Meditation, focusing and soothing the mind, has a vital role in sobriety. During the treatment process, you may suffer a rollercoaster of emotions that can take you from lows to highs, between thinking about the future you want and falling back into old habits. As your body and mind struggle with sobriety, you might feel anxious, stressed, angry, confused, depressed, and other unexplained emotions.

Practicing meditation can be an effective and reliable tool for handling these feelings during healing and long after you achieve sobriety. This is done in different ways, from guided meditation and concentration meditation to moving meditations, mindfulness meditation, and more. Meditation, above all, is accessible to everyone; it is free, so you can find the right style for you.

Meditation and Sobriety: For Fast Recovery

Meditation is a practice where you work on focusing your thoughts and mind to gain better awareness as well as inner calm. There are never-ending different types and schools of meditation to choose from when you start practicing, so just try to find a technique that works for you.

One common technique utilized during the recovery process is mindfulness meditation, wherein you work on being in the present moment, examining thoughts without reacting to them, whether negative or positive. The plan is to accept and free the feelings instead of getting stuck wanting something you like or reacting with dislike and hatred to things you don’t. If you are in sobriety, getting caught on a specific thought can be a danger to sobriety, mainly if something sets off an agonizing memory.

Studies have found that being mindful and present, even while doing a disagreeable task, makes individuals feel more contented than when the mind drifts into thoughts of the past and the future. To those in sobriety, a drifting mind can be risky, specifically when it starts to romanticize memories that involve substance abuse.

Types of Recovery Meditation Techniques

There are a lot of meditation techniques for sobriety to select from. Some rehab facilities, like the Walker Center, may provide meditation training and sessions as part of the treatment plan, but if it does not, meditation is readily accessible to everyone wanting to learn. Some meditation courses available are books about meditation and online guided meditation to get the basics of meditation practice. It can be as easy as sitting calmly in your room and focusing on breathing for about ten minutes after waking up before starting the day. 

Mindfulness meditation can be helpful in sobriety as it assists the individual in focusing attention, regulating emotions, as well as improving self-awareness. These abilities are vital to recovery as they allow the individual to deal with stress and triggers, handle cravings and manage signs of underlying mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. 

In mindfulness meditation, you allow yourself and the things in your current state as they are. You don’t attempt to transform anything. You presume the function of observer and watch- thoughts, breath, physical sensation in your body. Because of mindfulness meditation, you can start becoming more compassionate and tune into yourself as you are. 

To successfully practice mindfulness meditation for sobriety, you: 

• Look for a quiet space where you can sit in peace. 

• Sit on the floor or chair, close your eyes, and breathe without saying anything.

• Don’t focus on thoughts that arise; try to concentrate on the current moment. 

• If your thoughts drift to the future or past, bring your mind back to your breathing. 

• Every time your thoughts begin to drift, gently remind yourself to focus on your breathing.

In mindfulness meditation, you don’t need anything other than a quiet place to practice and a few spare minutes. This makes it the perfect technique for those on their journey to recovery as it is accessible for everyone.  

There are other kinds of meditation to try, such as: 

• Moving meditation like yoga, walking, tai chi, and qigong which involve moving in a set of different poses or slow movements associated with breath. Some might choose this type of meditation to use their excess energy instead of just sitting still. 

• Guided meditation can be helpful as a teacher provides prompts that assist you in knowing how to meditate and concentrate on your inner self. If you do not have a guru to help you, there are online recordings, meditation apps, etc., that you can use to begin meditating. 

• Concentration mediation is also a practical approach for those trying to concentrate on a distracted, scattered mind. You pick an object of focus, an image or mantra to repeat, and direct all your focus to that object. This assists your mind focus on that specific object and lessens the noise of drifting thoughts. 

Additional Benefits of Meditation After Recovery

Once the treatment plan ends and you start off “on your own,” it can be very unsettling. The first couple of days, weeks and even months of sobriety can be the most demanding and taxing as you navigate the stressors of daily life without the crutch of substance use. Meditation is key to your success in recovery as it can train the mind to improve, regulate emotions, overcome cravings and maintain focus. Meditation also assists in regulating feelings activated by stress, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep quality, and reducing cortisol levels. 

Studies have shown that meditation can assist individuals struggling with addiction in improving determination and realizing the underlying causes of addiction. This is a very powerful skill to possess in sobriety as it allows you to take control of your life, recognize your addiction's causes and choose not to succumb to them. Meditation provides people with the calm and space needed to make choices that will benefit them instead of reacting on instinct and returning to old habits. For something accessible and free to everyone anytime, meditation is a priceless tool for people in sobriety. To learn some other mindfulness hacks check out our other blog here. If you still don’t feel fully in control of your life, get in touch with us here for a free and confidential chat to help you get on the journey to recovery.