Guided Meditation and Mindfulness for Sobriety

Just about anyone can get something good from doing mindfulness and guided meditation every day. For people getting better from dependence and addiction, doing meditation can help keep them sober. It does this by making the brain stronger and more able to resist going back to old habits.

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation for staying sober can help any program you’re in for treating addiction. It combines old wisdom and new studies about being mindful. For people getting better from drinking too much, using mindfulness meditation can be beneficial ways to get better.

Guided meditation for sobriety and being mindful are helpful tools. They give patients ways to change their thoughts and live in the moment. People need to focus away from wanting bad things or being tempted. These practices help a lot in beating addiction.

Being mindful and doing different kinds of meditation can help people with challenging feelings or thoughts. This includes people who feel:

• Feeling anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Behavioral issues
• Emotional disorders
• Daily stress factors

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is when you pay full attention to what’s happening right now by being mindful. If you make it a habit to meditate every day to help with getting better from drinking too much, it can mix meditation with ways to get over alcoholism. This can make you less stressed and help you not think about wanting to drink.

Doing mindfulness activities and having a solid routine for meditating every day can make your brain more able to fight off going back to old habits. Meditating is like doing exercises to make your mind strong.

When people have been hurt by substance use disorders (SUDs), being mindful can make a big difference in their recovery. Meditation focused on staying sober can help lessen the destructive effects of SUDs. It helps fix the brain and stops people from going back to using substances by giving them the mental tools they need to succeed.

Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools that can substantially alter the brain. In the late 1970s, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn began employing these techniques to aid individuals constantly suffering from pain. Since then, a plethora of studies have been conducted to explore how these approaches can help tackle addiction.

Nowadays, you can easily find a lot of information, resources, and free mindfulness and meditation tools. This includes:

• Books
• Websites
• YouTube videos with guided meditation for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)
• Social media accounts focused on mindfulness
• Meditation apps such as Headspace, Calm, and Stop, Breathe & Think

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness means being aware and paying attention. On the other hand, meditation is using mindfulness in a focused manner, which requires time, commitment, and hard work. Despite their connection, mindfulness and meditation are distinct concepts.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen master, poet, philosopher, and teacher, said, “In mindfulness, you are not just calm and happy but also alert and awake. Meditation is not about avoiding things; it’s a peaceful meeting with what’s real.”

Meeting reality in a calm way doesn’t need a lot of time. Adding a few minutes of meditation to your daily routine, just 5 to 10 minutes, can help make mindfulness a part of your everyday life. Over time, you might notice meditation gets more manageable because it’s linked to more brain activity and better focus.

Mindfulness Techniques

A lot of mindfulness methods can be beneficial when you’re trying hard to quit drinking. These same methods can also be used as meditation practices.

For instance, if you start thinking about wanting something you shouldn’t, try to notice how that feels inside and outside your body. Pay attention to how you breathe and check in with how each part of your body feels. Recognize all the emotions and physical feelings you have. After that, take a big breath and return your attention to the moment.

Being mindful can be challenging, especially when you want something you shouldn’t. But, if you keep at it, with time, practice, and patience, you can fight off those cravings and stay on your recovery journey without slipping back or getting hurt. Also, meditating regularly and having good mindfulness methods ready to use can help your recovery over time.

Ways to Practice Mindfulness

Journal

• Writing in a journal a little bit every day can help you sort out your thoughts and feelings. It gives you a straightforward guide on how your emotions grow and change.

Practice Mindful Eating

• When mealtime arrives, aim to minimize distractions. Switch off your mobile device and television, and focus on the flavors, the texture of the food, its hues, and aromas.

Take a Walk

• Pay attention to how the air feels, whether it’s moist or dry. Listen to the birds singing in the trees and the sound of the wind moving through the bushes and grass. Notice how your body’s weight presses down through your feet into the ground.

Do Body Scans

• When you’re lying down or sitting, shut your eyes and go over your body from the top of your head to your feet. Picture a line moving across your body like a scanner taking a picture. Be aware of any feelings, both inside and outside, all the way down. If you find any tight spots or stress, recognize it and then let it go.

Stretch

• Ensure that you stretch your body, particularly when your mind is scattered, or you’re battling a desire. Whether upright or reclining, extend your limbs to their fullest, then unwind. Numerous stretching regimens for mindfulness and meditation can be found online.

Doing mindfulness every day can positively affect your health and last a long time. Mindfulness and meditation for staying sober are safe, different ways to help with getting over addiction. They don’t cause bad reactions and can be easily made a part of your daily habits.

Maintain Long-Term Sobriety with NATC

Using mindfulness methods and meditation to stay sober can help your journey to get better from addiction. Northridge Addiction Treatment Center (NATC) knows that getting better is about healing and provides a peaceful sanctuary for recovery.

Our experienced, licensed, and compassionate team at NATC creates an encouraging and supportive space. This helps you build the foundation to feel strong enough to live a life without using substances. They can guide you on how to include meditation and mindfulness into your own unique plan for getting better from addiction.

Contact us now. Our kind treatment specialists are ready to assist you on your journey to a life built on recovery.