular meditation routine, you can reduce the negative impact of the daily stressors that you experience, which in turn reduces your desire to turn to the drug.

5. Fix the Root Problems

Last but not least, meditation will help you fix the root problems that cause your addiction, like a lack of confidence, unhappiness, and the like. Fixing these root issues is one of the best ways to fight addictions and is always one of the best options to seek treatment.

Meditation for Substance Abuse is a Powerful Remedy

There you have it. Now that you know how and why to use meditation for substance abuse, you should be better equipped to rid yourself of whatever addiction you may have.

Check out the rest of the website for more related health content!