The Benefits of Meditation in Recovery

You may have learned about meditation during the rehabilitation process and even experienced some of its benefits, but as our alumni know well, you can continue to reap the rewards of meditation throughout recovery — and even find new ways for it to improve your day-to-day. Here are some of our favorite ways meditation helps our clients thrive in recovery.

Reduced Stress

Meditation focuses your mind on the current moment. People recovering from drug or alcohol abuse are familiar with the phrase “One day at a time,” a reminder to focus on living sober each day. Mediation is an activity where you must be present with your mind, as well as your body, and look calmly at all of your thoughts — even the intrusive ones. This provides clarity and is the first step to accepting and moving past them.

Increased Focus, Concentration, and Awareness

In the same way that meditation makes you more present, it can also heighten your awareness and ability to focus. Meditation teaches you to slow down your thinking and increase your attention span, a key part of fighting the dangerous boredom or impulsivity that can make cravings more intense. With meditation, you’re better able to focus on your main goal — maintaining a happy, healthy, sober lifestyle.

Better Control of Your Anxiety

Meditation has been shown to help reduce anxiety, because it activates the area of your brain that controls worrying in a non-threatening way. This teaches your mind to more effectively approach your thoughts and worries, and respond to them more rationally. When you practice meditation, you also train your mind to notice and access mental resources you may not realize you have — patience and acceptance you forget while panicking, which can create healthy space between you and your trigger.

Enhanced Will Power

Meditation is a practice that requires you to focus totally on the task at hand. Practicing meditation regularly helps to recenter your thinking at your command, so when you do face a potential trigger, you’re able to apply the same techniques to calm your mind and reach a more peaceful place. You can’t necessarily control every aspect of your life — unexpected situations are going to happen. But you can mentally prepare so when these scenarios happen, you have the strength to get through them.

Reduced Depression

Practicing meditation can help reduce depression, a mental condition that’s particularly common for people just exiting rehab. Studies have shown that using meditation over the course of a year can alter certain regions of the brain and significantly reduces depression — which can help you remain focused on staying committed to sobriety.

Learn More About Meditation at Extra Mile Recovery

Regular meditation provides so many benefits for people in recovery that for many, it’s a crucial part of their routine — which is why it’s also a valuable part of our continuum of care for our clients at Extra Mile Recovery. We use the self-loving and self-controlling aspects of meditation, and other holistic approaches, to heal each client’s body and mind from the struggles of drug and alcohol addiction. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.